Playwright Alexis Scheer, born and raised in Miami from a Columbian household, captured the humor and spirit of Latina culture in her one act play “Laughs in Spanish”, running now through June 23 at Gabletage in Coral Gables.
The play has six distinct characters who all come together in Wynwood, one of the trendy art gallery sections of Miami during Art Basel Week.
In the opening scene, art gallery owner Mariana (played by actress Mariana Mondragon) is frantic as she discovers that on the eve of the opening of Art Basel Week all the paintings in her gallery have been stolen.
Estella (Gaby Tortoledo) is enthusiastic to help with Carolina (Marcela Paguaga) and Juan (William Guevara) in the comedy “Laughs in Spanish” running now through June 23 at GableStage in Coral Gables.
Mariana calls policeman Juan (William Guevara) to solve the robbery and blames her assistant Carolina (Marcela Paguaga) as she was the last person to leave the gallery before the robbery took place.
As expected in a comedy, there are misguided incidents and quirky situations that follow that move the play from a dramatic overtone to a humorous one.
It turns out that Carolina is an aspiring artist of her own who wants to substitute her own paintings to showcase in Mariana’s gallery during Art Basel Week.
Carolina, who is Cuban-American, talks in some Spanglish (a hybrid of Spanish and English spoken among second generation Cuban Americans living in Miami) to negotiate with Marana to convince her to showcase Carolina’s original artwork during Art Basel Week.
Mariana of course balks at Carolina’s suggestion and from that moment on, the laughs begin with misunderstandings and false intentions leading to bizarre situations.
The audience learns of a budding romance between Carolina and Juan, who, despite being a policeman is timid and fearful of Carolina.
Central to the story is the arrival of Mariana’s mother Estella (Gaby Tortoledo), a first generation Cuban American, who wants to solve Mariana’s dilemma by volunteering to help her with aspiring art buyers at her gallery during Art Basel Week.
Estella (Gaby Tortoledo) tries to calm her daughter Mariana (Mariana Mondragon) in the comedy “Laughs in Spanish”, running now through June 23 at GableStage in Coral Gables.
Estella is famous among Cuban Americans for starring on television in Spanish soap operas and flies from Los Angeles to Miami to woo Mariana’s clients with her charisma.
Estrella’s assistant Jenny (Magali Trench) also adds to the humor in the play as she reconnects with Mariana, whom she has known since they both went to the same boarding school as..
Many surprising situations develop in the play, such as Mariana’s resentment of Estella meddling in her private life and the tepid relationship of Caroline and Juan that lead to lots of funny exchanges between the characters.
Estella is the glue and central focus of the play, as is the relationship between mother and daughter that also lead to some dramatic overtones in the story.
Actresses Mondragon and Tortoledo stand out with the funniest lines and situations in the play, but the secondary story of Carolina and Juan adds more spicy Latin humor to the primary story.
The high energy direction of the play by director Victoria Collado gives non- Spanish members of the audience a good understanding of the Miami Latin culture that is essential to the humor.
Credit both scenic designer Frank J. Olivia and sound designer Ernesto K. Gonzalez for their collaboration in making the Wynwood art studio come alive. There is a bright “Welcome to Wynwood” graffiti-styled art that is on the stage as well as musical interludes from a changing lineup of Miami radio disc jockeys that play energetic upbeat Latina music, such as the songs “Contigo” and “Pulito Chicken” that keep the action flowing and uninterrupted between scenes.
The cast dances in one of many dance sequences from the comedy “Laughs in Spanish”, running now through June 23 at GableStage in Coral Gables.
Although written as a play with a storyline, the funny and quirky characters in “Laughs in Spanish” seem to be drawn from the world of sketch comedy as each character get drawn into humorous situations that on the surface seem too bizarre to be believed,
But even with situations that are not realistic, those living in Miami see characters that are very familiar as is the humorous dialogue between the actors.
Playwright Alexis Scheer’s one act comedy “Laughs In Spanish” is running now through June 23 at GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Avenue in Coral Gables.. Tickets range from $45-65 with discounts for artists, groups, students and military personnel. Show times are Wednesdays- Sundays at 7:30 p.m. and matinees at 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Sundays. To order tickets, go to gablestage.org or call 305-445-1119.
