The playbill for Andar sin Pensamiento says the play starts with a tango. At the start, the music played to an empty stage is indeed a tango. You get the sense that director Mario Marcel is trying to bring about an air of seduction. The sense of seduction never quite hits the mark, and we’re […]
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.
Mary Magdalene, The Woman Erased, part of Teatro’s Magical Equador Festival
Controversy swirls around the biblical woman Mary Magdalene. Was she the wife of Jesus? Or was she merely a repentant prostitute, showing us how a sinner can be redeemed by following Jesus? Or was she both sinner and saint?
Pasos al Azar/Random Steps
Pasos Azar/Random Steps takes us beyond the expected boundaries of limitations and expels stereotypes. The Gunston II stage is stripped naked to its cement walls with only strip spot-lights glaring down on scattered costumes among suitcases. The stark, barren stage hits us like a splash of cold water and becomes a metaphor for the nothingness […]
Loca La Juana/That Crazy Joan
Women who make trouble make history. Once there was a female pope who turned the Vatican upside down, or so the legend goes, only one of the women Ecuadoran actress Joan Estrella came to celebrate in her sensational, stand-up comedy show.
Gracias por Todo/Thanks For Everything
At the lowest abyss of this emotional roller-coaster ride, there is a terrifying life-changing revelation. Yet the staging of this beautiful one-act monologue, written for Uruguayan actress, Nidia Telles, by playwright Julio César Castro, starts out innocently in a safety zone.
Tango Turco (Turkish Tango)
There’s an old adage, “What goes around comes around,” that’s apt for Argentine playwright Rafael Bruza’s play. But you have to give yourself up and really believe in what you are seeing enacted before you.
Women of 60 (Mujeres de 60)
In 2007, I nicknamed Argentine Liliana Pécora the Sarah Bernhardt of comic actresses for her acting in Women of 50 in Teatro de la Luna’s 10th International Hispanic Theater Festival. Pécora has come back for the 16th International Hispanic Theater Festival. And I’m happy to report that Pécora in Women of 60 has gotten even […]
Hispanic theatre’s most outstanding productions and performances, 2012-2013 season
What crosses my mind when I think back over the 2012-2013 Hispanic theatre season? Never lose sight of the impossible dream. Never, under the direst of circumstances, give up. Stay faithful to your mission. Keep reaching for perfection.
Gentlemen’s Club (Love Torn)
On a dimly lit stage, a sensually twisted, abstract sculpture is anchored to a pedestal and spotlighted in red. From overhead speakers comes a voice: “Can you hear me?” The question sounds out-of-place and odd, and remains unanswered until repeated, like a refrain, at the end of this theatre-of-the-grotesque satire, that, at various high points, […]
Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas / Sex, Shame and Tears
The dysfunctional sex lives of six urban dwellers living in Mexico City in the 90’s makes great fodder for comedy in Sexo, Pudor y Làgrimas, the newest production from Teatro de la Luna.
First Time Mother (Madre Primeriza)
As we are ushered into the black box theatre, we hear the gurgling sounds of a baby and a mother cooing. We catch snatches of a playful, original music composition by Juan Vaccaneo. We are about to celebrate a time of great exhilaration and joy.
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