This English-language adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s first play, “El Maleficio de la Mariposa,” is a poetic, mystical exploration of love, nature and transformation.

Some may be familiar with Lorca as bestie, muse, and possible lover to Salvador Dalí. While Dalí denied rumors of the latter after Lorca was assassinated in 1936, their relationship is up for interpretation in Lorca’s poem “Ode to Salvador Dalí” and the painter’s “San Sebastián.”

Jobsite Theater’s production of “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” which opened May 7, combines live music, puppetry, theater magic, visual and aerial arts to delve into themes of frustrated love and virtue.

The show uses puppets, but it is not intended for children. It tackles mature themes of love and death, serving as a symbolic exploration of pain within the context of authoritarian Spain.

Tickets start at $42 for “Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running select evenings and matinees through June 1 at the Straz Center’s Shimberg Playhouse in Tampa.

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A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s ‘The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,’ running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Photo via Stage Photography of Tampa
William Alejandro Barba (Alacráncito), Katrina Stevenson (Butterfly) and Kathryn Huettel (Guard). Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
Jessy Julianna (Doña Escarabajo) and Kathryn Huettel (Silvia). Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
Nicholas Perez-Hoop (Curio), Kathryn Huettel (Silvia), and Jessy Julianna (Doña Escarabajo). Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
The Worms (Jessy Julianna, Kathryn Huettel, and Melía Lorenz) and Butterfly (Katrina Stevenson). Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
A tech rehearsal of of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa
The ensemble of Jobsite Theater’s “The Butterfly’s Evil Spell,” running through June 1, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Stage Photography of Tampa

Selene San Felice is managing editor of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Prior to joining CL in 2025, she started the Axios Tampa Bay newsletter and worked for her hometown paper, The Capital in Annapolis,...