Chain Reaction
"Timing is everything. Chain Reaction was the perfect vehicle to help us reflect on the challenges we face as individuals, as a college, as a university, as a city, and as a nation. It also encouraged all of us to find a niche from which to start a chain reaction to improve the quality of life around us and create a ripple effect throughout the world. Furthermore, I predict that Chain Reaction’s influence will continue to be felt here and elsewhere in ways we’ve yet to envision."
President Félix V. Matos-Rodríguez
Hostos Community College,
City University of New York, 2011.
SYNOPSIS
Antonia Pantoja, the Puerto Rican community leader, speaks about her life and work. Coralys, a CUNY student displaced by Hurricane María, faces academic and personal challenges. Héctor Santillana, an ASPIRANTE from the 1960’s, visits Coralys’ class one day, and her life takes a turn. This play takes the audience on a journey between the past and the present, telling the story of how these three lives become connected through the powerful and everlasting work of one community leader.
production history
Commissioned by Hostos Community College, New York City, 2011
Full production, Hostos Repertory Company, New York City, 2011
Recommissioned by CUNY Chancellor, New York City, 2023
Full Production, Hostos Repertory Company, New York City, 2024