Mortar Theatre Company, in association with the DCA Theater, presents the world premiere of “Corazón de Manzana” by Dana Lynn Formby. The bilingual production, directed by Jason Boat, runs at the DCA Theater’s Storefront Theater, 66 E. Randolph St., in the heart of Chicago’s downtown theater district, from August 21 – September 25, 2011. Members of the press are invited to the opening performance Friday, August 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Mixing realism, fantasy and stylized choreography, “Corazón de Manzana” intertwines the lives of three mother/daughter pairs living in Canada, the United States and Mexico to the tragic femicide occurring in Juárez, Mexico. A desperate cry for help reaches across borders to begin an investigation into a mother’s plea to find her missing daughter. As the discovery into the child’s disappearance unfolds, the connections between suffering and privilege in the three countries come into dramatic and heart-wrenching clarity.

With a population of just 1.5 million, Juárez, Mexico holds one of the highest murder rates in the world. Referred to by some as “the capital of murdered women,” Juárez has experienced an alarming number of sadistic and unsolved murders and sexual assaults against young women since 1993, which has been dubbed as ‘femicide.’