You won’t feel the bounce and jostle over the railroad tracks during TuYo Theatre’s world-premiere production staged inside three retired trolley cars, but if you listen closely to the storytelling during the show you might sense the spirit of La Llorona.
Written by Mabelle Reynoso (who also wrote TuYo’s “Pastorela 2.0” play in 2019), “La Llorona on the Blue Line” is an immersive theatrical trip into the past of San Diego’s South Bay, its communities and its Latine culture. La Llorona is a Medea-like female ghost from Mexican/Latin American folklore forced to roam for eternity weeping for her children, who she drowned in an act of revenge against her cheating husband.
“You start in the historical lobby of the (National City) railroad depot and then move into a series of three retired trolley cars,” explains TuYo Co-Artistic Director Patrice Amon. These light rail cars date back to three different eras: 1920, 1946 and 1982. In a series of vignettes, stories are told that explore the past and address some ancient myths.
“Mabelle has long been fascinated by La Llorona,” Amon says. “She wanted to focus on gender equity and stories of women in the South Bay and their contributions that impacted motherhood, to use La Llorona as the iconic mother myth and engage both the ways that we challenge who holds that identity and react against it.”
Only 20 people at a time can be accommodated in each trolley car. “It’s really intimate,” Amon says. “You’re up close to the storytellers.”
Amon has a personal connection to this production.
“I grew up in National City and took my nephews to the train depot when they were younger,” she says. “It made me realize the impact that our public transportation has on our community, both in of moving people around us but also as a daily way of life.”
As for La Llorona, Amon says that this show “is a little spooky, but there are no jump scares or violence.” There are four more performances of this production, which ends on June 13, but most tickets were snapped up weeks ago.
Theater on TV
History of another kind will be made on Saturday night when CNN broadcasts live from Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre a performance of George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Tony-nominated play “Good Night, and Good Luck.” This marks the first time a performance of a Broadway show has aired live on TV.
“Good Night, and Good Luck” stars Clooney as legendary 1950s TV journalist Edward R. Murrow and focuses on his principled clash with the infamous red-scare promoter Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Saturday’s televised performance will be the production’s second to last. The Broadway production closes in New York with a Sunday matinee.
“Good Night, And Good Luck” will air at 4 p.m. Saturday PST on CNN.
Movies
The title may suggest one, but “Flesh and the Devil” is not an adult film. It’s a 1926 romantic drama based on Hermann Sudermann’s 19th-century novel “The Undying Past” and stars screen legend Greta Garbo. Her co-star was John Gilbert, with whom Garbo had an off-screen dalliance.
“Flesh and the Devil” is the last entry in the Balboa Theatre’s Silent Movie Mondays live organ series. Organist Russ Peck will accompany the film on the Balboa’s historic organ.
Following the 7 p.m. screening on Monday, San Diego International Film Festival CEO Tonya Mantooth will lead a discussion of the film. Tickets at sandiegotheatres.org/event/2025/06/flesh-and-devil-1926.
Blues festival
Whether it’s the economy, the Padres or something more personal that’s giving you the blues, indulge yourself in appropriate music on Saturday when the East Village Blues Fest returns to the Quartyard on Market Street downtown. The event is Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m.
This year’s musical lineup features Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra, Len Rainey and the Midnight Players, the Stoney B. Blues Band, Zavala Sol and the Laura Jane Willcock-led Tighten Ups. Tickets are under $25, and you can’t find much downtown cheaper than that. Consider trolleying to the festival because as you know parking downtown isn’t cheap. Tickets at quartyardsd.com/event/east-village-blues-fest-3.
Staged reading
Rondrell McCormick and Kevane La’Marr Coleman, both recently onstage in Cygnet Theatre’s “The Hot Wing King,” are among the cast of OnWord Theatre’s hybrid staged reading of Pulitzer-winning Chicago playwright Ike Holter’s “Lottery Day” at 6 p.m. Saturday in Spring Valley.
Set in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification, “Lottery Day” is the last work in Holter’s seven-play, Chicago-based Rightlynd cycle. The OnWord reading, marking its West Coast premiere, will be presented in a real backyard barbecue setting. Tickets are $15 for the show, or $25 with barbecue dinner, at brownpapertickets.com/event/6552142.
U-T arts and dining stories you may have missed this week
- San Diego Natural History Museum’s long-awaited Paleo Center opens Friday
- San Diego summer concert guide: 64 shows you won’t want to miss
- 2025 San Diego County Fair: Everything you need to know — new foods, discounts and more
- Flute innovator Claire Chase’s musical field of dreams began on a San Diego baseball field
- A year after James Hubbell’s ing, Ilan-Lael Foundation carries on his legacy
- Review: At newly opened Lilo, fun is just as important as the food
- Michelin-recognized 24 Suns encapsulates its mission in new duck dish
- San Diego playwright readies spooky ‘Point Loma’ play for off-Broadway run
- La Jolla Music Society announces first four resident arts companies at The Conrad
- Review: Old Globe’s ‘One of the Good Ones’ a funny twist on racial bias
- Review: ‘Beautiful Noise’ musical a stunningly candid bio-musical
- Review: New Village’s stages a towering ‘Mountaintop’
- Review: OnStage Playhouse’s ‘White Guy on the Bus’ pulls no punches
UCTV
University of California Television invites you to enjoy this special selection of programs from throughout the University of California. Descriptions courtesy of and text written by UCTV staff:
“’Deep6’ – A Conversation with Madhuja Mukherjee”
Filmmaker Madhuja Mukherjee s UCSB professor Bishnupriya Ghosh for a conversation about “Deep6,” a Bengali-language drama set in Kolkata during the politically charged year of 2011. The film follows Mitul, a solitary journalist navigating the end of West Bengal’s 34-year Communist rule while confronting personal loss and shifting identities. Starring Tillotama Shome, “Deep6” blends realism with elements of magical realism, exploring memory, trauma and transformation in a changing city. The film premiered at the 26th Busan International Film Festival and was featured at both the International Film Festival of Kerala and the Kolkata International Film Festival. Mukherjee, also a professor of film studies at Jadavpur University, brings deep insight into the film’s themes and structure.
Cervical cancer remains a major public health challenge, with over 600,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide each year. While early detection and prevention can significantly reduce risk, immigrant communities often face barriers such as language differences, cultural stigma, and limited healthcare access. In this talk, Dr. Erin Kobetz, chief health equity officer at the University of Miami, shares how community-based research is helping close these gaps. By combining culturally sensitive outreach with cutting-edge screening technologies, her work empowers underserved populations and enhances prevention strategies. Kobetz highlights the importance of building trust and tailoring approaches to community needs, ultimately advancing health equity and reducing cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates.
“Metamaterials Open New Horizons in Electromagnetism”
Sir John Pendry, the 2024 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Advanced Technology, is a pioneering physicist whose work has redefined how we understand and manipulate electromagnetic waves. A professor of theoretical solid state physics at Imperial College London, Pendry earned his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and initially focused on electron diffraction techniques to study material surfaces. He later demonstrated that materials with electromagnetic properties not found in nature — known as metamaterials — could be engineered by structuring elements smaller than the wavelength of light. His theoretical breakthroughs laid the foundation for technologies like superlenses with ultra-high resolution and the concept of invisibility cloaks, pushing the boundaries of optics, materials science, and theoretical physics.
And finally, top weekend events
