J. Antonio Rodriguez stars as Orpheus in the national tour of the Broadway mega-hit musical Hadestown, where he plays the hopeful lover who descends deep into the Underworld in an impassioned search of his muse, Eurydice. The parallels between Rodriguez’s character’s harrowing journey and his real-life status as a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) DREAMer are both inspiring and sobering. I caught the young man between rehearsals for his upcoming run from October 3 through 15 at the Music Center’s Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles. He expressed his thoughts on the immigrant experience, asking for what you deserve and the artistic benefits of knowing who you are.

CRIS FRANCO (CF): Antonio, congratulations on landing the lead in Hadestown.

J. ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ (JAR): Thank you very much, Cris.

CF: Whereabouts in Mexico were you born? Tell us about your family.

JAR: I was born in Coahuila, Mexico, in a little town called Francisco y Madero. My dad, mom, and I immigrated to the U.S. when I was two years old. Soon after, my mom had my two younger sisters, and we settled in Ardmore, Oklahoma. And that’s where I lived for a very long time.

CF: How has your family reacted to you being an actor?

JAR: My mom was always very supportive. But my dad really wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer for financial stability. He didn’t understand a man seeking a career in musical theater. It took him a little while to come around, but as I got older and went to college and started booking professional jobs, he understood that I could make a good living. And now, he’s my biggest supporter. He goes to every show I do. He may fall asleep at the performance – but he’s there!

CF: What did your dad do for a living?

JAR: He was a factory worker for a long time until he was laid off during the financial crisis of 2008. And then, he started his own landscaping business. He’d do all the yards in our town.

CF: Well, someone’s got to keep the place looking beautiful, right?

JAR: Exactly.

CF: Is your family musical?

JAR: My dad would never acknowledge it, but sometimes when I overhear him singing, I think to myself – that’s where I get it from. My dad’s story is very inspiring. He was making bricks at the age of seven in Mexico. He didn’t have much schooling, so he has lots of hidden talents that I believe he doesn’t even know he has. If I tell him he’s got a good singing voice, he says, no-no-no.

CF: Your role in Hadestown requires strong acting and exquisite singing. When did you realize you could sing?

JAR: In first grade, we had a little choir class with our elementary school music teacher. One day she heard me singing – I don’t recall what I was singing – but after class, she asked me if I wanted to play Tiny Tim in a community theater production of A Christmas Carol. I said, sure – even though I didn’t know what a “Tiny Tim” was.

CF: What other roles have you played?

JAR: Professionally, I’ve played Brad in The Rocky Horror Show at Oklahoma’s Lyric Theater and lots of roles regionally. In 2019, I was in Footloose at the Muni Theater in St. Louis, Missouri.

CF: Footloose? So you dance as well. How did you get started dancing?

JAR: Well, at first, I didn’t dance. I would be goofing off – but I had fun moving. I started taking dance seriously in college. But being Latino, I like to dance, and I’ve been told I have a kind of swagger that’s my own style.

CF: Let’s talk about you being a DREAMer. When did you find out about your status?

JAR: I learned when I was around 11 or 12. I say learned because before then, I knew – but I really didn’t understand what it meant.

CF: Is there a path to you getting a legal status?

JAR: No. Not right now. I’m fortunate to be on DACA. But, presently, there’s no pathway to citizenship for me. So, I just have to keep renewing every two years to keep getting granted the status. I’ve got all my immigration lawyers, and I just do whatever they tell me. I’m hopeful.

CF: I’m glad you’re hopeful. What do you think of the immigrant crisis now facing the U.S. and Europe?

JAR: You know, it’s very hard for me to comment because even in my situation, I still feel privileged because I get DACA. The immigrant crisis ignites something within me that is just so powerful. It makes me angry because I truly cannot understand how some people think the way they do. I guess they’re unable to imagine how they would feel if the tables were turned.

CF: The irony is that the U.S. is 2.5 million workers short. Politics is squandering the valuable resource immigrants can offer. But I’ll get off my soapbox and get back to your job. In Hadestown, Orpheus descends into the underworld and searches for Eurydice – his soulmate. Do you see any parallels between Orpheus’s journey and your real-life journey?

JAR: One thousand percent. In the show, there’s a song titled “Papers” – it’s about not having documentation. Hades confronts Orpheus saying, “You’re not from around here, are you, son? Go back to where you came from”, and then Hades’ laborers beat him up. My whole life has been a lot of that. Leading me to ask myself, “What can I do? What can’t I do? What if the big man tells me I have to stop? That I can’t go to college? Or get healthcare?” Orpheus has so many obstacles placed in front of him, yet he continues to move forward. When I was younger, I was a lot like Orpheus. Even when I found out that I was undocumented, I thought positively – telling myself that the world is great and good can come from bad. But as I’ve gotten older, I’m 26 now, and I see the world more from Persephone’s more realistic, cynical perspective. Still, I strive to be considerate of all minorities, immigrants, and our LGBTQ+ community. Thank goodness that I get to perform Orpheus every night. It reminds me to be hopeful. To believe things will get better.

CF: That’s a beautiful answer. Do you think being Latinx has impacted your artistic journey?

JAR: Yes. One-hundred percent. In both positive and negative ways. Sometimes people want to hire us Latinos for the ensemble, secondary roles. Not leading roles. Especially actors with more indigenous features like I’ve got. They want us – but they want to keep us in a box. And I hate that because I’d like to add some of me, Antonio, into a principal character in a play. I think it would make the story better. To see a role portrayed from a slightly different perspective. I’d love to play Judas or Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. Mostly Jesus.

CF: Wow. Can you sing rock opera like that?

JAR: Yes, I can. That’s the mariachi in me. That’s the influence of my dad’s music coming in. And I’d like to do new roles. Non-Latino roles. I’d like to originate parts in new plays and musicals. Shows about the Latinx experience or just about life with characters who just happen to be hispanos. So we can be normalized and seen as what we are – just regular people.

CF: Good term, normalized; yes, that’s our next step. So we aren’t always the other culture. What advice do you have for young actors looking to work in musical theater?

JAR: Find yourself, find your own voice. Find out who you truly are. I really found out who I was when I went to college for musical theater. I’d advise young actors to get as much training as they can. But realize that performing arts schools are factories that can only do so much. They’re churning out alumni with a certain set of standard skills. It’s up to you to bring your unique persona into that audition. When people ask me for audition advice. I tell them to find out what they do the best and do that. I didn’t use my guitar in any auditions until I graduated and signed with my agency which advised me to show the casting agents who I am. Antonio isn’t going to sing “On the Street Where You Live” because I’m never going to book that part. But Antonio can sing my own version of “Remember Me” from Coco and throw in some Spanish while playing my guitar. By me presenting my authentic self, I’ll stand out more than all the other actor-robots.

CF: Hadestown is about so many aspects of our humanity. How would you describe it?

JAR: It’s a modern retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Euridice. It incorporates lots of contemporary themes, including today’s political climate. And universal themes of the established love between Hades and Persephone versus the young love of Orpheus and Eurydice. The score is New Orleans and Folk. I think audiences connect because Greek myths are classic stories that still speak to us to this day. The music is cool – unlike any other Broadway show. It’s just a really, really great night of theater.

CF: What do you hope the audience will take away from your performance?

JAR: I’d like them to take away a little piece of Orpheus’s attitude. That no matter what happens, no matter how hard life gets, get up and keep trying. Because eventually, things will turn out. They might not turn out exactly as you thought they would, but just your trying makes the world a better place.

CF: Speaking of making things better, what do you think of the current labor movement — the strikes by the WGA, SAG-AFTRA, hotel workers, and the UAW?

JAR: Actors Equity stands with all the strikers. You have to honor people’s efforts by paying them a living wage. Those of us living in America work so hard. I watched my dad mow lawns for 18 hours a day just so we could live. We didn’t take out any student loans. And like so many people, we’re only asking for what we know we deserve.

To see the new generation of Latinx stage stars, catch J. Antonio Rodriguez in the exquisite Hadestown, playing at the Music Center’s Ahmanson Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, Oct. 3-15. For more information about the show, CLICK HERE.

The post J. Antonio Rodriguez: From DACA Student to Starring as Orpheus in Broadway Hit ‘Hadestown’ first appeared on .

Efrain Schunior, Festival Director and APCH Theater Program Manager stated, “We are beyond excited to present our 3rd annual Latinx Theater Festival as a kick-off to Latinx Heritage Month. Due to pandemic closures and considerations during the previous two festivals, we were unable to realize our original vision for the scope of the festival. This year, we are adding a block party element on Saturday, and presenting a full slate of seven wonderful Latinx theater pieces throughout the course of four days. Four of the plays featured are critically acclaimed encore presentations previously performed in Los Angeles this past season, and one production is an exclusive APCH premiere. We invite the entire community to join us for the shows as well as the free community block party on Saturday, September 16th from 10 am to 5 pm.”

El Centro Del Sur Latinx Theater Festival includes four Encore productions: La Egoista, presented by Skylight Theatre Company; (Un)Documents, written and performed by Jesús I. Valles; L.A. Real, presented by About…Productions; The Diary of Anne Frank (LatinX), presented by Pop-Up Playhouse, Burbank Human Relations Commission, Tracey Rooney, Wilson Cruz. Programming will also include an exclusive APCH premiere production of Mariposa presented by Company of Angels; a workshop staging of Bodalands: A Comedy in Four Weddings, presented by ACT@APCH; and a staged reading of Spread presented by The Sideway Society with Alumni Members of A Place Called Home.

“We are honored to bring together such a powerhouse and dynamic group of Latiné creators from Los Angeles and beyond, established partners and new friends, to celebrate our shared heritage in a big way through the arts. South Central has been relatively unknown by the greater LA arts community and we are shifting that narrative with this year’s El Centro del Sur,” said Schunior.

El Centro De Sur Latinx Theater Festival: Tu Hogar schedule is as follows: Thu. Sept. 14 @ 8 pm, Mariposa; Fri. Sept. 15 @ 8 pm, La Egosita; Sat. Sept. 16 @ 3 pm, Bodalands, A Comedy in Four Weddings; Sat. Sept. 16 @ 8 pm, (Un)Documents; Sun. Sept. 17 @ 12 pm, Spread; Sun. Sept. 17 @ 3 pm, L.A. Real; Sun. Sept. 17 @ 7 pm, The Diary of Anne Frank (LatinX).

The free Community Block Party takes place on Sat. Sept. 16 from 10 am to 5 pm in conjunction with the festival. Come enjoy art vendors, food trucks, performances by A Place Called Home’s dance company and others yet to be announced.

All plays presented are family-friendly (PG / TV-14) and feature all Latinx casts, writers, directors, designers, and crew. The festival is produced in part by the teen members of APCH Theater Program’s Advanced Classes in Theater.

Tickets for all plays are only $10 each. A 7-play festival pass is available for $50. There’s also a $100 VIP Festival Pass which includes 7 concessions items and VIP seating to all performances.

For more information and tickets, visit: www.apch.org/elcentrodelsur

The post A Placed Called Home Announces 3rd Annual El Centro Del Sur Latinx Theater Festival and Free Community Block Party first appeared on .

Author, John J. Caswell, Jr. has channeled his Arizona childhood into a new play about a snarky Mexican-American family wrestling with an alcoholic patriarch who may or may not be repeatedly abducted by aliens. Titled Wet Brain, New York’s Playwrights Horizons and MCC (Manhattan Class Company) Theater are co-presenting the world premiere described as being, “not only freed from realism but also, perhaps unmoored from Earth itself. With humor and horror, the play delivers a transfixing tale of a family mining the depths of loss, traveling lightyears to find a language for closure.”

Caswell, Jr. began this semi-autobiographical journey depicting events grounded in reality—at first, in a style and vision uncharacteristic of his offbeat authorial tastes and tendencies—until the playwright’s own reality presented him with a reason to explore perspectives beyond what we think we know and see. Caswell, Jr., whose recent Off-Broadway debut Man Cave was “a political drama wrapped in the spooky pleasures of the horror genre [that] works on both levels” (The New York Times), merged the work’s depiction of a family’s deep, wounded unknowns with those that hover just above all humanity. The story exists where science fiction intersects with my dysfunctional familiar.

Wet Brain’s cast includes a cadre of fresh hispano talent, including Frankie J. Alvarez (Looking, to the yellow house) as Ron, Ceci Fernández (Men on Boats, Tiny Beautiful Things) as Angelina, Florencia Lozano (Playwrights: Placebo; Rinse, Repeat) as Mona, Julio Monge (Oedipus El Rey, On Your Feet!) as Joe, and Arturo Luis Soria (Ni Mi Madre, The Inheritance) as Ricky. Along with the Latinx writer and performers, Wet Brain’s creative team includes costume designer Haydee Zelideth Antuñano. Haydee is a Chicana artist who relishes sharing stories through what people wear. She grew up on both sides of the border and these experiences inform her point of view and how she approaches her work as a storyteller, giving depth, dimension, and color to the specificities of someone’s life. And Wet Brain does get into some specifics of the author’s life – with an eerie spin.

With a background in devised theater, Caswell, Jr. pursued a process with the play’s director, Dustin Wills, that emphasizes collaboration with the design team to create a cohesive, and insinuating, vocabulary of dread. Members of the creative team worked together in a room for a week, dissecting and discussing the play and future production, before going off and doing their individual design work. “We had a really open dialogue where script and technical elements were informing one another,” says Caswell, Jr. “We all got on the same page and into the same play together, and having that time was amazing. We realized we wanted to pull away from any campier genre elements and into a realism interjected by moments of fantastical departure and to play with the notion that what goes unseen is often scariest.”

Caswell, Jr. adds of working with Wills: “Dustin is cut from the same devised theater cloth, of making whole worlds from the ground up. When he approaches a script, he’s not just going to service your play and give you what’s on the page, he’s going to interpret and translate that play from page into life, and that requires vision. That’s the kind of director I always want to work with.”

Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director Adam Greenfield says, “Wet Brain, with its haunting, haunted characters and unnerving humor, became seared into my brain from my very first encounter with the script. John J. Caswell, Jr. writes with a very sharp pencil, meticulously crafting an American family play, in the tradition of contemporary drama, only to then explode it open. Wet Brain pushes against the boundaries that constrain our domestic lives, challenging the form of theater itself to reach farther, and contain more. In this new play, Caswell has created an indelible family portrait and grants us frightening, intimate access to it. It’s a play that demands attention, and I’m honored to produce it along with MCC (Manhattan Class Company).”

MCC Theater Artistic Director Will Cantler says, “I couldn’t agree more with Adam’s thoughts. We love plays that surprise us with the truth of the unexpected. In Wet Brain, John brings his gift for illuminating the fantastical inside the mundane to this very human, very knowable family.”

In this exciting time, when Latinx stories are finally being shown on the small and large screen, it’s great to know that the stage is also giving voice to our new authors like John J. Caswell, Jr. whose work has garnered him great recognition including the L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award for Wet Brain, the 2020 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award from the Vineyard Theater, the 2020 Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, a 2018 MacDowell Fellowship, a 2018 SPACE on Ryder Farm Creative Residency, Play Group member at Ars Nova, and the 2017 Page 73 Playwriting Fellowship. John attended the Juilliard School, Hunter College, and Arizona State University.

Wet Brain runs until June 25 at Playwrights Horizons’ Mainstage Theater in New York City. For all show info, visit https://mcctheater.org.

The post Playwrights Horizons & MCC Theater Debuts New Latinx Comedy About Wrestlers, Alcoholics & Aliens first appeared on .

The 75^th Annual Tony Awards will air on June 12 from Radio City Music Hall. The 2022 broadcast will be hosted by Latina superstar, Ariana Debose. The winner of this year’s Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as a BAFTA, Critics Choice, and SAG Awards for her show-stopping performance as Anita in West Side Story.  DeBose herself was nominated for a Tony Award in 2018 for her performance as Donna Summer in Summer The Donna Summer Musical.

Debose’s dynamic presence as host will surely add some Latino magic to the awards show that also includes four Latino Tony Award nominees for a Tony Award from all the numerous and varied categories for the highest honor for work on a professional stage. They include

LILIANA BLAIN-CRUZ

Blain-Cruz has garnered a nomination for Best Director for the play The Skin of Our Teeth.  The play is a 1942 Pulitzer Prize winner by Thornton Wilder. The Skin of Our Teeth is an epic comedy-drama, a three-part allegory about the life of mankind, centering on the Antrobas family of the fictional town of Excelsior, New Jersey. Blain-Cruz is a  recipient of a Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award and an Obie Award for Mary Seacole.

RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUDSON

Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in Lackawanna Blues is the actor and playwright of Puerto Rican descent, Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Lackawanna Blues is the true story of Santiago Jr. growing up in Lackawanna, New York. The story celebrates all those strong women who raised him in this solo play. He has previously won a Tony Award for his performance in Seven Guitars.

EMILIO SOSA

Emilio Sosa is a Dominican costume designer and Chair of the American Theatre Wing Board of Trustees in New York City. Sosa has earned a nomination this year in the category of Best Costume Design in a Play for his work on Trouble in Mind, the play that focuses on sexism and racism within the American theater industry. Sosa was a contestant on season seven of Project Runway and became the first color designer for the Radio City Music Hall Spring Spectacular

ARNULFO MALDONADO

The New York city-based designer, Arnulfo Maldonado,  is nominated for Best scenic design in a Musical. The musical, A Strange Loop is Michael R. Jackson‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning, a blisteringly funny masterwork that exposes the heart and soul of a young artist grappling with desires, identity, and instincts he both loves and loathes. 

Maldonado has worked on dozens of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. He is the winner of a Tony, Obie, and several Henry Hewes Design Awards. The 75th Tony Awards Show will be broadcast on June 12 (8:00 – 11:00 PM, Live ET/5:00 – 8:00 PM, Live PT), from Radio City Music Hall on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

The post Ariana Debose And The Tony Awards June 12 first appeared on .

Aliens… is a creative response to the continuous attacks on Latino immigrants, which demonize them as scapegoats for the economic failures of this country. This piece troubles the collective amnesia which has lead to these attacks, and demands that the nation as a whole take a hard look in the mirror. In light of the current Central American child refugee crisis, this timely performance is a call to action on Immigration Reform in the U.S. Through an innovative sci-fi Latino-noir aesthetic, Aliens… satirizes the status of immigrants as “extraterrestrials”, and exposes the hypocrisy of a system that dehumanizes the same immigrants whose labor it readily exploits.

“Torres-Tama treads that dangerously vague turf of performance art gracefully …He takes Latino life on a magical mystery tour with dexterity and daring. “

– The Village Voice  (New York)

BUY TICKETS

MORE INFO

The post Aliens, Immigrants and Other Evil Doers first appeared on .

Get your tickets and go to South Coast Repertory Theatre in Orange County California to see American Mariachi. It’s a heartfelt, uplifting and enjoyable evening of original musical theatre. 

In American Mariachi, Lucha, a young woman hopes to restore her ailing mother’s failing memory with music. She hits on the idea of putting together a then unheard of concept of an all girl Mariachi group with the reluctant help of her cousin Hortensia. Overcoming many obstacles, not the least of which is, neither of them have any formal musical training, the women proceed on their chosen mission. Among the various recruited mariachi group members, a bond of friendship and female empowerment takes place. They confront tradition, family secrets, prejudice and gender bias in their journey to form a mariachi band. 

The English language play transcends ethnicity and is really about the traditional values of an American family in changing times. Along the way, you laugh and cry to the accompaniment of numerous classic mariachi tunes and new original compositions. The cast of familiar characters come to life with this wonderful female dominated ensemble cast powered by Diana Burbano, who largely with voice and body movement and virtually no dialogue, elicits empathy as the ailing mother Amalia.  Gabriela Carrillo is the faithful daughter Lucha who rediscovers her dreams, Satya Jnani Chavez is tough talking cousin Hortensia, Alicia Coca possesses an incredible singing voice and portrays Isabel, who finds herself independence, Marlene Montes portrays the earthy, hairdresser Soyla and Luzma Ortiz is a Rock and Roll holy roller. Mauricio Mendoza is a standout as the stern but loving mariachi father Federico who harbors a family secret.

Sol Castillo emanates a quiet strength and delivers an understated performance as the thoughtful compadre Mino who at first rejects the idea of an all girl band and then comes to their aid by mentoring them. Castillo also has a comic turn in a tiny bit as a priest who admonishes the cousins for trying to recruit one of his church choir. Andrew Joseph Perez assumes multiple characterizations. 

The wonderful music score offers a sampling of many of the best-known traditional mariachi tunes that will have you humming as you leave the theatre. The set design by Efren Delgadillo jr. evokes a Southwest style red tile roof house and living room that also encompasses a beauty salon and suggests other locales.

The playwright José Cruz González has guided the show’s development in various productions in regional theatres over several years. Direction is by Christopher Acebo.  Effective lighting design is by Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz and Cynthia Reifler Flores is the music director.The musical drama could not have been done without the live on stage musical contributions of the actual background performing mariachi include Esteban Montoya Dagnino, Sayra Michelle Haro, Antonio A. Pro. Ali Pizarro and Adam Ramirez.   

According to the program notes, although women have been performing mariachi since its origination, the field is historically and traditionally been male dominated. It wasn’t until the women’s liberation and Chicano civil rights movements in the late 1960s’ that women’s participation in mariachi became more widespread, especially in the United States.

American Mariachi is a family friendly show that is sure to please and the somewhat simplistic musical drama is a throwback to the classic Broadway musicals and has an easy to follow storyline that is easily understood, so language is not a barrier to the non-English speaking audience or any audience for that matter. 

Bring your entire family, abuela’s and cousins to this most enjoyable show with positive Latino leading characters. A perfect way to celebrate Hispanic heritage month.

American Mariachi is now playing through October 5, 2019. For more information and ticket reservations call South Coast Repertory at (714) 708-5555. South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA.

The post “American Mariachi” Is a Fun and Family Friendly Musical Drama first appeared on .

The stellar cast of 12 performers is made up of different ethnicities including Mexican, Salvadoran, Colombian and Guatemalan. Cast members have a range of talents under their belt from classical dance to martial arts, singing and acting.

The musical score by French composer Laurent Eyquem tells Gabo’s story in a sublime, emotional and rhythmic way. Eyquem is the recipient of the much-coveted 2018 Public Choice Award from the World Soundtrack Awards. 

Bewitched Writing opens on Friday, September 13, 2019 at 8pm at The Willie Agee Playhouse and will run through Saturday, September 21st. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at http://bewitcheddance.brownpapertickets.com 

The post 3-19 Dance Art Honors Life Of Gabriel García Márquez In Latest Production first appeared on .

July 19 through August 11, 2019
TICKETS

Casa 0101
2102 East 1st Street 
Los Angeles, CA 90033

A mere 30 years ago, the iconic Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali left us. Or did he?

The play, To Be Dali begins as Dali takes his last breath and is then transported through space to the afterlife where he is met by two angels who are there to determine his fate. Will he rise to enlightenment, or be sent back to Earth as a lower life form?

The play will be presented at CASA 0101 Theater in Los Angeles, running from July 19th to August 11th.

Award-winning actor Salvador Benavides directs and plays his namesake in the role of Dali. Benavides, who bears a striking resemblance in appearance to the painter, co-wrote the play with Eric Yost.

To be Dali celebrates the genius, madness, joys, and sorrows of the wild and beautiful artist that was Salvador Dali and reminds us of our shared humanity.” –Salvador Benavides

The production explores Dali’s complicated relationships with his family, his wife Gala, the art world, and himself. The show uses original music, dance, movement, puppetry, and song as it takes the audience on flashbacks to Dali’s childhood, memories of fame and fortune, moments of loss and mourning, and a wild dream with images of Dali’s own artwork brought to life.

Benavides is repped by Ayers Talent Agency. His TV credits include Criminal Minds, Undercovers and Film credits The Holy Man, Delusions of Grandeur, Dandelion Dharma, among others.

The post “To Be Dali” Play Captures Surrealist Salvador Dali’s Afterlife Journey first appeared on .

Inspired by the near-total absence of Latinos from his son’s American history books, John Leguizamo embarks on an outrageously funny, frenzied search to find a Latin hero for his son’s school project. From a mad recap of the Aztec empire to stories of unknown Latin patriots of the Revolutionary War and beyond, Leguizamo breaks down the 3,000 years between the Mayans and Pitbull into 110 irreverent and uncensored minutes above and beyond his unique style.

“With ‘Latin History for Morons,’ Leguizamo isn’t merely teaching us what we’ve never been taught. He’s giving us a space to cheer and cry, to laugh and listen,” David Canfield of Entertainment Weekly

Leguizamo began his work on Latin History for Morons with celebrated, sold-out development engagements at The Public Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre followed by a Tony-nominated run at Broadway’s Studio 54. Directed by Tony Taccone (Wishful Drinking, Bridge & Tunnel), Latin History for Morons is written and performed by Leguizamo, featuring scenic design by Rachel Hauck, lighting design by Alexander V. Nichols, and original music and sound design by Bray Poor. 

Latin History for Morons a “surprisingly poignant one-man show.” He went on to say, “the show slyly poses sharp and timely questions of what culturally defines American identity and who, in the nationalistic age of Trump, has ‘the right’ to be here.”  Ben Brantley of The New York Times

Tickets for the Los Angeles engagement of Latin History for Morons, written by and starring John Leguizamo, at Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre, will go on sale to the public at noon on Thursday, July 18, 2019. They have a Buy One Get One Free Ticket Offer
at the Ahmanson Theatre Box Office for the First Eight Hours Only

Patrons who come to the Ahmanson Theatre Box Office between noon and 8 p.m. on July 18 only will qualify for a buy one get one free ticket offer (up to two free tickets) for performances September 5 – 15, 2019. “Latin History for Morons” runs September 5 through October 20, 2019, with the opening set for Sunday, September 8. Tickets will be available online at CenterTheatreGroup.org or by phone at (213) 972-4400. To kick off the day, from noon to 2 p.m., there will be food trucks on the Hope Street side of The Music Center (between First and Temple), Upstage Burger will be open and a DJ from K-LOVE (107.5 FM) will be playing music on the Music Center Plaza. 

The post John Leguizamo’s “Latin History For Morons” Opens At The Ahmanson in L.A. first appeared on .

Newyorican singer/songwriter Storm Marrero currently plays the outrageous title character in the Company XIV’s adults-only production of Queen of Hearts. Inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, it’s dripping with sex and gives new meaning to the term falling “down the rabbit hole.” We were excited to get the dynamic Ms. Marrero for an interview – all rise for the Queen!

Cris Franco: Queen of Hearts incorporates circus, opera, magic, baroque dance, S&M and amazing visuals. It’s been described as a “decadent dream world replete with exotic curiosities and sensual strip-tease to delight, amaze and titillate all audiences.” How would you describe Company XIV’s Queen of Hearts?

Storm Marrero: Simply put, it’s a beautiful mind f*ck; a retelling of the original story by Lewis Carroll, viewed through the eyes of Louis XIV if he dropped acid.

CF: If any French monarch ever dropped acid it was definitely King Louis XIV. How do you describe your role in Queen of Hearts?

SM: I see ‘The Queen’ as a very soft being, with deadly thorns. She wants to be wanted and admired, and she wants to welcome Alice and guide her through this journey.  That’s why I love singing “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.”  It’s such a vivid description of what The Queen truly is.  Yet do not cross her; her wrath is real, and she is unforgiving.

CF: And playing her has brought you lots of critical praise and attention. How has your Puerto Rican background influenced your music and/or creativity?

SM: My heritage has influenced me immensely. I was born in New York City, so that “hustle & grind” mentally was instilled in me at a very early age.  My mom moved to NYC from Puerto Rico in the late 1940’s/early 1950’s, so she taught me to appreciate all types of music throughout the years. Once I moved to Puerto Rico as a preteen and began studying music at the University of Puerto Rico, this gave me a broader understanding of the importance of music on a cultural level.  From Bomba Puertorriqueña to Salsa and Boleros, to the stuff I grew up listening to in NYC, like Funk and R&B, Hip Hop and Soul. These genres fused within me, and it really dictates how I perform, especially my delivery and interpretation.  

CF: Your vocal stylings have been called “gritty yet classic” and your belting of Beyonce’s “Bow Down, Bitches” is the show’s pièce de résistance. Whatsvolcalists’ influenced you? 

SM: There are a couple of singers that I’ve grown up listening to that really left a mark, but Billie Holiday is my all-time favorite singer.  Hands down, she has to be one of the most important and influential singers of the 20th century.  At least top five in my book.  Other singers that have left an impression on me are Mary J. Blige, La Lupe, Marvin Gaye, Jill Scott, Lucecita Benitez, among others.

CF: I admire that you’ve mentioned old school talents like cubana La Lupe and Marvin Gaye – both were true originals who communicated their life and times through their art. What advice do you have for aspiring singers?

SM: It’s very simple yet so complex. If you really want it, go out and get it.  And I mean it. But also, be ready for when the opportunity lands. That means enroll take all the classes you can; everything from dance to acting, to vocal coaching.  Study the art form you really want to work in.  If you are looking into working in theater, study the ins and outs of the theater world.  Intern if you can.  Absorb everything you possibly can, that way you know what to do when you land that gig.  Do the open mics if and when you can, it helps build stage presence, helps to shake off the fear of performing.  Trust me, it’s harder to sing in front of 10 people than a thousand.  This helps break that fear a bit.  But again, if you really want it, then go for it.  Just be ready.

CF: And you were totally ready for Queen of Hearts.  What can those who go to see this brazen new musical experience expect to see?

SM: I never get tired of saying it; expect beautiful debauchery! Their senses will be heightened from the moment they walk in through those doors until the very last song.  They’re in for a truly amazing ride!

Thanks, Storm!

To take a ride with the divine diva, Storm Marrero starring in Queen of Hearts at Théâtre XIV (383 Troutman Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn) now extended until August 18, log onto: www.companyxiv.com  

(Queen of Hearts photos by Mark Shelby Perry)

The post Storm Marrero Stars in “Queen of Hearts” first appeared on .