Spooky Action’s production of The Man Who is a remarkable theatricalization of reality as experienced by patients with brain damage. The play was inspired by neurologist Oliver Sacks’ book, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and other Clinical Tales, based on 24 case studies of his patients with neurological disorders.
About Rosalind Lacy
Songs of protest: Passion & Struggle / Pasion Y Lucha from In Series (review)
It was as if an electric current connected the cabaret performers who call themselves Diana V. Sáez & Friends. Staged on a platform surrounded by round cafe tables, draped with red table cloths, this In Series cabaret concert at Atlas’s Lab II shines the spotlight on Hispanic songs of the past. Some are rarely heard […]
In The Heights achieves new heights with its Spanish language debut (review)
In The Heights in Spanish is a show to shout about. The Broadway smash by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes, that swept New York’s 2008 theatre awards, including the coveted Tony Award for Best Musical, doesn’t disappoint. Originally written by Miranda in English, this Spanish translation by Amaury Sanchez with English surtitles, makes GALA’s 41st […]
In Series stages an inspired update of Don Pasquale (review)
Gaetano Donizetti miraculously wrote seventy-five operas during his brief lifetime. But what makes Don Pasquale stand out as one of the funniest comic operas (opera buffa) ever written is that it is filled with exquisitely beautiful bel canto arias, patter songs, and melodramatic humor. Its unforgettable characters are a mix of good and evil. Yet, […]
Seneca: The Library Mouse / Ratón De Biblioteca at GALA (review)
Actor Adrián Iglesias, who plays Séneca, the mouse who has lived in a library for the past ten years, ambles on stage, carrying a wicker basket, filled with large books and eating utensils. Iglesias wears large oversized glasses, identifying him as an intellectual. We sense something is weird or a little wonky.
Yo También Hablo de La Rosa/I Too Speak of the Rose at GALA (review)
The set places us in a blighted area outside Mexico City in the 1960s. A cyclorama displays a skyline of city buildings. Railroad tracks emerge from upstage center. Dingy walls splotched with dirt-brown stain enclose the stage area. We are in the part of town where garbage is dumped.
Hispanic theatre thrives at GALA. Best productions of 2016
The following plays are my favorite selections best Hispanic productions of 2016, all seen at GALA Hispanic Theatre, and dominated by GALA productions themselves.
The family friendly Goyesquitas from In Series (review)
Goyescas is a term used to represent the revival and preservation of Spanish nationalism in music, a movement popular in the early 1900’s and the title of the opera now being staged by In Series. Goyesquitas in an interactive family show that helps kids understand this movement, with emphasis on the game-playing, joyous traditions unique to the Spanish […]
Goyescas from The In Series (review)
Hats in the air and “Olé!” for the In Series team that has delivered an inspired staging of an extremely challenging one-act opera, Goyescas. Written in 1915 by Enrique Granados, it that will confront you with its energetic vitality, its celebration of life and at the same time, set you back on your heels with its […]
Volcanoes: Tales from El Salvador, a bilingual musical for children (review)
A trio of howling Cadejos, mythical doglike beings played by actors wearing jingling ankle and wrist bells, romp around GALA’s stage as lively piped-in Salvadoran music comes from overhead speakers. The beings perform cartwheels and somersaults and jump on a bed where Rosita, played by Melissa Strova Valencia, lies sleeping.
Cervantes:El último Quixote / Cervantes:The Last Quixote (review)
Nothing but the bare essentials for this multi-leveled, rich play, as staged by José Luis Arellano Garcia from Madrid, Spain. It’s his signature style, that won recognition with a 2016 Helen Hayes Award for director for Outstanding Direction for Yerma at GALA. The set design by Silvia de Marta is disarming. Three upstage doors reveal […]
Exploring Cervantes. Director José Arellano Garcia talks about The Last Quixote
In spite of severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings, heat advisories to stay inside, and Metro track delays, we met at the front door of the GALA Hispanic Tivoli Theatre. Stage director José Luis Arellano Garcia arrived riding a bicycle. Dubraska Vale, GALA’s public relations associate, appeared on 14th Street NW, walking from the GALA […]