New theater group Teatro Neplanta hopes to make a lasting impression with an original play, Al’s Club, at 2:30 pm Sunday, March 10 as part of the El Paso Community Foundation Jewel Box Series at the Philanthropy Theatre.

General admission tickets are $15 at the Plaza Theatre Box Office, and $15 plus service charges at Ticketmaster.

The play, written by El Paso’s Mathew W. Bianchi, deals with ego, faith, addiction, drunk driving, and the questions all of us ask ourselves all the time. “Not only will this play make you laugh till you cry, but it can possibly teach us all a valuable lesson,” director and company founder Adam Zarowski said. “The play features a mysteriously funny bouncer and two strangers who can’t wait to get into a club for reasons they think they understand.”

The cast features local actors Raul Chavez, Alejandro Tijerina, Apryl Ruiz, and Sydney Gaglio.

Teatro Neplanta is a nonprofit regional theater formed in 2022. All of its productions, including the recent Dream House, have sold out. Al’s Club was one of six short plays written for Teatro Neplanta’s first 24-hour play festival in 2022. Bianchi’s play has been workshopped and fleshed out since. The Jewel Box show will mark its debut as a full-length play.

In its eighth season, the Jewel Box Series was created in partnership with **El Paso Live **in 2014 to host local performing artists and groups in that jewel box of a venue, the Philanthropy Theatre in the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre.

The remaining shows in the 2023-2024 season are:

• The Scarecrow, KESSTO Kreatures (2:30 pm Sunday, April 14, 2024) — This original variation of The Wizard of Oz by puppeteer, playwright, teacher, and Jim Henson Foundation grant recipient Anthony Michael Stokes follows His Majesty the Scarecrow as he tries to save his country from a growing horde of crows.

• Arabica, Light Rain and Sisters of the Moon (2:30 pm Sunday, May 12, 2024) — Two names long associated with music (Doug Adamz and Light Rain) and belly dance (Leilania Marcus and Sisters of the Moon) transport you with a timeless romance between ethereal music and mysterious dance.

Contacts:

Kathrin Berg, Executive Vice President, El Paso Community Foundation, 915-533-4020, kberg@epcf.org

Doug Pullen, Program Director, El Paso Community Foundation, 915-533-4020, dpullen@epcf.org

Rudy Vasquez, Marketing Director, El Paso Community Foundation, 915-533-4020, rvasquez@epcf.org