Explore this Show
Overview
Synopsis
Domineering matriarch Bernarda Alba prepares her house for eight years of mourning following the death of her husband. The upcoming isolation raises tensions between her five daughters: Angustias, Magdalena, Amelia, Martirio, and Adela--all unattractive with very few prospects beyond Bernarda’s unforgiving control. But Angustias has an opportunity to break free: Young local bachelor Pepe el Romano agrees to marry her, despite their laughable age difference. Her sisters’ bitterness and jealousy grows as everyone recognizes Pepe is only after Angustias’ inheritance. Youngest sister Adela is even more defiant and volatile after the engagement; she holds a passionate secret that brings on her tragic end.
The House of Bernarda Alba, written in 1936 shortly before Federico García Lorca’s death in the Spanish Civil War, presents a bleak glimpse of rural Spanish life. The wealthy, such as Bernarda Alba, maintain stingy control of everything and everyone around them, while the poor argue over scraps from the table. Often grouped with the plays Blood Wedding and Yerma as a “rural” trilogy, The House of Bernarda Alba examines a world without men that demands conformity, repression, and sacrifice from the women who desperately want hope for their futures.
Show Information
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 1945
- Genres
- Drama, Tragedy
- Settings
- Period, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- Spain, Summer, Village, 1930s
- Cast Size
- medium
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- All-Female Cast, College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Star Vehicle Female, Includes Mature Adult, Elderly, Adult, Young Adult, Late Teen Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
|
|
Ensemble |
Female |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
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Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Cindi Calhoun
Theatre teacher, director, writer, and seamstress