There are love stories—and then there are Love Struck.

In this daring, funny, and emotionally layered theatrical production, audiences are invited into the intimate world of Rachel and Laura—two women whose passionate romance has evolved into something deeper, more complicated, and ultimately more mundane. One American, the other Cuban, their relationship becomes a prism through which questions of ambition, identity, and belonging are explored with wit and candor.

At the center of it all is Odalys Nanin—a powerhouse in the Latinx and LGBTQ theater communities—who co-writes, co-directs, and stars as Laura. With a career spanning more than two decades, Nanin has built a reputation not just for provocative storytelling, but for consistently delivering award-winning work that resonates across cultures and communities.

A Story of Passion—and Its Aftermath

Rachel (played by Lizette Santiago) and Laura have been together for three years. What began as a whirlwind of “white-hot lust” has settled into a comfortable domestic life in Los Angeles. Their relationship is playful and adventurous—they experiment with role-playing, cosplay, and erotic accessories—but beneath the surface, tensions are building.

Laura’s professional success contrasts with Rachel’s growing insecurities. As Rachel yearns to match her partner’s accomplishments, she also begins to feel the pull of her roots in New York. What emerges is a deeply relatable question: Can love alone sustain a relationship when ambition, identity, and longing pull in different directions?

A Legacy of Theatrical Excellence

Nanin’s body of work reads like a canon of bold, unapologetic storytelling. From Frida: Stroke of Passion to Garbo’s Cuban Lover and The Nun and the Countess, her plays have pushed boundaries while celebrating complex, often underrepresented voices. Her honors include the prestigious Nancy Dean Playwriting Award, and her influence extends beyond the stage as the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Macha Theatre/Films.

Her continued success is no accident. Nanin has a rare ability to merge sensuality, humor, and cultural identity into narratives that feel both intimate and universal. With Love Struck, she revisits one of her earliest works—first produced in 1997—and reintroduces it to today’s audiences with renewed urgency and relevance.

A Dynamic Creative Team

Joining Nanin is co-director Angela Nicholas, a multi-hyphenate talent who brings experience as an actor, choreographer, playwright, and designer. Her previous collaboration with Nanin on Garbo’s Cuban Lover adds a layer of creative synergy to the production.

Co-writer Marie Barrientos, known for her work on Law & Order and Another World, contributes a nuanced perspective that enriches the script’s emotional depth and authenticity.

Meanwhile, Santiago brings both vulnerability and strength to Rachel—a role that reflects her own award-winning trajectory, including recognition at the Short and Sweet Hollywood Festival and standout performances in La Wija and Whiskey Hollow Road.

A Pioneering Story—Then and Now

When Love Struck first premiered in 1997, it broke ground as a lesbian romantic comedy at a time when such stories were rarely told on stage—let alone with humor, sensuality, and cultural specificity. Today, its revival feels both celebratory and necessary.

This is not just a story about love—it’s about the evolution of love. It’s about what happens after the passion settles, when real life, real dreams, and real differences come into play.

It’s sexy, yes. It’s funny, absolutely. But most importantly, it’s real.

As Nanin continues to build on her award-winning legacy, Love Struck stands as a testament to her enduring voice—one that refuses to be boxed in and continues to evolve with every production.

Written by Odalys Nanin and Marie Barrientos. Directed by Odalys Nanin and Angela Nicholas. Presented by Macha Theatre/Films. A visiting production at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble.

At the Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025. Free parking onsite. Admission: $35 in advance, $40 at the door. Box Office: (310) 477-2055

ONLINE TICKETING: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/love-struck-tickets-66479031573

The post Love, Desire & Identity Collide in ‘Love Struck’—A Bold Return from Award-Winning Visionary Odalys Nanin first appeared on .

No one ever accused activist-artist Odalys Nanin of lacking passion. A talented and tenacious producer, playwright, actor, and director, Nanin has kept the flame of LGBT theater alive through hell and high water, loss of lease, financial challenges, and a pandemic, to triumph. Her theatrical productions are a celebration of extraordinary women, and she ranks among them, keeping their flames ablaze. Her current play, The Nun and the Countess, runs at Casa 0101 through November 7.

The Nun and the Countess is based on the novel Sor Juana’s Second Dream by Alicia Gaspar de Alba and co-directed by Corky Dominguez with Nanin. 

Like other MACHA productions, The Nun and the Countess tells the intimate story of a female famous icon. In this case, Doña Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, better known as Sor Juana Inez. Born 1651 in Tepetlixpa, Mexico, she died of the plague in 1695 but left a huge legacy of literature and music, not to mention a burning secret. 

In Mexico’s 100 peso bill, Sor Juana is acknowledged as a true master of the Spanish Golden Age, as a Hieronymite nun, author, philosopher, composer, and poet.  She reigns in death as the first feminist of the new world and most prolific author of the entire history of the Spanish Americas.  On Nanin’s stage, she is the lover of a charismatic countess. Sor Juana’s poems to Lysi (Countess de Paredes) are woven into the play’s dialogue. Nanin adds with a touch of irony, “She’s become so famous that Mexico City just erected a statue of her on the main Ave of Mexico”. 

Sor Juana’s poetry is taught to schoolchildren who likely do not [yet] know her ‘intimate’ history but are taught to memorize her immortal words in Hombres Necios /You Foolish Men: 

“You foolish men who lay the guilt on women, not seeing you’re the cause. of the very thing you blame; if you invite their disdain….”

Sor Juana Inez

At the end of this run, Nanin next prepares for a presentation for Mexico of her most popular and critically acclaimed work, Frida – Stroke of Passion. Produced at Casa 0101, Nanin also wrote and starred in this critics’ and audiences’ favorite which had a hugely successful run.    

Nanin likes to believe that Kahlo watches over her, she considers her a muse and a constant presence. “Frida is an angel. She really is a powerful person spiritually and I’m saying it because when I did Frida -Stroke of Passion-and I did it three times-every night was sold out,” she tells us. Nanin is also writing a TV pilot based on that work; 

Nanin’s award-winning productions at her MACHA Theatre/Film (Mujeres Advancing Culture History and Art) go back decades. “Back in 1997, I realized that there were no stories or space to present the Latino LGBT,” she recounted. “I created a space where Latinx LGBT community can come and watch the stories in a safe environment”.  In 2020 Nanin received a grant from the Astraea Foundation and MACHA was born.  MACHA’s 17 years in the West Hollywood location ended at the brink of the pandemic.

Nanin was heartbroken at first but then as the crisis took hold, she saw the silver lining. “Theater is in the heart, it’s not a building, at least the burden of paying rent on an unused theatre space was lifted. “For 20 months we were dark”. 

Nanin’s current re-mounting of The Nun and the Countess ran at the Casa 0101 theater founded by fellow playwright and producer, Josefina Lopez. Nanin assures us it’s a great fit. “I’ve known Josefina for years, and I wanted to support her, so I applied for some grants, and they came in and I was able to produce”. 

It is obvious there is no stopping Nanin’s visionary work.

For more information and tickets, visit www.machatheatre.org

Judi Jordan, a Santa-Monica based journalist, screenwriter, book editor and avid traveler, covers the Oscars, Television Academy events and has written for The Hollywood Reporter, Latin Style, Estylo, Latino Leaders and Gayot. A fan of history, opera, Spain, art, TV, film and wine, she returns to Latin Heat.com as Entertainment Editor. See more at judijordan.com 

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MACHA Theatre Co., a non-profit organization, has been producing theatrical productions focused on Latina LGBTQI stories for close to 20 years. Odalys Nanin, MACHA’S artistic director has dedicated her career to finding the untold LGBTQ experience stories and writing and/or adapting plays resulting in an impressive award-winning and critically acclaimed roster of produced theatrical production. She is currently running an IndieGogo Campaign to raise monies to find a new venue for her theater and to produce the critically acclaimed and audience favorite Frida Kahlo: A Stroke of Passion where she plays the title role.

MACHA Theatre Co. was founded in 2000 by Nanin due of the lack of Latina-LGBTQI stories in the theater community, the lack of leading roles for lesbians of color and a lack of real cultural inclusion or representation of the Latina lesbian experience in mainstream theater.  MACHA is an acronym Mujeres (Women) Advancing Culture, History, and Art.

For the past 19 years, MACHA has produced award-winning, high quality, and exciting theater featuring lesbians of color in the title roles.  Audiences have been following the company since inception. Producing two productions per year and one writing workshop, they have invited mentors like Maria Irene Fornes – nine-time Obie Award-winning playwright – and Professor Cherrie Moraga – Chicana activist – to work with us.

MACHA is the only professional theater company lead by a Latina lesbian in the United States.  With limited venues providing producing, writing, directing and performance opportunities, MACHA has been filling this role by offering cultural, equity and inclusion to both the LGBTQI community and women of color – both integral parts of the city of Los Angeles.

In 2007, Nanin found a home at the old Globe Playhouse in West Hollywood. Under the new name of MACHA Theatre the doors opened on April of 2007 with two new plays, Skin of Honey, directed by Odalys Nanin, and The Adventures of Lieutenant Nun, directed by Ivonne Coll.

After 10 years of continued success, in 2017 the landlord for the venue sold the entire corner which included MACHA Theatre.  The new landlords, real estate investors, unfortunately, doubled the rent and in 2017 MACHA lost their home and over $26,000.

In 2019 MACHA was able to rent other venues to produce Love Struck, and in 2020 their plan is to reprise the critically acclaimed production of Frida: Stroke of Passion.  

MACHA Theater is currently running an IndieGogo Campaign

 To donate or share of this campaign with friends and family CLICK HERE.

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