(Cover Photo: The CAST of Alexis Scheer's "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until October 12, 2024. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)



By Kevin T. Baldwin

METRMAG Reviewer

# 774-242-6724  

“So I said, okay universe, I need a new job. And I’ll know it’s the right job when you show me some sunflowers.”

                                                                             - ("Jenny") / Alexis Scheer

SpeakEasy Stage Company

 Presents Alexis Scheer's

"LAUGHS IN SPANISH"

Written by Alexis Scheer 

Directed by Mariela López-Ponce  

Cast Includes: Paola Ferrer as “Estella,” Luz Lopez as “Carolina,” Brogan Nelson as “Jenny,” Daniel Rios, Jr. as “Juan,” Rebekah Rae Robles as “Mariana”

Additional Creative Team:

Scenic Designer - Erik D. Diaz;  Sound Designer - Anna Drummond;  Sound Board Op/Run Crew - Maria Papadopoulos;  Lighting Designer - Amanda Fallon; Props Coordinator - Emilia Amador; Costume Designer - Rebecca Glick; Wardrobe Supervisor - Samantha Wolfrum

Performances:

September 13, 2024 through October 12, 2024 

(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)  

Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood / BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston MA 02116 

TICKETS:

Contact the Box Office # 617-933-8600 or visit  www.speakeasystage.com 

BUY TICKETS

COVID 19 PROTOCOLS

Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.

SpeakEasy Stage Company opens its 2024-2025 season with the charming comedy, "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" which has a lot of fun and talent on display. 

"LAUGHS IN SPANISH" premiered at the Denver Center's Singleton Theatre in 2023 and now it makes its Boston debut at the SpeakEasy Stage under the extremely well-focused direction of Mariela López-Ponce  

Written by Alexis Scheer, the one-act play is a witty, evenly paced look at art, careerism, failure, success, the roads taken (or not) and, most of all, relationships. 

Advertised as “part telenovela and part whodunit,” the 90-minute play is a lighthearted yet insightful examination of the many different kinds of human bonding that exist. 

In "LAUGHS IN SPANISH," Mariana aka “Mari” (Rebekah Rae Robles) serves as the director of the Studio Six art gallery in Miami. 

(Photo: Luz Lopez as “Carolina,” Rebekah Rae Robles as “Mariana” and Daniel Rios, Jr. as “Juan” in a scene from Alexis Scheer's "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until October 12, 2024. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)

As the play begins, we are at the gallery, situated inside an industrial warehouse. 

It is December as the gallery is preparing to participate in the Art Basel, a popular annual event established in the 1970s which has since become a keystone event within the contemporary art world. 

As such, the stakes are high for the gallery and Mari feels her job is on the line.   

Carolina, aka “Caro” (Luz Lopez), is a Cuban American born in Miami, who is also a painter nearing completion of her internship at Studio Six. 

Lopez is entirely engaging as the occasionally combative Caro, who also struggles with a secret she has been keeping. 

The split set depicts on one side multiple walls all designed to display various artwork…or, at least, that is what we should see. 

Instead, however, we see that there is obviously no artwork on display. A highly anticipated art exhibit has gone missing on this day of a critical gallery event. 

(Photo: Paola Ferrer as “Estella” and Daniel Rios, Jr. as “Juan” share a laugh together in Alexis Scheer's "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until October 12, 2024. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)

Robles gives a solid, brassy take as Mari, who is frantically trying to figure out what happened to the missing artwork. 

Mari must also decide what to offer in its place as many potential high caliber art collectors are due to arrive at any moment to the gallery event with checkbooks in hand, ready to buy. 

Supposedly leading the investigation is Caro’s cop boyfriend, Juan (Daniel Rios, Jr.), a Miami-Dade police officer who seems all too eager to help out, mainly because the missing artwork may be a chance for Caro’s own artwork to get a showing. 

Rios is disarming as the amiable Juan, who cannot keep his enthusiasm bottled up, especially when a boyhood idol of his appears. 

Appearing at the crime scene unexpectedly is Mariana’s Colombian movie-star mother, Estella (Paola Ferrer), who tries to help out, but makes matters worse, not better.   

Ferrer is completely captivating from Estella’s entrance and is given a vibrant, highly articulate monologue later in the show which many might find to be the veritable high point of the play.

(Photo: Rebekah Rae Robles as “Mariana” grills Luz Lopez as her art gallery employee “Carolina,” in a scene from Alexis Scheer's "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until October 12, 2024. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)

Estella is accompanied by her able assistant, Jenny (Brogan Nelson), a Caucasian-American, budding screenwriter and former classmate of Mari. 

As Jenny, Nelson is a pleasure to watch, especially when stranded at the other side of the stage, which is set up as an unusual looking lounge area decorated in tropical decor. 

While a conversation is taking place, Jenny must spend the next several minutes coming up with multiple humorous bits just to fill the awkward amount of time while seemingly "marooned."   

Mari must not only contend with the gallery robbery with investors en route; she must now also contend with her frequently-absent mother who has arrived at the worst possible time and with a mysterious and closely guarded secret agenda, which is only known to Jenny.  

With the exception of Jenny, the characters in this play all engage in something known as “code-switching.” 

“Code switching” is an intentional alteration of their dialect, style, and vocabulary based on who they are speaking to…meaning mostly (but not exclusively) Caucasians. 

This is not done as a gimmick or for comedic effect but rather to display the way in which they live, either out of necessity or by choice or, perhaps, a combination of both. 

(Photo: The CAST of Alexis Scheer's "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" at SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, MA. until October 12, 2024. Photo credit Nile Scott Studios)

Similar to being at an actual gallery showing, when considering the overall ambiance of a piece, the observer must also explore how the piece moves them and where they might find some cultural meaning.

"LAUGHS IN SPANISH" is a slice of life journey and, with Alexis Scheer's finely tuned dialogue and well-defined characters, although the story does have a bit of a situation comedy feel to it, we do feel a bit closer to these characters after having spent some time with them at this gallery. 

Also, just as one might see watching one of the aforementioned telenovelas, there's sporadic moments of dancing involved - but the caliente music selected will have many in the audience wanting to get up and dance along with the actors on stage.

The SpeakEasy Stage Company "showing" of Alexis Scheer's "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" continues in Boston until October 12th, 2024 and is a great way to kick off their 34th season. 

Up next at SpeakEasy Stage Company will be "PRU PAYNE" by Stevn Drukman which runs from October 18th through November 16th, 2024.

For tickets, reservations and more information, contact the Box Office at # 617-933-8600 or visit www.speakeasystage.com.

Approximately 90 minutes with no intermission. 

Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)

@MetrmagReviews

@Theatre_Critics 

ABOUT THE SHOW

“A captivating theatrical experience that seamlessly blends humor, heart, and cultural exploration.” – Broadway World    

From award-winning Boston playwright Alexis Scheer ("Our Dear Dead Drug Lord") comes this cafecito-infused comedy about mothers and daughters and art and success.  

On the eve of Art Basel, Mari is about to open a career-defining show in her Miami gallery, when suddenly all the paintings go missing.  

To make matters worse, her once-famous, mostly-absent mother hits town with a mysterious agenda.  

Part telenovela and part whodunit, "LAUGHS IN SPANISH" is a poignant and playful exploration of family and identity, bursting with joy. 

ABOUT SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY

SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY is a non-profit theatre company located in the South End of Boston and is led by award-winning Producing Artistic Director Paul Daigneault. SPEAKEASY STAGE COMPANY was named the Pavilion Resident Theater for the Boston Center for the Arts in 2007 and produces 28 weeks of new plays and musicals each season at the Nancy and Ed Roberts Studio Theater in the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.speakeasystage.com