Nelson César Dorremocea Udaeta

Cuban playwright Nelson César Dorremocea Udaeta, or simply Nelson Dorr, turned 84 years old on July 31, 2023, receiving recognition from the public and critics for his more than four decades of theatrical work.

Born in La Habana in 1939, Dorr stands out for his mastery in the creation of musical theater, and from a young age his greatest dream was to direct on stage.

A graduate of the prestigious San Alejandro school, his first experience as a theater director was staging "Las pericas," leading him to the stage where he began his career as an actor in the Teatro Universitario.

At that time Dorr bet on the work "La peste viene de Melos," by Argentine Osvaldo Dragún.

He created a new theater group under the name Conjunto de Los Trece until in 1961 he found his true path in the Conjunto Dramático Nacional, where he worked as assistant to director Néstor Raimondi, also from Argentina.

The director-assistant duo of Dorr and Raimondi in the theater works "La madre" and "Vassa Yelieznova" allowed him to collaborate with many of the greatest talents of that time.

He also developed theatrical activities in different venues where he mounted scenes from "La ramera respetuosa," by the eminent French writer, novelist, playwright, and philosopher Jean Paul Sartre.

He also staged the French farce "La jaula" and several titles by his brother, playwright Nicolás Dorr.

From his debut as director to the present, Nelson has appeared on stage with more than one hundred titles corresponding to a variety of genres and formats, such as monologue, opera, and musical theater.

Also from his beginnings he represented authors from all periods and regions, among them Virgilio Piñera, Abelardo Estorino, and Alberto Pedro Torriente, Cubans, while Brecht, Cesaire, Shakespeare and a long list of universal playwrights are included in his catalog.

To this day he has more than 90 stage productions and is a screenwriter for film, ballet, and dance.

His most remembered productions include "Tosca" (Luigi Illica, Giuseppe Giacosa, and Giacomo Puccini, 1965), "La tragedia del Rey Cristóbal" (Aimé Cesaire, 1966), and "La verdadera historia de Pedro Navaja" (Pablo Cabrera and Rubén Blades, 1992 and 2006).

Other works of his include "El pagador de promesas," "Madame Butterfly," "La fierecilla domada," and "La corte del faraón."

Dorr is known as the father of revolutionary Cuban theater and has shared his knowledge with students from various countries, such as Spain, Italy, Russia, and Libya.

Among his highest recognitions is the 2011 National Theater Award. He also holds the Omar Valdés Distinction from the Association of Performing Artists of UNEAC, of which he was Vice President, and within the association, he served as president of the Musical Theater Section.