The Red Rose pays homage to Afro-Puerto Rican luminary Jesús Colón —a foundational figure in Puerto Rican/Latiné New York and influential chronicler of the early Pan-Caribbean migrant experience. The production will feature a reimagined design and musical arrangements along with a new cast of performers. The Red Rose centers its narrative on a fateful encounter between Colón and undercover FBI agent Mildred Blauvelt, and their subsequent face-off before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1959. The Red Rose creates a world that goes beyond realistic conventions as movement, gesture, and dialogue develop in tandem–combining literary and popular sources, HUAC transcripts and recordings, Colón’s private letters, along with his published articles and stories, and press coverage of the Blauvelt episode along with a treasure trove of original songs.

The Red Rose was conceived and directed by the Doris Duke Artist Rosalba Rolón with music by Desmar Guevara, additional music by Danny Rivera, and choreography by Yaraní del Valle. The show had its World Premiere at Pregones Theater in The Bronx in 2005. Of the new 2023 staging, Director Rosalba Rolón says: “We have dreamed of re-conceptualizing The Red Rose to fit the historic stage of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater for some time. With this new version, we are proud to welcome new generations of Pregones’ artists and audiences to the world of Jesús Colón’s pioneering activism and writings, at a time when his work and his journey are more relevant than ever before.”