Florencia Iriondo is an Argentinian-American playwright, composer, actor, singer, and showrunner. She is best known for her Off-Broadway musical, South, which won the 2023 Pipeline Arts Foundation Award for New Musical Theatre.[1] Iriondo wrote the book, music, and lyrics, and she also stars in the one-woman show.[1]

Iriondo was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[2] She currently lives and works in the East Village of New York City,[3] where she has resided since 2013.[2] She has also lived in New Zealand and Ireland.[2]

Career

Iriondo worked at LinkedIn for many years, where she was the company's first showrunner and founder of original video.[2] While working at LinkedIn, she would write and perform music and theater in her spare time.[3] She began her first show, South, in 2014 when she wrote the opening song, "Vengo del Sur," at a teal upright piano in her East Village apartment.[4][5] She left LinkedIn in 2022 to pursue musical theater and her show, South, full time.[2][3]

As a writer and performer, Iriondo was a Town Stage 2020 Sokoloff Arts Creative Fellow[6] and a recipient of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 2022-23 Writers Residency Grants.[7]

Her first show, Back Home, was originally written for three women.[8] This show would ultimately become South, a one-woman show featuring Iriondo.[8][2]

South, the musical

Iriondo's show, South, opened Off-Broadway at Soho Playhouse in October 2023.[1] Iriondo wrote the book, lyrics, and music, and she is the only actor in the one-act, one-woman show.[9][1] The acoustic score was written and arranged along with fellow musicians, Federico Díaz and Luis D'Elias,[5] with a mixture of Argentinian and North American pop influences.[10][2]

Though Iriondo performs the one-woman show alone, she is accompanied on stage by two musicians, guitarist Federico Díaz and Latin Grammy Award winner Agustin Uriburu, playing the cello and guitar.[4]

South was developed in residency at the New York Stage and Theater in the summer of 2021 and at The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.[1][11] and it was the winner of the Pipeline Arts Foundation Award for New Musical Theatre in 2023.[9]

The show is inspired by Iriondo's experiences as a Latina immigrant in New York City, and it explores themes of family and belonging.[2] It tells the fictional story of Chica, who fled her home in the southernmost tip of Argentina to live in New York City.[9] The musical follows Chica's journey of self-discovery and identity as she navigates a new language, a new culture, and a big new city.[9]

The cast album was recorded in Argentina.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Masseron, Meg (October 4, 2023). "Florencia Iriondo's South Opens at SoHo Playhouse October 4".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Florencia Iriondo's New Musical SOUTH to be Performed at Nuyorican Poets Cafe in March". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  3. 1 2 3 "Florencia Iriondo Followed Her Dream To Bring Off-Broadway Musical "South" To Life". NBC New York. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  4. 1 2 Harms, Talaura (September 20, 2023). "Exclusive: Get a 1st Listen to Florencia Iriondo's Argentinian Pop-Infused Musical South".
  5. 1 2 3 Rabinowitz, Chloe. "Listen: Florencia Iriondo Releases New Album for SOUTH – Currently Running at SoHo Playhouse". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  6. ↑ Clement, Olivia (March 24, 2020). "Town Stages Welcomes 2020 Cohort of Fellows and Residents".
  7. ↑ Editors, American Theatre (2023-02-01). "NAMT Announces Writers Residency Grants". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2023-10-22. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. 1 2 Meyer, Dan (October 25, 2019). "Free Reading Set for Florencia Iriondo's Back Home".
  9. 1 2 3 4 Martinez, Kiko (2023-10-20). "Argentinian Playwright Florencia Iriondo Takes Center Stage in Off-Broadway Musical 'South'". Remezcla. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  10. ↑ "Review: South Is a Solo Musical That Travels From Tierra del Fuego to NYC - TheaterMania.com". 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  11. ↑ Green, Jesse (2021-08-03). "Where Do Theater Artists Go to Ask Questions? Poughkeepsie". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
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