Thalia Spanish Theatre at 41-17 Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside is staging PONCIA, a one-act retelling of Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba from the point of view of the family's maid. The run opened on October 16 and continues through Sunday, November 8, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m.

The production is in Spanish with English supertitles, so it is open to audiences who do not speak Spanish.

The play

In Lorca's original, Bernarda Alba imposes years of mourning on her five daughters after her second husband dies, and the house becomes a closed world. Poncia is the servant who has worked for Bernarda for decades and sees everything that happens inside it. Spanish playwright Luis Luque's PONCIA hands the story to her. Thalia describes the piece as Poncia telling the family's history from her side of the kitchen, with themes of freedom, guilt, social class, education and sexuality.

Angel Gil Orrios, Thalia's artistic and executive director, produces, designs and directs the staging. The theatre is presenting it to mark the 90th anniversary of Lorca's death; the poet and playwright was born in 1898 and killed in 1936, early in the Spanish Civil War.

Thalia lists Centro Cultural Cubano de Nueva York, the Consulate General of Spain in New York and the Emma A. Sheafer Charitable Trust among the production's supporters.

Tickets and times

Tickets are $40, and $35 for students and seniors. Thalia offers a group rate for parties of ten or more. Tickets are non-refundable, according to the theatre's listing.

  • Fridays and Saturdays: 7 p.m.
  • Sundays: 4 p.m.
  • Final performance: Sunday, November 8, 2026

About Thalia

Actress and director Silvia Brito founded Thalia in Sunnyside in 1977. The company began with zarzuela, the Spanish musical theatre form, and started producing its own zarzuelas in 1985. In 1994 it broadened its programming to represent the theatre and music of all of Latin America and Spain. Gil Orrios succeeded Brito in 2000.

Thalia describes itself as the only bilingual Hispanic theatre in Queens. By its own count it has staged more than 255 productions over 48 years and received 252 awards. Its seasons mix Spanish-language drama, tango and folk music productions, and family shows, almost all on the same small stage on Greenpoint Avenue.

Getting there

The theatre sits between 41st and 42nd Streets, two blocks south of Queens Boulevard. Thalia's directions: take the 7 train to 40 St-Lowery, walk one block east on Queens Boulevard to 41st Street, then two blocks south to Greenpoint Avenue. The Q32 and Q60 buses stop at 41st Street and Queens Boulevard.

Tickets are sold through the theatre's website, which also lists the full schedule for the run.

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