Video: Get a Sneak Peek of THE GARDENS OF ANUNCIA at Lincoln Center Theater

Monday school and they have to hurry

Come in a get up my mom here and me. Car both starting gives us worry

Coming down to us have to walk to town. It's a pain

We laugh and sing the whole long way. La la la la la la la la

La la la la la. Well, it came about 30 years of friendship

and, you know, working together with Granzi. I love her. I don't know how many shows. Believe me, I really don't remember how many shows

But 30 years of friendship and learning the stories of her, they always charmed me

And I always loved hearing about them. And it was just one night I said to her over drinks

I said, you know, I got to write a musical of your life. And, of course, she was like, no, don't do that to me

And I did it anyway. And it took some talking into, a little bit of talking into

But I think she was finally. swayed by the argument because it's not necessarily about Gratia. This is about the people that gave her

the keys to doors that she would open in her life, the inspiration to be an artist, her mom and a

grandmother and her aunt. So, and that's what the show's about. Interesting enough, I'm 83 years old

so I don't have any memory of what happened yesterday. Tomorrow, forget this. But the older

I've gotten is I remember things from the past. so much more, and they are almost surprising and very, very extremely moving

And in this particular piece with this extraordinary cast they are all of them just unbelievable I rehearsing I supposed to be serious and discipline and all I do is cry you know because cry of happiness of having given they gave me the gift of forming me of educating me

in making me whatever it is that I am. So now that they are all gone, this is my gift to them

Maybe somewhere they are there, listening and laughing. and applauding because I am saying I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my life

It was special from day one getting to put it all together and build it together

And this group really just like clicks in a really beautiful way

So the fact that we get to bring it here to New York audiences, to all of our people, to our peers

to the community and industry that we know and love and who knows and loves us is really special

and just to have like a show about women and especially Latina women

and about Graciella, anyone who knows her knows how special she is. So I'm really, really grateful

that she's getting showcased and that, you know, audiences are going to get to enjoy this piece

and get to like take a tiny little piece of her and her love and the love that made her

Grazie has been my hero for a really long time and I've waited a really, really long time

to be in this kind of a sandbox creating with her and she's magical

And magic follows her. And we are just so honored to be telling this story

of people who made her. And nobody knows. Everyone knows the flashy parts

about Gratzi's Broadway career. But to see what she was up against

as a child in Argentina and how she was raised and the way she was loved is really something I think people don know anything about And I think people are going to relate to a lot

This is about family. It's about legacy. It's about the power of women and the strength of women, no matter what the means or humble beginnings

And ultimately, it's about being grateful to be alive and to give and receive love in the time that we're here

to sit at her feet and listen to her talk about these women

and tell us stories and bring in pictures and talk about her garden and she's very adamant about

like this is based on my life it's not me, it's anuncia

it's not me, it's anuncia which of course, you know, yes, but

and then on top of it to have it be directed and co-choreographed by her

is just a privilege and a gift that I will never ever get over

It's just a gorgeous piece. It's very emotional. I was telling someone else, we have cried more in this rehearsal process

It just is a spontaneously emotional, gorgeous piece, and I cannot wait for people to see it

Because we did it at The Old Globe two years ago, and I've been with it from the beginning, from workshops and stuff

But the Old Globe is a different, it's sort of the, it's a similar sort of feel theater, but this is the perfect place for it

and it's closer, the audience is closer, and I just cannot wait for the New York audience to see it

She's very clear about how she's about the work and the experience

and not about getting awards or I mean we all want to make money but you know she is just loves the work and the authenticity of it all And that what makes her happy She doesn need recognition but she gets it because she

fabulous. So that there are, and that what's important in your life is the people in your life

and how they've affected your life. And so that's basically what this

show is about, you know, that she became a dancer and it was

infused in her by her mother and all of that. But in the end

it's her garden that gives her the joy and it's, and the relationship

she had with those three women in her life. For me, what I would like the audience to be able to

remember is that person in their life, his or her, their life, that

gave them the, it inspiration and the pathway to who they are and to say thank you

You know, we don't say that word. We don't say that very often these days. Thank you

I think if everybody said thank you to one another, you know, thank you mom

Thank you teacher. Thank you, my spouse. Thank you, my spouse. Thank you, lady, down the street

I think we'd be in a better place. So it's a sense of gratitude that I wish that we would take in from this piece

that we offer that up a little bit more. And those who brought us to where we are

You feel that me on that beat, that life