In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, explore the powerful and diverse voices of Hispanic playwrights in our catalog! From captivating dramas to heartwarming comedies, these plays honor rich cultural experiences and offer unique perspectives on identity, family, and community. This month, we shine a spotlight on the vibrant contributions Hispanic playwrights have made to the world of theatre. Discover your next must-read play and celebrate their lasting impact on the stage!
John Leguizamo
John Leguizamo, a trailblazing actor, comedian, playwright, and activist, is renowned for his dynamic career and powerful exploration of Latinx identity. From his acclaimed one-man shows like Latin History for Morons, Mambo Mouth, and Ghetto Clown, Leguizamo has captivated audiences with his bold storytelling and advocacy for Latinx representation in the arts. This fall, he brings his passion to VOCES: American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos, premiering on PBS Fridays, September 27 and October 4 and 11, 2024, from 9:00-10:00 pm ET. Tune in as Leguizamo helps illuminate the often-overlooked history of Latinos in America.
Latin History for Morons
Photo by Sara Krulwich, 2017 Broadway production
When John takes a peek at his son’s history textbooks, he is shocked to find…well nothing, at least when it comes to the impact of Latin culture over thousands of years. Excited to share his heritage with his son, John dives deep, exploring everything from the Mayans to modern-day heroes. To be performed by one person or an ensemble, this zippy, irreverent, and laugh-out-loud investigation of the past will make you take a second look at the present.
Mambo Mouth
A wildly fun and hysterical collection of characters from the mind of John Leguizamo. Playable by one actor or a small ensemble, Mambo Mouth excavates issues of adolescence, race, parenthood, and more.
Ghetto Klown
In a retrospective on his career, John Leguizamo delves into how he started performing, from attending a tiny acting class on the fringes of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen to using his life as inspiration for his own one-man shows. All the success comes with ramifications, though: family, finances, and ego are all hit hard when his career’s trajectory becomes unclear. GHETTO KLOWN embraces Leguizamo’s trademark honesty and humor, proving the only way through life is forward.
A Spanish version is also available.
Quiara Alegría Hudes is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and screenwriter known for her powerful storytelling and deeply human characters. She has made a significant impact with her play Water by the Spoonful, which won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Her works often explore themes of family, identity, and the Puerto Rican-American experience, bringing vibrant voices and rich cultural perspectives to the stage. Hudes’ ability to weave heartfelt, complex narratives has made her one of the most influential playwrights of her generation.
Water by the Spoonful
Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Photo by Karli Cadel, 2013 Off-Broadway Production
Somewhere in Philadelphia, Elliot has returned from Iraq and is struggling to find his place in the world. Somewhere in a chat room, recovering addicts keep each other alive, hour by hour, day by day. The boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide. WATER BY THE SPOONFUL is a heartfelt meditation on lives on the brink of redemption.
Elliot, a Soldier’s Fugue
Tracing the legacy of war through three generations of a Puerto Rican family, the play focuses on nineteen-year-old Elliot, a recently anointed hometown hero who returns from Iraq with a leg injury and a difficult question: Will he go back to war a second time? While on leave, Elliot learns the stories of his father and grandfather who served in Korea and Vietnam before him.
The Happiest Song Plays Last
In a barrio living room in North Philly, an activist-turned-music-professor moonlights as the local soup kitchen queen, cooking free rice and beans for any hungry neighbor. Halfway around the world, her cousin relives his military trauma on the set of a docudrama that’s filming in Jordan. With the Egyptian revolution booming in the distance, these two young adults try to sing a defiant song of legacy and love in the face of local and global unrest.
Luis Santeiro
Luis Santeiro is a celebrated playwright, television writer, and producer known for his impactful contributions to both stage and screen. His theatrical works, such as Our Lady of the Tortilla, showcases his talent for exploring cultural identity and family dynamics with depth and nuance. Santeiro’s storytelling shines a light on the richness of the Latino and Latina experiences, making him a key voice in capturing and celebrating diverse narratives.
Our Lady of the Tortilla
2019 Sul Ross State University production
The Cruz family is volatile even in the best of times. On this particular day, Nelson, the youngest son, enters the house in a panic to hide the more obvious religious relics from the sight of his “gringo” girlfriend, who is visiting for the weekend. Nelson’s mother, Dahlia, is obsessed with retrieving her husband from his new girlfriend; Eddie, her elder son, shows up in a van with his failed life and pregnant girlfriend. But the “real” pandemonium is caused by sweet, long-suffering Dolores, Dahlia’s old-maid sister, when she sees the face of the Holy Virgin in a tortilla. This miracle brings hordes of believers and reporters to camp out on the Cruz’s lawn to await further miracles. As the family struggles with beliefs and conflicts, old and new, the endurance of family love is revealed to be the real miracle.
The Lady from Havana
In Act One, Mama, an elegant older woman from Cuba, arrives at the Miami home of her daughter, Marita, with her former maid, Zoila, in tow as well as a host of misgivings about living in exile in the United States. As the mother and daughter circle each other warily, the clash of cultures, generations and character create one confrontation after another. But there’s little doubt that Mama is beginning to assimilate, even attempting to work the new system as an Avon lady. Act Two opens in a funeral parlor, with three elderly Cuban American ladies sitting watch over a corpse which is gradually revealed to be Mama. It is ten years later and, in one of the funniest funeral scenes ever written, a great deal is revealed about survival and the amazing, and often comical, resilience of the human spirit.
Land O’Fire
In 1831, Captain James Fitzroy of the HMS Beagle, the ship that took Charles Darwin to South America, became obsessed with what he saw as a philanthropic mission. He took aboard three young Indians, from a primitive tribe in Tierra del Fuego, and transported them to England to be Christianized. At first, every charitable organization refused to help Fitzroy with what they considered a group of cannibals. Then King William IV became intrigued and had them presented at court. Suddenly everyone wanted to meet Fitzroy’s “Fuegians.” But after barely more than a year, just when the Indians were starting to fancy themselves English ladies and gentlemen, they were abruptly returned to their native land, with trunks full of English finery—to disastrous consequences. Told from the point of view of the Indians, Land O’Fire is an insightful and often humorous examination of life interfered with and forever changed by association with a “superior” culture.
Charise Castro Smith
Charise Castro Smith is a talented playwright, screenwriter, and director celebrated for her vibrant storytelling and diverse body of work. Castro Smith brings a unique blend of humor, heart, and cultural depth to her projects. Her plays, such as Feathers and Teeth and El Huracán, explore themes of family, heritage, and the supernatural, often blending realism with magical elements. As a rising star in both theater and film, Castro Smith continues to captivate audiences with her imaginative narratives and richly drawn characters.
Feathers and Teeth
Photo by Chris-Bennion, 2019 Washington Ensemble Theatre production
Home-sweet-home turns into a haunted house for thirteen-year-old Chris when Carol—her father’s new fiancée—moves in. Struggling with the recent death of her mother, Chris is convinced Carol is evil, but she just can’t persuade Dad. When a mysterious, potentially dangerous but kind of cute creature is found in the family’s backyard, Chris assumes it’s a sign from above to eliminate Carol once and for all. This imaginative, bone-chilling, and wildly funny play brings the notion of dysfunctional family drama to sensationally scary heights.
El Huracán
As Hurricane Andrew threatens Miami, perpetual grad student Miranda returns to Florida to help her mother Ximena and abuela Valeria weather the storm. But Valeria has already taken shelter in her own world of memory and magic as she deals with the onset of dementia. And Ximena feels she is the only one capable of keeping her mother safe from the reality of the storm and shuns Miranda’s help. Hurricane Andrew stirs up old grudges, unearths family secrets, and carves a path through their fragile relationships to the one question that matters most: Can they ever forgive each other? Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest, El Huracán is a beautifully lyrical play about resentment, responsibility, and love.
The Hunchback of Seville
At the turn of the 16th century, Christopher Columbus has just returned from the New World with gold in his pockets and blood on his hands. Maxima Terriblé Segunda, the brilliant adopted sister of dying Her Royal Highness Queen Isabella, is living out her life locked away in a tower…until it is decided that the future of the country is in her nerdy, reclusive hands. In a bitingly funny and madcap take on Spanish history and colonialism, Maxima weaves her way through mountains of prejudice, politics, religion, and the horrors of history.
Barbara Joosse
Barbara Joosse is a beloved children’s author known for her warm, lyrical storytelling and ability to capture the beauty of human connections. With over 50 books to her name, Joosse’s work often explores themes of love, family, and cultural diversity. Her gentle yet powerful narratives resonate with readers of all ages, offering heartfelt stories that inspire, comfort, and entertain. Through her distinctive voice, Joosse continues to make a lasting impact in the world of children’s literature.
On the Wings of a Mariposa
Based on Ghost Wings by Barbara Joosse,
Based on Barbara Joosse’s beloved children book, On the Wings of a Mariposa is a story about one girl’s quest to keep her abuelita’s memory alive set during the beautiful annual monarch butterfly migration. After her abuelita dies, ten-year-old Pilar uses an old shawl that smells like her grandmother to help her remember their adventures together. One whiff reminds her of the two of them making tortillas or visiting a special forest known as el Círculo Magico where her abuelita would converse with wildlife. But as the shawl’s scent fades, so too do Pilar’s memories. Once it’s gone, will she lose her grandmother forever? This play with music is a true celebration of life and bursts at the seams with warm memories and joy.
