Latino Theater Company will partner with two Los Angeles-based Asian American companies and San Francisco’s Magic Theatre to close out 2023 with a fall season of exciting premieres at downtown’s Los Angeles Theatre Center.
“Building on the success of our recently completed spring season, which saw the lobby abuzz with new and familiar faces, we have curated an engaging fall season that speaks directly to the hearts of our community,” says Latino Theater Company artistic director Jose Luis Valenzuela. “Through powerful collaborations with exceptional companies, we unite our community in the art of storytelling. In these challenging times, it is crucial to share narratives that foster connections and inspire a brighter future. We warmly embrace our allies who recognize the significance of coming together. We elevate and celebrate them.”
Set to kick off the season on September 16 is the world premiere of This Is Not a True Story by Preston Choi in a co-production with Asian American theater-producing collective Artists at Play. Tired racist tropes are upended as the fictional worlds of Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon and Kumiko the Treasure Hunter collide with modern reality. Three Asian “tragic heroines” find themselves trapped in a loop they can’t control — until they claim agency over their lives, determined to break the cycle. Reena Dutt is set to direct this exhilarating new work that tackles, head-on, the fetishization and anti-Asian racism of Orientalist works. (Previews September 14 and 15, opens September 16 with performances continuing through October 15 in the Lupe Ontiveros Cinema Center at the LATC.)
Opening September 23, Latino Theater Company in association with San Francisco’s Magic Theatre presents the Los Angeles premiere of the newest work by MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” recipient Luis Alfaro. Set inside a near-abandoned Catholic monastery, The Travelersexplores our disconnect to community with intimate honesty and inspired humor. Directed by Catherine Castellanos in its world premiere at the Magic, the productionwill be re-staged for Latino Theater Company by Sean San José. (Previews September 21 and 22; opens September 23 with performances continuing through October 15 in the Tom Bradley Theatre at the LATC.)
Tacos La Brooklyn by Joel Ulloa, developed in Latino Theater Company’s Circle of Imaginistas playwriting group, will receive its world premiere in association with East West Players beginning September 30. Chino, a young and ambitious Korean American who grew up in a foster family in East L.A., hopes to grow “Chino’s Underground Tacos,” his successful taco stand, into a brick and mortar restaurant. When a Mexican American social media influencer accuses him of cultural appropriation and gentrification, Chino must convince the community of his cultural authenticity. A multilingual drama, Tacos La Brooklyn asks captivating questions about cultural appreciation vs. cultural appropriation in contemporary multi-ethnic Los Angeles. Fidel Gomez directs. (Previews September 21 through September 29; opens September 30 with performances continuing through October 29 in Theatre 3 at the LATC.)
In October, Latino Theater Company continues its “IMPACT” community engagement initiative in partnership with the Los Angeles Community College District with a student production of A Mexican Trilogy, written by Latino Theater Company resident playwright Evelina Fernández and directed by artistic director Jose Luis Valenzuela. Each of the three plays in the trilogy will receive performances at a different college in the district: Charity will perform October 5 through October 15 (Thursdays through Sundays) at Los Angeles City College; Faith will perform October 13 through October 22 (Thursdays through Sundays) at East Los Angeles College; and Hope will spend one week, November 2 through November 5, at Los AngelesMission College and a second week, November 16 through November 19, at Los Angeles Valley College. The students will perform the trilogy in its entirety at the Los Angeles Theatre Center for two weeks in January, 2024. Last season, Latino Theater Company’s touring student production of the company’s ensemble-devised play Melancholia, also directed by Valenzuela, was selected to perform at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
The Latino Theater Company’s 16th annual Gala, an evening of food and entertainment themed “Noche Mágica,” will take place on November 4 in the historic atrium grand lobby of The Los Angeles Theatre Center. For over 15 years, the company’s Gala has been a platform for celebrating remarkable artists, devoted supporters and outstanding community leaders. This year’s event will honor Los Angeles Community College District board trustee and district director for Senator Maria Elena Durazo Steven F. Veres with the Marco Antonio Firebaugh Legacy Award; actor and artist Pepe Serna with the Lupe Ontiveros Dream Award; and Los Angeles Chargers director of cultural affairs Liliana T. Pérez-Palacios with the Edith Perez Angel Award. Proceeds from the Gala will support Latino Theater Company’s mission of nurturing groundbreaking productions, fostering new play development, and expanding arts education initiatives that enrich the cultural fabric of our vibrant city.
Finally, Latino Theater Company returns to downtown L.A.’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on December 1 and December 2 with two free performances of La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin, the company’s signature holiday pageant that has been a Los Angeles holiday tradition since 2002. With a cast that features over 100 actors, singers and indigenous Aztec dancers as well as children and seniors from the community, La Virgen is the City’s largest theatrical holiday pageant.
The Latino Theater Company is dedicated to providing a world-class arts center for those pursuing artistic excellence; a laboratory where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed; and a place where the convergence of people, cultures and ideas contribute to the future. Now entering its 37th year, the company has operated the City of Los Angeles-owned Los Angeles Theatre Center since 2006, producing 155 plays, creating over 4000 jobs and helping hundreds of nonprofit organizations by providing space and resources. The City, recognizing the Latino Theater Company for its “effective first-class theater center operations,” recently extended the company’s initial 20-year lease for an additional 30 years, through 2056.
For more information about the Latino Theater Company and the 2023 fall season, call (213) 489-0994 or go to www.latinotheaterco.org.
