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 .

Since it’s world premiere performance at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in 1990, Josefina López’s signature play Real Women Have Curves has become a cultural touchstone—evolving from a celebrated stage play into an award-winning 2002 film and a Tony-nominated Broadway musical in 2025. This this spring it returns to Los Angeles with a new production at CASA 0101’s Gloria Molina Theater, running March 27–May 3, 2026, with select performances presented in Spanish. ¡Que suave!

Set in 1987 Los Angeles, Real Women Have Curves tells of five curvy Latinas working in a tiny sewing factory who are trying to meet an impossible production deadline while hiding from immigration.  Their determination, courage and juicy “chisme” (gossip) help them form a bond and discover their power.

Creator and playwright Josefina López still marvels at the lasting impact of her landmark work. “When I wrote the first words of Real Women Have Curves in March 1988, I felt divinely guided to share my story,” she said. “I never envisioned the lasting impact and topical relevance my words would have this many years later.” López began writing the play at 18, inspired by the humorous yet revealing experiences she recorded while working in her sister’s sewing factory in East Los Angeles. Channeling her frustrations with machismo, racism, Hollywood’s objectification of women, and her own experience as an undocumented young woman, she shaped a story that would connect deeply with audiences.

Looking back, López believes the play’s enduring appeal lies in its celebration of women’s lives and evolving identities. “It reflects the four stages of womankind, the challenges of transitioning to the next stage and embracing the natural and organic process of aging and coming into our own wisdom,” she said. Inspired by her mother, sister, and the women around her, López now sees the play as “a sacred dance of feminine energy and camaraderie” that helps liberate women from shame—especially about their bodies.

Real Women’s unique message of body positivity, strength in the face of oppression and the power of the immigrant dream has resonated so profoundly over the decades that it has had nearly 130 professional and regional productions.  

Thi six week run at CASA 0101 stars Stefany Arroyo (Ana García), Yasha Alaniz (Estela García), Bianca Araceli (Carmen García,)  Amy Melendrez (Rosalí), Laura Vega (Pancha)  – and featuring, on stage for the first time, the original sewing machine that once belonged to Josefina López’s late mother, Catalina Perales López, who was the model for the character of Carmen García.  So, this is a distinctive cast in a story that takes on new relevancy in these challenging times.   Creatives behind the curtain boasts a talented team of creatives, including set designer César Rentana-Holguín, lighting designer Alejandro Parra, costume designer Tony Iniguez, and graphic designer Itzel Ocampo.

Heading this powerful artistic team is CASA’s longtime associate, director Corky Dominguez talked about working with Lopez, “I have had the great pleasure of collaborating with Josefina López on many of her original plays by taking what she has written on the page and breathing life into her characters and words by realizing them on the stage.  He also find a deeper corrolation, given to what is happening in the world we are living in today, “The spot on poignancy of Josefina’s themes and plotline in Real Women Have Curves, laced with a heavy dose of humor, is undeniably pertinent, joyous and uplifting for our times.  This will be the take away for audience members who come to see our production!”

As an ardent fan of Ms. Lopez’s writing, this journalist is personally overjoyed that Real Women is returning to Los Angeles, the place where this story was born and where it can play to a hometown audience who’s always responded to its enduring message.  I’m also extremely excited to announce a very special upcoming event, titled, Curves in Concert taking place on March 20th at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California. This very special, one-time only performance will reunite members of the original Broadway cast of Real Women Have Curves:  The Musical as they sing selections from Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez’s Tony Nominated score.  I caught the Broadway production and can highly recommend this special night directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Sergio Trujillo, who helmed the show in New York.  The concert will be followed by a talk-back with Ms. Lopez.

FOR ALL SHOW INFO: www.casa0101.org

Real Women Have Curves
Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater
2102 East First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033

ENGLISH PERFORMANCES: Fridays & Saturdays @ 8:00 pm. on March 27 – May 3, 2026; Sundays @ 2:00 pm on March 29 & April 5, 2026; Sundays @ 7:00 p.m. on April 12, 19, 26 & May 3, 2026.  Playwright Josefina López will be doing a Talk Back after the Matinee performances on Sunday, March 29th and April 5th.
SPANISH PERFORMANCES: Sundays @ 2:00 p.m. on April 12, 19, 26 & May 3, 2026.  

The post Classic Play ‘Real Women Have Curves’ Returns at CASA 0101 first appeared on .

Fernandomania, now playing at Casa 0101 Theater, offers a unique and heartfelt theatrical tribute to Mexican-born Major League Baseball pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, whose meteoric rise to fame in the 1980s captured the imagination of fans worldwide. Conceived by Artistic Director and award-winning playwright Josefina López (Real Women Have Curves), the production weaves López’s throughline of muralist Roberto Vargas as he tries to finish Valenzuela’s mural before the legend passes, with twelve world-premiere playlets penned by a diverse group of Los Angeles writers. The result is a collage of perspectives that illuminates Valenzuela’s legacy not only as an athlete, but as a cultural touchstone for the Latino community.

The writing team spans from seasoned playwrights to first-time community writers, underscoring the communal nature of the project. Among the contributors is Valenzuela’s daughter, Maria Fernanda Valenzuela, whose piece Linda emerges as one of the production’s most personal and affecting entries. In it, Fernando (portrayed by Edward Navarrete) is seen in the early days of his career, leaving behind his beloved in Mexico as he is recruited by the Dodgers, only to return years later with a marriage proposal. The story, told through the lens of Maria Fernanda, movingly charts the couple’s journey through Fernando’s career ascent and their life together until his passing this year.

Each of the playlets, drawn from memories and reflections of what Valenzuela meant to the writers, is directed by a different artist, giving the program a broad stylistic range.

Of note is director Vance Valencia, helms three standout works. Kimberly Huff’s Safe at Home delivers emotional resonance, while Our Playground written by Dr. Connie Valencia reimagines the world of Latina baseball players in a manner reminiscent of A League of Their Own, yet firmly grounded in cultural specificity. Most striking, however, is La Habra Ass Foos by Don Huesos—a raucous, high-energy exploration of Chicano identity that electrified the audience. Navarrete, doubling here as the quintessential Chicano character Gabe, commanded the stage with humor and authenticity, demonstrating impressive range alongside his portrayal of Valenzuela.

While the evening varies in polish from piece to piece, as might be expected from a collection of multiple writers and directors, the overall impact is one of celebration, memory, and cultural pride. Fernandomania succeeds not only as a theatrical experiment but also as a community-driven homage to an icon who continues to inspire across generations.

Fernandomania runs through September 21 at Casa 0101 Theater. For admirers of Fernando Valenzuela, and for anyone interested in witnessing a diverse chorus of voices come together to honor a legend, this production is a meaningful tribute well worth experiencing.

Directors of FERNANDOMANIA include:  Emmanuel Deleage (of Silver Lake, CA); Carmelita Maldonado (of El Sereno, CA); Karla Ojeda (of East Los Angeles, CA) and Vance Valencia (of Boyle Heights).

Playwrights include:  Josefina López (of Boyle Heights) (Fernandomania Forever), which anchors the show playing out in 12 transitional scenes between each play throughout Act I and Act II; Maria Fernanda Valenzuela (of Hollywood, CA) (Fernando and Linda Valenzuela’s youngest daughter) (Linda); Oscar Arguello (of La Puente, CA) (No Sabo) (I Don’t Know); Chris Banda (of West Covina, CA) (Blue Days); Gloria Isabel Briseño (of Inglewood, CA) (Nando); Ignacio Gonzalez (of Downey, CA) (Beisbol y Novelas) (Baseball and Mexican Soap Operas); Kimberly Huff (of Azusa, CA) (Safe At Home); Jose Luis Lopez, Jr. (of Riverside, CA) (From Somewhere); Christopher John Magallanes (aka Don Heusos) (of Montebello, CA) (La Habra Ass Foos); Celina Martinez (of Silver Lake, CA) (A Good Hero/Un Buen Heroe); Michael St. Onge (of Fontana, CA) (Once Upon A Time in LA); and Dr. Connie Valencia (of South Los Angeles, CA) (Our Playground).

The Cast of FERNANDOMANIA includes:  Adlih Alvarado (of Hollywood, CA); Yasha Alaniz (of Van Nuys, CA); Luis Galilei (of Los Angeles, CA); Veli Gonzalez (of Nuys, CA); Phoenix Marroquin (of South Central Los Angeles, CA); Evelyn Menchaca (of Pico Rivera, CA); Gabriel Montoya (of Sherman Oaks, CA); Martin Morales (of Silver Lake, CA); Jose Nateras (of North Hollywood, CA); Edward Navarrete (of Northridge, CA); Eugene Antonio Negrete (of East Los Angeles, CA); Itzel Ocampo (of Alhambra, CA); Jeremiah Ocañas (of Boyle Heights); Gabriela Pedraza (of Burbank, CA); Alejandro Reynoso (of Santa Ana, CA) and Laura Vega (of Pasadena, CA).

Tickets are available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fernandomania-tickets-1402491031429?aff=oddtdtcreator

The post ‘Fernandomania’ at Casa 0101 a Grand Slam Tribute to Fernando Valenzuela first appeared on .

Nicholas Matos is currently appearing alongside some of Broadway’s hottest names in one of the season’s biggest shows: SMASH — based on the TV show of the same name. Eight times a week, the young Mr. Matos portrays the offbeat character of Scott, a twenty-something, social media-head caught up in a zany musical comedy about putting on a musical comedy. An unlikely outcome for young Mr. Matos who not long ago was preparing for a career in science. We got this very busy actor to speak on his artistic trajectory, how biology is like acting and why aspiring actors should not wait until they feel they are “ready.”     

CRIS FRANCO:  First off, Nick, congratulations on your great success in SMASH. The show is terrific as is your very original characterization of the show’s newbie production assistant named Scott — how would you describe him?

NICHOLAS MATOS:  Clueless — at first. Scott’s an observer. But he constantly wants to learn more because he’s thrust into this world of hard-boiled Broadway veterans. And my character doesn’t know the basics about musicals. He doesn’t even know who Julie Andrews is, so —  

CRIS: He’s the ultimate Gen-Z-er. 

NICHOLAS: Right. In every scene, there’s something new happening around him, so Scott is constantly looking for how he can contribute to the conversation.

CRIS: Your Scott character is truly original and hilarious. He often delivers the “button” or the “blow” out of the scene — the zingers that move the plot on to the next story beat. Scott is also pivotal because his last minute insights provide the play’s climax. When it seems everyone’s efforts were for naught, once clueless Scott sings his epiphany as he puts it all together for us. 

NICHOLAS: Yes, his trajectory is so much fun to play with. My final number is the show’s only original song — all others debuted on the series SMASH. My song, titled “Broadway’s Calling You,” was written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman — two composers that I’ve looked up to for years. So, just getting to sing it alone on stage is crazy. Our director (five-time Tony Award-winner) Susan Stroman and I frequently discussed my song’s function during rehearsals. She directed me to not start at one-hundred percent.  To keep the excitement growing and growing. So, I start it light and airy — and keep building from there. 

CRIS: And in one fell swoop, your song delivers the show’s message.  

NICHOLAS: Yes, so as the story evolved there were a lot of rewrites. The version I now perform is my character realizing that on Broadway, like in life, you keep moving forward even if you fail. So we worked a lot on my building the song’s intensity, because as the show’s climax, we have to get to a moment where the set literally explodes behind me into the big finale. 

CRIS: Well, you really got us there the night I saw the show. SMASH’s finale is jaw-dropping. But let’s talk about how you got here. You’re very young but already have some pretty strong performance credits. How did you get started? 

NICHOLAS:  I did my first theater when I was 12-years-old, in my school’s production of Hairspray.  Which is funny, because I’m now working with the composers of Hairspray. And my director told me about this program in the city called iTheatrics.  They develop the junior musicals like Hairspray Junior, and they try them out with kids over the summer.  I auditioned, got into that program and that really started everything. I began meeting people in the city from NTI (National Theater Institute). When I got to high school, I did Godspell in concert at the 54 Below cabaret night club. I was singing the role of Jesus — 

CRIS:  I checked it out online. You sing “God Save the People“.  

NICHOLAS: Yeah, that’s the one. I was about 15 at the time. And through that concert, I met my manager who introduced me to some agents, and then right after getting an agent, I booked the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. And that was like the first things that made me realize that maybe I could actually do this as like an actual job, or an actual career instead of just something that’s fun to do.

CRIS: Radio City is enormous!  What’s it like singing for 5900 people? 

CRIS: Tell me about how many Radio City shows do you do on some of the heavy days? Don’t you do sometimes do five shows?  

NICHOLAS: Yes, the Christmas Spectacular have some five-show days. But because I was under 18, we weren’t allowed to do that many. The most I could do in a day was three.

CRIS: How old were you then?

NICHOLAS:  I was 15. 

CRIS:  What is your background?   

NICHOLAS: I’m like 100% Dominican. Both of my parents are Dominican. 

CRIS: What was your childhood like growing up 100% Dominican?  

NICHOLAS: I grew up right outside the city in Secaucus, New Jersey. All of my extended family, my grandparents, my cousins, all live in Washington Heights in the Bronx. So I’d go to my grandparents’ house every other Sunday for dinner. I’m thinking of moving there probably soon. But I grew up in New Jersey, that’s my home home. I have two brothers. I live with both of my parents and nobody in my family has ever done theater. So this is a big surprise. When I first started, my parents would always say that they had no idea that I could do this. But honestly, neither did I. It kind of came out of nowhere.

CRIS: So your parents are not performers? 

NICHOLAS: No, my dad is a lawyer.  And my mom works for a telecommunications company — they’re business people. 

CRIS: Do they understand what how special it is to do what you do? 

NICHOLAS: I think they’re understanding more and more. They support me no matter what, but when I first started, they did not get it at all. They didn’t know anything about Broadway or musical theater, or what it took to get here. I really drove that process and I had to show them the ropes. But they’ve learned stuff throughout all the years and they kind of get it now.

CRIS: Which means you’ve really managed your career by yourself.  Wow. You realize you must have beat out thousands of actors for your role.  Because the part of Scott could have been played by a male or female of any ethnicity.  So, I’m sure the casting agents considered submissions by thousands of possible actors.   

NICHOLAS: Yeah, I think so. 

CRIS: Congratulations.

NICK: Thank you, thank you so much.

CRIS:  Being a show within a show, SMASH is about so many things.  How would you describe the plot?

NICHOLAS: SMASH is about the making of a musical.  The tagline is that it’s “a comedy about a musical,” and that’s really exactly what it is. It’s about this team of Broadway veteran creatives who are trying to make a huge hit musical “comedy” about Marilyn Monroe. 

CRIS: Which is already pretty outrageous, because Marilyn Monroe had a tragic life. 

NICHOLAS: Correct.  And throughout the process, things go wrong — and there’s so much drama and shenanigans.  Act One ends on a totally ridiculous, over-the-top, hilarious moment.   

CRIS: Yes, Act One does end on a doozy of a cliff hanger. It’s brilliant plot twist, because my party spent intermission each theorizing on how we thought the plot would resolve. It was fun — but let’s not give away the ending.  

NICHOLAS: No. Let’s just say that by play’s end, the show turns out to be a love letter to Broadway and creatives in any field.  The song that I sing honors the creative process  —  what it means to struggle and labor and care for a project. And although we all strive for success — that’s not the long term goal. The goal is to keep going and creating the next thing.  Which is an idea that really must speak to all people because our audiences are loving the message.  

CRIS:  And it was pleasant surprise when the character we least expect — yours — suddenly gets the message and so do we!  

NICHOLAS:  That’s what I love about playing Scott.  He represents the new blood and new generation of theater lovers coming in.  The veterans have all had their chances — Scott represents the next generation of theater creatives who are going to bring in the new ideas.  It’s how new work is created. 

CRIS: Yes, he’s being handed the baton.  And in doing so, it ends the story with so many fun possibilities. Your cast is full of top Broadway talent, including one of this year’s Tony nominees for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, Brooks Ashmanskas.    

NICHOLAS: He plays our director, Nigel. Brooks is such a talent. He blows my mind every time. 

CRIS: Just like his character in SMASH, Brooks is a true Broadway veteran. He’s appeared in well over a dozen Broadway shows. What’s it like working with a comedic genius like Brooks? 

NICHOLAS: He blows my mind every time. And I’ve learned something very important from him: to remain flexible.  

CRIS: Like don’t be afraid to vary your performance? 

NICHOLAS: Yes. Of course it’s the same script. But Brooks never does quite the same performance twice.  His choices are rooted in the same intentions and emotions, but how he plays Nigel is completely dependent on that night’s audience and how a line has been delivered to him. 

CRIS: That takes courage. 

NICHOLAS: Plus he (Brooks) always fully commits. To get to work so up-close with such a great actor is so cool. He just always goes for it. 

CRIS: What’s been the most surprising thing about this experience?  

NICHOLAS:  Well, during rehearsals there were so many rewrites and trying-out new things. One day I literally opened my mouth to start rehearsing my song when Mark Shaman threw new lyrics in front of my face. The piano kept playing so I grabbed the lyric sheet and just went with it. You have to be super on your toes and ready for whatever the creative team or your cast-mates throw at you. Also, since I’ve never done eight shows a week, I had to learn how to pace myself throughout the week, prepare for each performance and still try and have a life. 

CRIS: I’ve done eight shows a week and audiences have no idea how demanding that is of your time, your health, your energy —  

NICHOLAS: True. But even so, our director, Susan Stroman, wisely told us to never let the show’s energy slow down. Once this show starts, you’re on the ride, and you better hold on because you can’t let the ball drop. The timing has to be perfect. You have to jump on each other’s lines and constantly be pushing the energy.

CRIS:  SMASH has so many fast moving parts: scenery, costumes, lights, fast changes — not to mention the classic Broadway, Tony-nominated choreography by Joshua Bergasse. Have there been any technical snafus? 

NICHOLAS: Technical?  No. Thank goodness.  But, there have been times when Brooks will do something crazy and it’s genuinely impossible not to break — it’s so hard not to. But you have to somehow stay in character.

CRIS: Brooks broke me up almost every second he was on stage. And it takes years to develop and hone that type of hyper, but believable, comic persona. Among our readership are many aspiring young film and stage actors.  What advice do you have for those who want to make it to Broadway? 

NICHOLAS: You know, I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot because my friends studying theater in regular 4-year BFA or BA programs have been asking me how to get to Broadway.  So many of them think that you have to wait until you graduate to start auditioning and looking for agents and really going for it. But I truly believe that you don’t need anyone’s permission.  You won’t know if you’re ready until you do it.  And the best way to learn is on the job. So just start now. 

CRIS:  That is a powerful message. And it’s true, you won’t know if you’re ready to go professional until you do. 

NICHOLAS: I’ve had a really unconventional education. I was at Fordham University studying biology for two years before I transferred to the theater department.  After one semester of acting and movement I booked SMASH.  

CRIS: Which, in a way supports my theory that what’s so cool about acting is that it’s a profession to which you can bring your whole self — including your outside interests.  Some actors who are only interested in acting sometimes miss the point: you can’t bring any reality to your performance if you’re not living a real life, you know?

NICHOLAS:   I know that I still like studying biology and the mind — and math and science. They’re all still a part of me. And, honestly, I think my love for biology and my love for theater come from the same place.  And it’s my desire to understand what makes people the way they are. They’re totally different approaches to exploring that question, but that’s why I love neuroscience. But I also love inhabiting characters and figuring them out. Yeah, I like trying to figure out what makes people tick.

To see what make Nicholas Matos tick, see him in SMASH: https://smashbroadway.com

The post Nicholas Matos Takes Center Stage In Broadway’s ‘SMASH’ first appeared on .

Inspired by the much lauded 1999 documentary and its accompanying Grammy-winning album of the same name, Buena Vista Social Club has morphed yet again.  This time into Broadway’s newest mega-hit musical. Playing to packed houses at the Gerald Shoenfeld Theater, it’s a tropical party that pulsates with rapturous Afro-Latino rhythms set against the tumultuous human drama that was mid-century Cuba. 

To bring the era, the artists and their musical masterworks to the stage, book writer Marcos Rodriguez has cleverly blended fact with fiction and woven two parallel story lines.  One, set in the 1950s, follows the talented young singers Omara and Haydee Portuondo who have broken through the color barrier by appearing at Havana’s exclusive (predominantly white) Tropicana night club.  When they are invited to sing at the Afro-Cuban Buena Vista Social Club, the sisters are of different minds. Haydee, who dreams of a recording career for the team, sees no benefit in slumming it among the locals.  She asks why should they perform at the Buena Vista Social Club?  “Because there are no tourists there,” exclaims Omara, “because they’re playing for us!” 

Enter the Cuban Revolution and the impact of Omara’s prophetic words will be echoed throughout the accompanying story line that takes place some forty years later in 1996.  Record producer Juan de Marcos (affable Justin Cunningham) is looking to preserve for posterity that iconic Buena Vista Social Club sound.  His plan: to reunite the original musicians for a historic recording. De Marcos’ efforts in locating and reuniting those veteran artists takes the audience into a unique theatrical experience. We journey back in time to a place where smoking-hot musicians pioneer a raw, sensual, celebratory Latin-jazz that sets the room dancing to songs recounting the highs and lows of island life and tells of the saga of one woman’s journey to preserve the purity of her art.   

That woman is the musical’s central character, the now older Omara Portuondo (Tony-nominee, the regal Natalie Venetia Belcon).  We learn that when Young Haydee fled Cuba with their American record contract in hand, Young Omara opted to stay and keep alive the authentic music of her homeland.  Which she did for the next forty years. 

Fast forward to the 1990s where de Marcos is pulling together some of the original Buena Vista Social Club musicians.  Through these meetings we learn their sometimes heartbreaking backstories of survival and witness their time-tested talents. All want to participate — only Omara is holding out. But after much cajoling, soul searching and hearing the musical magic they create — she finally agrees to be their lead singer.  Joining her to perform these pure versions of classic Cuban “bolero,” “guajira” and “danzon” are guitarist-singer Compay Segundo (Da’Von T. Moody), pianist Rubén González (Leonardo Reyna), and vocalist Ibrahim Ferrer (Wesley Wray).  All are gifted at presenting these songs in the unbridled Afro-Cuban Spanish dialect.  (Kudos to the creators for wisely choosing to not translate these highly stylized lyrics into American English, but rather allowing the original words and music to speak for themselves.) 

And what songs!  The show features such classic as the slow ballad of “Chan Chan” who, while at the beach, was so taken by his love for his woman, Juanica, that when she shook her body to shake off some sand, Chan Chan grew embarrassed of his desire for her.  

“El Cumbanchero,” an uptempo about a party animal who dances the cumbia.  The song’s fun-loving main character lives each day to the beat of the bongo.  “El Cumbanchero” was made famous by Desi Arnaz who first recorded it in the mid 1940s and later performed it on his TV show, I Love Lucy”,  “El Carretero” a guajira (country lament) about a hard working cart driver — a traveler who dreams of one day marrying and settling down but for now is a guajiro (peasant) going about his job. These quotidian story songs and many more fill the Buena Vista Social Club with an intimate look at the simple truths of the value of living life to its fullest.  

Immersing us deeper into the show’s exploration of the human condition is the evocative and sensual choreography (Tony-nominated Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck), versatile and elegant set design (Tony-nominated Arnulfo Maldonado) and a tight compelling book by Tony-nominated Marco Ramirez.  The result: the Buena Vista Social Club creates a cultural collage of the Afro-Cuban experience that explodes with color, movement to the tune of the world’s most iconic tropical music. 

The historic ensemble consist of Julio Monge as Compay, Mel Semé as Ibrahim, Jainardo Batista Sterling as Ruben, Isa Antonetti as Young Omara, Renesito Avich as Eliades, Ashley De La Rosa as Young Haydee, with Angélica Beliard, Carlos Falú, Héctor Juan Maisonet, Ilda Mason, Marielys Molina, and Anthony Santos in the ensemble.  

Recreating the sound that launched a thousand fiestas are the virtuosos Marco Paguia (conductor & piano), Henry Paz (woodwinds), Jesus Ricardo (trumpet), Eddie Venegas (trombone), Javier Diaz (percussion), Roman Diaz (percussion), David Oquendo (guitar), Resesito Avich (tres chordophone guitar) and Gustavo Schwartz (bass). 

How good is Buena Vista Social Club?  You don’t need to be a Cuban music aficionado or even understand Spanish to be swept away by the transporting beat of the 12-member onstage orchestra accompanying the gifted singing cast and the three dancing couples that so beautifully interpret the music in a mix of dance styles from Afro-Cuban to ballroom. This reviewer was enthralled by how organically the stories, songs and dance all supported each other in a seamless exploration of how artistic expression can help keep alive the soul of a people in crisis.  And amid the hoots and bravos from the entranced audience swaying in their seats, you will have no other choice but to be also swept away by the celebration of life on stage. I recommend that everyone see the Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway or by way of the national tour now preparing to bring to our world in crisis its healing message: the opposite of war is creation.  And the Buena Vista Social Club is a joyous, healing, creative masterpiece.

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Reviewed by Cris Franco

Though national audiences got to know the very dynamic Ms. Lily Santiago when her character, the ridged, secretive Veronica, fell through the sinkhole in NBC’s hit drama LA Brea, her roots have long been in the legitimate theater. Ms. Santiago honed her craft via numerous classical theater companies performing in Shakespeare’s most demanding works including Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Measure for Measure and Red Bull Theater’s acclaimed all-female Macbeth. Santiago, who graduated from the theater program at Northwestern University as well as LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, has always had her eyes set on the stage.

That’s why it’s no surprise that Lily delivers no less than two riveting performances (portraying both Kat and Amelia) alongside Academy Award-nominated Rachel McAdams (Spotlight, 2015) in Amy Herzog’s brutally heartbreaking, yet divinely uplifting new drama Mary Jane, directed by Anne Kauffman and running at New York City’s Samuel J. Friedman Theater thru June 30, 2024. 

Mary Jane, which has received four 2024 Tony Award nominations including Best New Play, employs an entirely female cast to tell the tale of the title character’s caregiving for her severely disabled two-and-a-half year-old son, Alex. Though we never see the child, Mary Jane’s small but mighty army of caregivers take us on a journey to understanding that caring for one another is humankind at its best. Making her Broadway debut, Lily Santiago powerfully plays two pivotal characters in Mary Jane’s community of caregivers: the sensitive in-home nurse Amelia and the upbeat (if somewhat evasive) music therapist Kat.  

The all-female ensemble reflects the reality that caregiving isn’t a job, it’s a vocation. A vocation most often answered by women, especially women of color. A universal tale of a mother’s eternal love, it’s a gripping evening of theater where Ms. Santiago serves as the life-saving net ever poised to catch McAdams as she gracefully walks the emotional highwire of a young mother full of hope and forgiveness in an unforgivingly hopeless situation.  Their performances are both emotionally shattering and life affirming. 

Set in a reality always teetering between life and death, this writer was most taken by how Ms. Santiago was able to play the tense dramatic moments alongside the mundane, day-to-day tasks of caregiving with ease but urgency. 

The entire cast delivers powerhouse performances by underplaying the plot’s searing reality: Alex could expire at any moment.  We witness that the ladies’ caregiving goes beyond the sick boy, into caring for one another – providing the emotional support for each other to carry on in their uncertain world.  The story’s parallels are powerful: we are all Alex, for no one is promised tomorrow. Mary Jane and her co-caregivers go about their duties without dwelling on the inevitable, they subtly inhabit the unfolding drama like a child’s cherished music box, slowly playing out its end.  Mary Jane is almost magical in how it guides us into realizing the preciousness and precariousness of our very existence. I was mesmerized. This is a great new play.  

Ms. Santiago recounts her initial reaction upon learning that she’d been cast saying, “I was shaking in my boots because I just love this play. It was one of the most incredible pieces of theater that I’ve ever read. The way Amy (Herzog) fills these characters with such life and humanity. It’s so moving to me.”

And what does she feel about the play now? “I stare at myself in mirror every day and tell myself that I must accept that this is huge and awesome!”And it certainly is. 

To see the talented Lily Santiago deliver two amazing performances alongside the riveting Tony-nominated Rachel McAdams, CLICK HERE

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Founded in 1965, East West Players (EWP) is Los Angeles’ longest running theater company dedicated to raising the visibility of the Asian-American experience by presenting inventive world-class productions and developing artists of color.  For decades, their groundbreaking productions such as Pippin (infused with a hip-hop, anime aesthetic) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (set in the ancient Pacific Islands) have ignited L.A.’s theatrical landscape with daring interpretations and non-traditional casting. EWP continues that tradition with their upcoming take on Spring Awakening (October 26-November 19, 2023)  featuring a POC (people of color) cast including Latinx actors. 

Director Tim Dang said that it is with intention that many of the cast are of mixed heritage, mixed-race, bi-racial, hapa, or bi-cultural. Noting that these young performers represent today’s primarily POC generation, Dang continued that the balance of power shifting to this burgeoning majority makes this new EWP production of the 2007 Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening significantly different than prior productions.  Dang has assembled a distinguished multicultural cast, including Spanish-speaking actors Mia Sempertegui and Eric Renna.

Dang added that his casting is more intentional than colorblind. The mission of East West Players is to portray the contemporary Asian-American experience as it truly exists — not in a vacuum, or a silo, or a monolithic community. This production emphasizes the intersectionality of today’s youth and that his casting is “race conscious and race specific.”

Boasting a Tony Award-winning score by rock composer Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening took Broadway by storm in 2006.  Originally set in 1891 Germany, repressed, adolescent students stumble into adulthood as clumsily as they do into each other’s arms. With parents fearful of instructing their children in life’s sexual realities, two desirous teens, Melchior and Wendla, surrender to their mutual attraction. Nature takes its course and so does their unforgiving society. This generation-defining musical is a rock anthem to all the “guilty ones,” poignantly exploring the dark, passionate, and twisting journey from adolescence to adulthood.

EWP has historically presented their casts with opportunities to tackle roles that they might have otherwise been passed-over by most theatres.  The cast of Spring Awakening is led by Mia Sempertegui (Sister Act, Beehive: The 60’s Musical) as Wendla Bergman, Thomas K. Winter (The Secret Garden, The Last Five Years) as Melchior Gabor, Marcus Phillips (The Prom Nat’l Tour, La Mirada Theatre’s Joseph…Technicolor Dreamcoat) as Moritz Stiefel, Madison Grepo (Evita, Anything Goes) as Ilse Neumann, Tamlyn Tomita as the Adult Women, and Daniel Blinkoff as the Adult Men. 

As a longtime supporter of EWP, I’m thrilled that this sterling arts organization is welcoming a wider spectrum of acting POC into their creative process.  This artistic approach mirrors Los Angeles’ powerful diversity and, as Dang inferred, is an acknowledgment of the culturally rich and challenging times our youngest generation now navigate.   

Spring Awakening is widely recognized as possessing one of Broadway’s best pop/rock scores; the driven melodies are tuneful while the lyrics are deep, articulate and au courant. Schoolboys sing of their unfulfilled sexual desires as “The Bitch of Living”. And when Melchior admits to his headmasters that it is he who authored an erotic letter, the cast sings that he is “Totally Fuc&ed”.  But what is perhaps most prescient about this musical is how it addresses our current battles over sex-ed. For in their Old World efforts to “protect” their children, the adults of Spring Awakening resort to keeping their youth ignorant of the vital information they need to avert the high price of sexual ignorance.  This message is of particular significance to our Latinx communities. 

According to Pew Research, American Latinos are 70% Christian/Catholic.  Religion can play a huge role in the parents’ attitudes towards sex and sexual health, which gives this topic a negative stigma. So, hispano parents often avoid discussing healthy sex practices with their children as the adults consider the subject taboo. Parents hope that not discussing sex will discourage their children from engaging in intimate encounters. However statistics show this lack of sex-ed as having the opposite effect. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2017 the birth rates for hispano teens were more than two times higher than the rate for non-Hispanic white teens – not to mention increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases and abusive relationships.

This Latinx cultural dilemma is at the heart of Spring Awakening which asks: What happens when normal sexual curiosity is infused with shame, guilt and ignorance?  Spring Awakening brilliantly explores this pertinent question.    

Though almost completely sung-through, the show does not adhere to the conventions of the traditional musical. Here the songs do not necessarily move the plot forward, rather they explore the characters’ psycho-emotional state and thus moves the story’s emotional arch forward. It’s the perfect approach to this tale which dares to delve into the treacherous world of those private moments when we “awaken” to our bodies’ desires.   

For all show info: www.eastwestplayers.org

Photo credit: TJ Ramirez/Teolindo.Art

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In 1969 when composer/lyricist Sherman Edwards premiered 1776, his Tony Award-winning musical chronicling the drama behind the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, the piece distinguished itself in two remarkable ways. It featured musical theater’s longest scene (over 30 minutes) without a single played note or song and it presented a large nearly all-male cast, all Caucasians. Book writer Peter Stone [(Charade (1963), Father Goose (1964), Mirage (1965)] stayed true to the times by having the male characters handle the nation building, while the play’s only two female roles (Abigail Adams and Martha Jefferson) handled the affairs of the heart. Both females exist primarily as their husbands’ romantic counterparts. 

The latest incarnation of 1776 playing at Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theater through 7 May 2023, adds yet another distinguishing mark by casting only female, non-binary or trans actors – many of color.  The result has been a production which has both befuddled and bewitched critics. But across the board, the show’s cast has garnered praise for retelling a well-known story in a new, powerful way. It’s an ensemble that poses profound questions on gender, identity and the often overlooked role minorities had in building our modern American empire.  

I had the privilege of asking my own questions of two of the current touring cast’s most notable actors Shelby Acosta and Kassandra Haddock. 

CRIS FRANCO (CF):

First off, congrats on being cast in this revolutionary production of 1776.  How do you identify ethnically and what are your pronouns?

SHELBY ACOSTA (SA): Hi! My name is Shelby Acosta, my pro-nouns are She/Her and I am a proud chingona aka Mexican-American gal.

KASSANDRA HADDOCK (KH): I identify as Mexican-American and I use She/Her pronouns.

CF: Much has been made of this non traditional approach to a much beloved musical play. How would you describe the concept behind this version of 1776?

SA: The concept is a deeply personal one for me. It asks, what if these different body types, gender identities and ethnicities had been included in the discussion of independence instead of only Colonial era White men? How does the meaning of the original text differ when it’s delivered by an Indigenous woman or a non-binary trans person? At show’s end, what is the audience’s reaction to seeing Black-identifying actors declaring American independence now knowing that our nation’s freedom was negotiated by only retaining slavery? It’s an important piece that I find requires thought and vulnerability from both the audience and cast. 

KH:  Our version tells the story of our country’s founding through the lens of those who would not have been allowed in the room at that time: female, non-binary, trans and BIPOC voices. Its goal is to make you ask questions, learn parts of our history that you otherwise might not have known and to hold multiple realities at once. How did we begin? What did we fight for? What do we still fight for? How are things different or the same from 1776 to 2023? 

 CF:  Yes, it’s eye-opening to see characters usually played by White cisgender males now portrayed by a more diverse cast that features females.  There are some 24+ male speaking roles in 1776, all recognizable historical figures. Who do you play and how would you describe your character?

SA:  I play Secretary Charles Thomson—the greatest secretary to ever live! Not really, but he did serve as Secretary of Congress through its entirety and is special in my eyes. Thomson was a very smart man who knew how to do his job— I play him as a “no nonsense” member who is there to convey George Washington’s messages directly to the Congress. You only hear Washington’s words when Thomson reads aloud his military dispatches. He is the link between the outside war world and the inside congress. Towards the end of the show, Thomson realizes where his duties lie and he lets his emotions show in defense and on the side of General George Washington.

KH:  I play the villain, Edward Rutledge from South Carolina. But not all villains are easily recognizable. And most importantly, most villains don’t view themselves as such.  

CF: True. But I’d like to add that if Rutledge is the villain, he’s not alone. His character calls out the hypocrisy of the Northern delegates who claim a moral high ground by condemning the evils of slavery, as the North actively profiteered from the transporting and sale of enslaved people. Rutledge makes this claim via his climatic aria, “Molasses to Rum” that so brilliantly details all the colonies’ shared sin of the “triangle trade”.  That’s just one of the messages in 1776, how do you think casting performers who identify as female, non-binary or trans impacts the message and/or experience of 1776?

SA: I think it brings our audience face-to-face with the reality that we are still fighting for trans rights and the rights for Black and Brown people to walk the streets without having to worry about cops or ICE. We are still fighting for the right to our own bodies. (Whew! I promise I’m a lot more fun at parties.)

KH: The text sends a different message with our production. Debates around slavery, which were originally written to be delivered by White male actors, have a different impact when spoken by our cast. A lot of people have said to me how boring this show would feel now after having seen it through the lens of female, non-binary, trans and people of color. 

CF:  Singing, dancing and very serious acting — this piece requires a lot of its players and I know for a fact that the casting was very competitive. A huge number of the female, non-binary and trans talent pool auditioned to be part of this theatrical experiment.  You two were cast because of your outstanding skills. Where were you trained and what are some of your career highlights?  

SA: One of my career highlights was playing Cinderella in Into The Woods at the Zach Scott Theatre in Austin, TX. As a Latina I grew up with a curvier body than most of the tiny, White, TV and movie princesses I saw growing up.  Getting to play a princess was a turning point in my career. It gave me confidence.  And presenting the show in Texas, where I knew there would be Latina girls watching, made me feel great to know I might inspire someone to feel confident about themselves and to go for any role they want.

KH: I studied Music Dance Theatre at Brigham Young University. I recently had the honor of portraying Gloria Estefan in On Your Feet, playing my dream role of Nina in In The Heights, and being my favorite Pink Lady Rizzo in Grease. 

CF:  Wow! Those are all tremendous credits that require gifted performers. How did you come to be cast in 1776?

SA: Getting cast in 1776 was a bit of a whirlwind. I remember submitting for it way back in 2021 but never hearing anything until I got an email from my agent for an initial video audition.  I sent in the stuff and didn’t hear anything for about a month. Then got asked to submit more material on a random Wednesday and by Friday morning I had gotten the offer to be a standby on Broadway with the rehearsals starting the very next day. Through being on Broadway, I was asked to hop in permanently as Charles Thomson on tour!

KH: My journey actually started back in August 2022 when I was in for a Broadway standby (didn’t get it ). In fact my fellow Mexican friend here, Shelby, landed that! I later went through various callbacks and after auditioning for eight different characters I landed the role of Rutledge. 

CF: Which is a casting coup on your part because Rutledge evolves into one of the second act’s leading characters. Aside from costuming you all in period suits, little else is done to imply that you are portraying men. Do you strive to play your character as male ?  

KH: I absolutely do not play my role as male. I told myself going into the auditions that my sole focus would be to tell the story. And I have to say that I was never once given the note to act like a man. I am very grateful that we have been allowed to just tell the story, because at the end of the day these are all human beings, and who’s to say what a man should or should not act like?

SA: I don’t chose to play my character as a male either. The whole basis of the show is we are our bodies—the color, the shape, the identity— stepping into the shoes of these men and saying these words through our POV. Now whether I am feeling more masculine or feminine that day all depends on how I bring myself to the character. I cross my legs on stage one day, I man spread the next—it’s all about how my body fits in relation.

CF: “Man spreading”!  You could interpret the centuries of American expansionism as “man-spreading” all in the name of Manifest Destiny. That’s when having actors of color on stage can be so impactful. Although things are changing, diversifying casts remains a work-in-progress and an actor’s life is never easy. What is your background and has your family supported your career?  

SA: I grew up in El Paso, TX which borders Juarez, Mexico and there wasn’t much theatre in the area when I was growing up. However, one day a friend’s mother opened up a theatre company and I spent many years performing with what basically became my second family. My parents have always been very supportive, so when I decided to pursue a theatrical career my mom did everything in her power to send me to a performing arts boarding high school in Michigan (Interlochen Center for the Arts). From there I went to Texas State University where I got my BFA in Musical Theatre. I absolutely could not have done it without the support of my mom who enrolled me in any and all theatre classes, took me to all my auditions and believed in me with her entire being.

KH: I was actually raised very religious! I was Mormon for a time (hence going to BYU). My mother, too, has been my biggest supporter and has never wavered as such. She is the epitome of a Mexican mama raising a first generation American daughter to achieve the American dream.  

CF: I’m overjoyed that you were both instilled with a desire to go for your dreams. What do you hope the audience will take away from 1776?

SA: I hope they will walk away with an understanding of the sacrifices that had to be made in order for this nation to be born, and realize that America today would be nothing without the participation of the wide spectrum of humanity they see onstage. And of course, I hope they have fun and enjoy a laugh here and there. Ultimately the message is strong because the cast is incredible and fully committed to playing their roles. Above all, you’re guaranteed to have a great time. There are funny moments in the show, I promise.

KH:  I hope people leave with a broader perspective saying, “Wow they never taught us that in school about our country’s founding!”  I hope audiences leave inspired to continue to change the world. 

CF: Amen. I, too, believe that art can help change the world for the better. What advice do you have for aspiring performers?

SA: There are absolutely no limits. Never let someone tell you that you are “too much” of anything to play the roles you want. If someone does, then you don’t want to be a part of that person’s vision anyway. This industry is filled with a lot of “nos” but if you love the work and persist,  you will eventually get a “yes. ” It’s hardly ever about you as a performer—it’s more about the right time and place. If you believe you can do it, that is all the faith you need.

KH: If performing makes you happy then just do it. Do it wherever and whenever you can. This industry will tear you down and lift you up, but it’s up to you to find happiness through it all. It’s not about the awards or the fame and fortune, it’s the journey that matters, so learn to love the journey. 

If you’d like to witness the very talented Kassandra Haddock and Shelby Acosta take a journey into theater’s diverse future via a trip to our nation’s past, see 1776 now playing the Ahmanson Theater thru 7 May 2023. For all show info: CenterTheatreGroup.org

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Actor/director Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption, Mystic River, The Player, Anchorman, etc.) co-founded The Actor’s Gang Theater in 1981 with the mission statement “to create bold, original works for the stage and daring reinterpretations of the classics”.  Robbins made good on his mission and today The Actor’s Gang is running performing arts programs in 14 California state prisons, 2 Reentry facilities, and Los Angeles County Probation camps and halls for juveniles. 

Most notable is the Actors’ Gang Prison Project which provides 8-week workshops in California prisons in order to unlock human potential in the interest of effective rehabilitation. One of the few remaining arts programs inside California’s correctional system, the Prison Project has a profound impact on inmates, their families, and prison staff. Participants develop social skills, self-esteem, tools for life beyond bars. 

Since the program’s inception 8 years ago, the Prison Project maintains a 0% recidivism rate (California’s rate exceeds 60%).

Still defying the odds, The Actors’ Gang Prison Project, will be debuting its newest work: (Im)migrants of the State – an original play created by and based on the real-life experiences of its ensemble of formerly incarcerated actor-writers.  This unique creation devised through intensive storytelling sessions runs March 15 to April 7, 2023, at The Actors’ Gang Theatre in Culver City. 

The play’s co-director Jeremie Loncka (also the Director of Programs for the Prison Project) said, “Being amongst an ensemble of men and women who are creating this piece with such raw honesty and commitment has been a life-altering experience.  The joy and passion they bring to the theater is contagious, and I’m excited for audiences to share in that joy.”

The process has been both difficult and rewarding. “We are experiencing struggles, setbacks, but we are learning to work together–just like we had to do ‘inside’—and to build real relationships through ensemble work,” says co-director and ensemble member Rich Loya. In the face of these challenges, the artists remain grateful and excited.

Scott Tran said, “The most meaningful thing was working alongside my brothers and sisters to create this play from scratch.” Now they are thrilled to be able to share their work with the public and hope it has a positive impact. Montrell Harrell, another member of the ensemble, says he hopes audiences leave the show with “an understanding that sometimes people make mistakes, but they can change, and there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.”

These stories run the full spectrum of emotions, and the creators have found a way to infuse humor, joy, and hope as they faced even the darkest moments. Loya sums up his feelings with gratitude and hope. “The fact that we’ve been given this opportunity to tell our stories and share them with the world is humbling and affirms to us all that we have redeemed our past.”

The Actors’ Gang Prison Project has had a long history, and this is a rare opportunity to see where theatre has made an impact on peoples’ lives.

To experience the transformative power of art, see (Im)migrants of the State by logging onto: TheActorsGang.com

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This year’s passing of one of the American theater’s most impactful and beloved composer/lyricists, Stephen Sondheim, has prompted theater companies worldwide to mount an unprecedented number of his groundbreaking works that include the iconic West Side Story, Gypsy, Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd.  

Los Angeles’s premier regional theater, The Pasadena Playhouse, is opening their six-month Sondheim Celebration with perhaps his most ingenious musical, Sunday in the Park with George. Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, “Sunday” (as nicknamed by aficionados) is an unexpected story about an unorthodox love triangle between a man, a woman and a painting: pointillist Georges Seurat’s spellbinding A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte.

Recognized as a masterpiece of unbridled invention, Sunday’s emotionally complex plot relies heavily on its two lead actors: the male role who portrays both the French impressionist painter Georges Seurat and his American grandson (George). And the female role who plays Georges’s love interest (Dot) and her and Georges’s granddaughter (Marie). Both leading parts require singer/actors of the highest caliber to transport us into the time-traveling duality of Sunday in the Park with George. Decades ago, as a young New York actor/writer, this journalist had the good fortune to have seen the original Broadway production. At show’s end I recall exiting the theater walking on air, knowing I’d just witnessed a challenging (and highly entertaining) thesis on the price of artistic expression. If this sounds like heady stuff – it is. And just as Sunday poses some profound questions about life, art and a life in art, I was able to ask some of these same questions of the extremely talented Ms. Krystina Alabado, who portrays the characters of Dot/Marie in Pasadena Playhouse’s full mainstage production from Tuesday February 14, 2023 to Sunday March 19, 2023.

CRIS FRANCO (CF):  

Congratulations on landing the part that every musical comedy ingénue in Los Angeles wanted.  As a veteran of Broadway (American Psycho, American Idiot), national tours (Evita, Spring Awakening) and countless other productions — what in your childhood inspired you to pursue performing? 

KRYSTINA ALABADO (KA): 

I started out singing in Phoenix, Arizona where my father was a singer. My love for the arts began at age eight when I began gigging with him and his band. Once I got into junior high I joined the drama club, I performed in all the musicals and plays and never stopped since then. I always had a love for the arts and expressing myself through music and imagination, so theatre was the best outlet for me as a kid. I totally fell in love with everything about it! 

CF:  

What was your most memorable early acting job and how did you come to land the plumb role in Sunday in the Park with George?

KA: 

I have so many memorable acting jobs. Most recently I’d have to say it would be Mean Girls on Broadway playing the iconic Gretchen Wieners which is probably the most fun I have ever had on or off stage. I mean it’s written by Tina Fey! It was utterly hilarious, and people love the movie, so our audiences were always ready for fun. But I love all the shows I have done, they are all so different. As for Sunday, I auditioned back in December. I had never worked on this role before and I had to sing Dot’s very complicated opening song. It took a ton of work for me to learn it for the audition. But it was such fun working on Sondheim and it teaches you a lot. Then at the final callback, I worked with our director Sarna Lapine and that was that! 
 
CF:  

Sondheim’s material stretches an actor-singer’s capabilities. What’s the most challenging aspect of playing the youthful Dot and nonagenarian Marie in Sunday? 

KA:

Sondheim is a beast. This is the most thrilling and challenging musical I’ve had the honor of working on. He is a genius, and the craft and detail that he builds into his musicals is unmatched. It is everything you could ever want as an actor. The language is dense and each word matters. Though the music is insanely difficult it’s some of the most beautiful music I have ever sung. The lyrics are witty and boy are there a lot of them! I also think this role is unique because my first character Dot exists in the  1800’s. Then, in the second act, we fast forward to the 1980’s where I play Dots daughter, Marie, who is 98! I mean, there are few roles in musical theatre that require that big of an age range. That has been a great deal of fun for me, and so hard (in a good way). 

CF:   

Dot and George share most of the stage time in Sunday. How do you and your co-star Graham Phillips (series regular on The Good Wife) get along?  

KA:

 I love Graham! I feel so lucky that we get to play opposite each other. We had a fast connection, and that is a gift. We both enjoy the challenge and trying new approaches. We don’t let our egos get in the way. Working to serve the piece is very important to us both. We have each other’s backs on stage and off which makes doing this musical together very special. 

CF:  

I understand you are of both middle-eastern and Latinx heritage. Do you feel your cultural background has affected your artistic path? 

KA: 

Yes! I am a proud a first generation kid! My father came to the U.S. from Mexico, and my mother came here from Lebanon. I feel so proud of my heritage and background and it is incredibly important to me, as it is who I am. I think that artistically, much has changed in our industry since I started in 2008. There is way more opportunity for my type, and I am getting to do things I would have never been considered for in the past — like Dot my character in Sunday for instance. I wonder if I am the one of the first BIPOC Dots in a major production of Sunday? And that is insanely cool and special. I hope it inspires other kids that look like me to believe that they can do it, too! 

CF:

Sunday is such a multifaceted exploration of the creative process that any number of valid conclusions can be drawn from its story.  What do you hope audiences take away from the musical?

KA:

I hope that audiences walk away thinking about who they are, and finding inspiration in all of the incredibly deep messages that this piece poses to us as artists and humans. I feel like I learn a new lesson with every performance and it makes me want to create more, and live. My favorite quote of the show is “the choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not. You keep moving on”. 

CF: 

Along with the joy of creation, every actor experiences the feeling of rejection at not getting a part they truly wanted to portray. How do you handle those disappointments? 

KA: 

Rejection is such a huge part of being an actor, if not the biggest part. We are constantly auditioning, and constantly getting no’s and rejected. Constantly. That is just part of it, and there is a sort of acceptance of that that comes with doing this professionally because no matter at what level you are, the rejection does not go away. The rejection often increases because you are competing with more accomplished actors the longer you continue. So, it just gets more intense. But that is how it works — and it is never personal. Every film or stage production has a specific casting criteria. My job is to simply present my version, and then from there it is out of my hands. 

CF: 

Where did you study and along with your formal education what personal qualities have helped you succeed at the acting profession? 

KA:

I studied acting at Arizona State University for a year before I was plucked out of college to do the first national tour of the musical Spring Awakening in 2008. That was a very special time and a huge opportunity for me at so young an age. Two years later, after the tour ended, I moved to NYC and have been working since. I think my drive and passion for this field is a huge part of why I am working and why I am happy. I absolutely love what I do, and I love that it is hard and takes immense discipline and focus but that you emerge having created something beautiful. 

CF:  

Is anyone in your family in the arts and how do your parents and family feel about your career choice? 

KA:

Like I said, my dad was a singer when I was growing up in Phoenix, so music has always been an important part of my life. Both my parents were immensely supportive of my dreams to pursue acting. They encouraged me every step of the way and have always thought what I wanted and what I do is brave and exhilarating. I feel so lucky to have had that support. I wouldn’t be where I am at without them! 
CF:   

Do you have any advice for aspiring young actors? 

KA: 

Be yourself! I know that sounds cheesy and cliche, but the most important thing you can do as a young performer is find out who you are and really love and cultivate that. Don’t try to be like anyone else as your uniqueness is what people want!

To see the uniquely talented Ms. Krystina Alabado in Sondheim’s masterpiece Sunday in the Park with George CLICK HERE

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