Hispanic Theatre

Teatro de la Luna highlights the soul of Tango music and dance

If you’re not ready to give in to an autumnal chill in the air, one of the hottest places to be right now is decidedly Teatro de la Luna. In its Friday night series, Noche de Luna: Tango Show, the...

Teatro de la Luna: Providing Spanish-Language Theater to DC Since 1991

Nucky Walder and Mario Marcel are household names to many Spanish-speaking residents of Washington, DC. For more than 60 years, Marcel, who is from Argentina, has dedicated himself to acting, theater...

Opening Night Photos: ‘FAME’ at GALA Fires Up Columbia Heights

Tony Award-winning director and Nuyorican choreographer Luis Salgado brings his New York creds to Columbia Heights with the power of a New York City subway platform Flash Dance as over 20 dancers and...

Review: ‘Fame’ Is Full of Heart at GALA Hispanic Theatre

There is something very “meta” about Gala Hispanic Theatre’s production of Fame. See, you’ve got this group of scrappy young artists with talent, so much talent. And they are determined to show the...

Review: ‘The Old Man, the Youth, and the Sea’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

As the clouds have gathered over the past two years, we have witnessed the coarsening of our politics as one party promotes an increasingly strident brand of nationalism, corruption, and incompetence...

Review: ‘On Your Feet!’ National Tour at the Kennedy Center

The rhythm is gonna get you! Expect to find yourself dancing in your seat, because the energy from this show is infectious. On Your Feet! at the Kennedy Center is electric, and audience members...

News: DC Performing Arts Organizations Rally to Support Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

When Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico on September 20th, the storm left millions of American citizens with no electricity, drinkable water, cell service, or a roof over their heads. A...

Analysis: Charlottesville Theater Groups Respond to Last Month’s Deadly Rally

On August 11th and 12th, a group of neo-Nazis, fascists, and white supremacists thronged Charlottesville, Virginia. They were there to protest – peacefully, they’d said – the removal of a statue of...

Review: ‘A Never-Ending Line’ at The Players Theatre

Conceived by Composer and Director Jaime Lozano as a loving tribute to the women in his life and his matriarchal upbringing, A Never-Ending Line, produced by Maribel Escobosa, Martha Orendain, and...

Report #2: ‘Callado Conmigo’ (‘Silenced Within Me’) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

It was an informal gathering. Barefoot. Casual attire. Just a handful of women standing in a semi-circle, reciting words from a page. They were from a variety of South and Central American countries,...

Report: ‘Noche de Estrellas’ Benefit for GALA Hispanic Theatre at the Organization of American States

GALA Hispanic Theatre’s Noche de Estrellas benefit was a brilliant success, raising money for GALA’s youth education programs and offering inspired performances and speeches from diverse artists who...

Report #1: ‘Callado Conmigo’ (‘Silenced Within Me’) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

The idea of using theater to educate people is not new. The Greeks were doing it way back when, using the great amphitheater at Epidaurus to teach the populace that murder and mayhem would not be...

Who’s in Town?: Jaime Camil from TV’s ‘Jane the Virgin’ to Receive the Inspiration Award at GALA Hispanic Theatre’s Noche de Estrellas on Monday, June 5 at 6:30PM

Ok, I admit it. I’ve become slightly obsessed with the CW show Jane the Virgin this week. The love triangles, the mysteries, the heartwarming family moments, what’s not to love? In preparing to...

In the Moment: ‘In the Heights’ (Spanish Version) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

New theater voices, heard in their own language and accessible to a wide audience. In a world-class area full of strivers like the DC metro area, it is about time. This admiring column is based...

Review: ‘In the Heights’ (Spanish Version) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Those looking to add “a little bit of cinnamon” to their theatergoing should head to GALA Hispanic Theatre’s current production of In the Heights. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2008 Tony Award-winning musical...

Who’s in Town?: Luis Salgado, Director and Choreographer of GALA Theatre’s Spanish Language ‘In the Heights’

¡No pare, sigue, sigue! Hamilton lovers rejoice! Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2008 Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights premieres tonight at GALA Hispanic Theatre in the show’s first Spanish-language...

Review: ‘I Too Speak of the Rose’ (‘Yo También Hablo de la Rosa’) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

US Premiere of Mexican Classic Now Playing at GALA Hispanic Theatre Some might think of it as a Mexican version of Rashomon—Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1950 film in which each of the characters describes...

Review: ‘Cervantes:The Last Quixote’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve probably never heard of Cervantes. Or you know him only as the creator of Don Quixote, a book you last picked up in high school. But don’t let that deter you from...

Review: ‘Miss Cuarenta’ Starring Paula Arcila at GALA Hispanic Theatre

GALA Hispanic Theatre—home of the National Center for Latino Performing Arts—kicked off its 41st season this weekend with the DC premiere of Miss Cuarenta. The dazzling solo performance—written and...

Review: ‘El Paso Blue’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

‘El Paso Blue’ in long-awaited East Coast Premiere at GALA It took roughly 20 years for Octavio Solis’ El Paso Blue to make it to Washington, DC. But now that it has arrived, the play—written and...

Teatro de la Luna’s Children’s Theater Festival: 6 Hours of Drama and Magic on Sat 1/16 at The Rosslyn Spectrum

On Saturday, January 16, 2016 – from 11 AM until 5 PM – it’s six Children’s Hours, full of continuous mystery and magic, drama and dance: “al major estilo latinoamericano” (with the best Latin...

Theatrical Latino Beat Tuned to the Season with “Three Kings Festival” in Columbia Heights This Sunday, January 3rd

“We Three Kings of Orient are; Bearing gifts, We travel afar, Field and fountain, moor and mountain, Following yonder Star.” The words of this iconic Christmas Carol will come alive for the 40th year,...

‘Flamenco Men 2’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

It is said that there are four elements of flamenco: Cante, or voice; Baile, or dance; Toque, or guitar, and; Jaleo – audience participation. All were in full force at GALA Hispanic Theatre’s...

Hugo Medrano on ‘Yerma’ and GALA Hispanic Theatre’s 2015-2016 Season

GALA Hispanic Theatre’s Co-Founder & Producing Artistic Director Hugo Medrano unveils GALA’s new 2015-2016 season. Joel: How long have you been at GALA and how has the vision you had when you began...

‘Las Polacas: The Jewish Girls of Buenos Aires’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Many times, and perhaps too often, theater is used as a vehicle to escape life, to tell a story that is far from the reality of the world we live in and come from. I respect the artists who use...

‘Mariela in the Desert’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

“There’s always something beautiful in the truth, even when it’s ugly.” After a standing ovation, many of us in the audience at Sunday’s showing of Mariela en el Desierto sat right back down to take a...

‘The Mundo Perfeito’ (Perfect World) As part of the Iberian Suite at the Kennedy Center.

The Mundo Perfeito (Perfect World) has arrived in DC’s America. As part of the Iberian Suite. At The Kennedy Center. Presenting a full evening of theatre, Mundo Perfeito offers two productions: Three...

Winter Heat Courtesy of Teatro de la Luna: ‘No hay que llorar’ (No Need to Cry) Opens February 19th by Christine Stoddard

Winter Heat Courtesy of Teatro de la Luna Teatro de la Luna’s Luna de Tangos/Moonlight Tangos, a sold out cabaret featuring tangos and milongas, made Ballston’s NRECA Conference Center an extra cozy...

‘Casa de Empeños’ (House of Desires) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Oh, what a tangled web we weave! The brilliant cast of GALA Hispanic Theatre’s Casa de Empeños (House of Desires) had the audience in stitches at last night’s official opening, as they wove their way...

A Full Moon for el Festival de Teatro para Niños by Christine Stoddard

Season to season, festival to festival, Teatro de la Luna, co-founded by Mario Marcel and Nucky Walder, ping-pongs between the Gunston Arts Center and Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre. One of the metro’s two...

‘Cancun’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Last night, I attended the U.S. premiere of the play Cancun at GALA Hispanic Theatre. Written by internationally renowned Spanish-Catalan playwright Jordi Galceran and directed by Jose Zayas, this...

‘Pure Tango II’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Tango is a sensual style of music that has enraptured the world for many years. This style of music was created in the working class neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and later in Montevideo,...

‘Living Out’ (‘Cama Afuera’) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

On a superficial level, the two women at the heart of Lisa Loomer’s elegantly crafted Living Out couldn’t be more different. Ana (Belén Oyola-Rebaza) is an undocumented nanny working to bring her...

‘Tango Turco (Turkish Tango)’ at Teatro de la Luna

Tango Turco (Turkish Tango) is a fascinating play, veering from soapy and melodramatic to thoughtful and philosophical. Argentinian playwright Del Autor’s strange but oddly likeable play is being...

‘La Señorita de Tacna (The Young Lady From Tacna)’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre by Jessica Vaughan

Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2010, always wanted to be a playwright. La Señorita de Tacna, written in 1981, was his first play. His literary roots...

‘Les Misérables School Edition’ at H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program by Eric Denver

Les Misérables School Edition played at H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Arlington, VA on January 30, 2014 to a sold-out four-performance run. Under the capable and expert leadership of Producer,...

Director José Carrasquillo on ‘La Señorita de Tacna’ (The Young Lady from Tacna) at GALA Hispanic Theatre

La Señorita de Tacna (The Young Lady from Tacna), by the Peruvian Playwright Mario Vargas Llosa, opens tonight at GALA Hispanic Theatre. I asked Director José Carrasquillo about the auditions and...

‘La Vie En Rose’ at the In Series by Jessica Vaughan

The In Series travels to France for a weekend of performances of the very special La Vie En Rose, a program of French chansons, or secular, lyrical songs, sung by a cadre of talented, local opera...

‘Cabaret Barroco’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre by Nicole Cusick

Gala Hispanic Theatre begins its 38th season by paying homage to the Spanish Golden Age. The spirit of a 17th century corralas found its way to 14th Street with the world debut of Cabaret Barroco,...

‘Club de Caballeros (Rotas de Amor)’ at Teatro de la Luna by Andrew L. Baughman

“There is nothing more ridiculous than a man in love.” That is the basic premise of Argentine playwright Rafael Bruza’s alternately absurd and poignant Club de Caballeros (Rotas de Amor) at Teatro de...

‘Las aventuras de Don Quixote de La Mancha’ at Gala Hispanic Theatre by Andrew L. Baughman

Las aventuras de Don Quixote de La Mancha, Patricia Suarez’s adaptation of Cervantes’ novel (Bilingual Adaptation by Cornelia Cody), is currently delighting young audiences at GALA Hispanic Theatre at...

‘Split This Rock: Call and Response’ at INTERSECTIONS at Atlas by Jessica Vaughan

Split This Rock is a non-profit organization that teaches and performs spoken word poetry or slam poetry. A huge part of the organization is focused on young people and one of their major offerings...

‘Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas’ (Sex, Shame and Tears) at Teatro de la Luna by Flora Scott

Although Sexo, Pudor Y Lágrimas (Sex, Shame and Tears) is a charming comedy. I found it a thoughtful meditation on sex and how it has, does and always will separate men and women. Beyond the...

‘La casa de los espíritus’ (The House of Spirits) at GALA Hispanic Theatre by Veronique MacRae

“What do you know about life? Its torment, its pain…” Based on the pivotal, impassioned and ground-breaking novel by Chilean-American novelist, Isabelle Allende, La casa de los espíritus, or The House...

‘Yo la Llamo Rusita Rojas (I Call Her Rusita Rojas)’ at Teatro de la Luna by Colleen Sproull

If more children’s theatre was like Yo la Llamo Rusita Rojas, I’d go more often. Yo la Llamo Rusita Rojas (I Call Her Rusita Rojas) by Cristina Ferrari is an energetic adaptation of Charles Perrault’s...

‘Fiesta de los Reyes Magos/The Three Kings Day Celebration’ at Gala Hispanic Theatre by Carolyn Kelemen

Three kings, a live donkey and dancers galore add up to a GALA DC celebration Since the annual Fiesta de los Reyes Magos/The Three Kings Day Celebration has become so popular in the DC’s...

Paso Nuevo’s ‘Por cada lágrima (For Every Tear)’ at Gala Hispanic Theatre by Charles Miller

On Friday, December 14, 2012, Paso Nuevo, which recently won recognition by First Lady Michelle Obama, at the White House with the 2012 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, presented Por...

‘Flamenco: Territorio DeMente’ at Gala Hispanic Theatre by Colleen Sproull

A full house greeted me as I took my seat at the trendy Gala Hispanic Theatre for an exciting evening of Flamenco: Territorio DeMente, part of Fuego Flamenco VIII. A Flamenco virgin, I was mystified...

‘Amarillo’ at GALA Hispanic Theatre by Don Michael Mendoza

I have never been to the GALA Hispanic Theatre and was excited to see the restored theatre space and watch a show brought to DC all the way from Mexico. Teatro Linea de Sombra’s original production of...

‘Cartas de las Golondrinas (Letters from the Swallows)’ at Teatro de la Luna by Colleeen Sproull

This was my first experience with Teatro de la Luna, which now celebrates its 15th year, and after tonight’s stunning performance by Noelia Fernández and Esther Aja in Cartas de las Golondrinas...