Mummy in the Closet: The Return of Eva Peron

In this impressive GALA-commissioned musical, composer Mariano Vales saturates us with ardent Argentinian soul music which transitions from tango, to salsa and waltz in perfect synchronization

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The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico

The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico is a spoof of a spoof - an edgy satire of two starry-eyed directors who set out to film a satire about Coca-Cola, the Holy Grail of American exports, and document the impact on Mexican culture of the world’s top selling, non-alcoholic soft drink. Read more

Fuente Ovejuna

When Lope de Vega launched Fuente Ovejuna (The Sheep Well) in 1614, he meant his play, based on an actual event, to sound a warning. When does political power go over-the-top and become outrageous?  Lope looked back to a turbulent period in 1476 to find the answer. Read more

The Best Judge, The King

The Best Judge, The King (El Mejor Alcalde, El Rey)
By Lope de Vega
Adapted and Directed by Macarena Baeza (from Chile)
Produced by GALA
Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Fling open windows and doors. Let in fresh air and sunlight. Lope de Vega has been inaugurated in Washington D.C.  The Best Judge, The King (El Mejor Alcalde, El Rey) transports us to the Golden Age of the 17^th century Spanish Theatre, and the GALA Hispanic Theatre rivets it to life  with a magnificent U. S. premiere  performance of a masterpiece rarely staged outside Spain. Read more

The Aging of the Plum

La Edad de la Ciruela, The Aging of the Plum
by playwright Aristides Vargas  
directed by Abel Lopez
produced by  GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square
reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

GALA director Abel Lopez and his inspired performers make The Aging of the Plum/La Edad de la Ciruela so mesmerizing and real, it moves beyond magic into the sublime. Enacted to the max in the exaggerated style of magical realism, the actors cut to the heart of it and deliver Aristides Vargas’ poetic imagery, as if playing a beautiful violin sonata. Read more

Agustin Lara

• Agustín Lara: Boleros & Blues      
• Book by Gabriel Garcia; musically adapted by Mari Paz         
• Conceived and directed by Abel Lopez                                     
• Produced by the GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy   

Who was Agustín Lara, known as Mexico’s musical poet? Worshipped by swooning fans as “Our Golden Skinny Man,” Lara wrote gorgeous, romantic ballads, or boleros, and lived the life of his lyrics-as a woman’s dream of a Latin lover. Read more

Blood Wedding

• Blood Wedding
• Written by Federico Garcia Lorca
• Directed by Hugo Medrano
• Choreographed by Danilo Rivera and Genoveva Guinn
• Produced by GALA Teatro Hispano
• Reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

Blood Wedding. The title tells the story.  No surprises, everything is literal, predictable, and straight forward, right?  Wrong.  Sure the basic storyline is clearly stated in the title and known in literature worldwide.  But, Federico Garcia Lorca’s poetry is an aural feast that must be experienced for the full effect.  GALA’s production of Blood Wedding is a mystical blend of Lorca’s beautiful imagery, authentic Andalusian music, undulating rhythms, even a dazzling taste of flamenco to assure the sizzle factor is caliente.  This show is hot. Read more

Your Molotov Kisses

• Your Molotov Kisses (Tu Ternura Molotov)
• by Gustavo Ott
• Directed by Abel Lopez
• Produced by GALA Theatre at Tivoli Square
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy        

Venezuelan playwright Gustavo Ott-highly regarded in the Latino community as a fresh, new voice-injects us with a truth serum that can make us squirm. In his latest comedy, Ott makes a passionate plea to balance extremes. His characters show us that since the advent of international Islamic terrorist attacks, whether it’s crazy or not, we all seem to be living with terror on our minds. Women can be more than sexy bombshells; they can be the bombs themselves.  So let’s detonate all wrong-headed cultural biases. Let’s make love, not war. Read more

Cita a Ciegas

• Cita a Ciegas (Blind Date)
• by Mario Diament
• Directed by Jose Carrasquillo
• Produced by GALA
• Reviewed by Rosalind Lacy

Cita a Ciegas is a terrifyingly beautiful, imagistic play in which a blind man interviews isolated strangers on a park bench, and finds interconnections between them and his own life. If Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot is about waiting; then Diament’s play is about our deep need to achieve immortality by being heard as we face the meaninglessness of existence. Read more

Latido Negro

Latido Negro, Peru’s African Beat

directed by Rafael Santa Cruz

written by Fernando Barreto Arce

choreographed by Lalo Izquierdo,

review by Rosalind Lacy

Break down the barriers. Let fusion reign. In GALA’s world premiere of a new musical Latido Negro: Peru’s African Beat, intoxicating rhythms of African drums blend with echoes of sweet-and-sad Andean or Spanish flamenco-like melodies. Forget the story.  It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s a frame for the poems, and songs, music and dancing passed down from the Afro-Peruvian soul. Read more

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