Latino Theater Company opens 40th Anniversary Season with the Professional West Coast Premiere Just Like Us, a play by Karen Zacarías
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Oscar Emmanuel Fabela, Elyse Mirto, Saul Rodriguez, Blanca Isabella, Brenda Banda and Sari Sanchez Photo by Grettel Cortes Photography
The Latino Theater Company opens its 40th Anniversary Season with the professional West Coast premiere of Just Like Us, a non-fiction play by Karen Zacarías, inspired by a bestselling book by Helen Thorpe. Directed by Fidel Gomez (Tacos La Brooklyn), Just Like Us opens this weekend on Saturday, April 19 at The Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown Los Angeles. Performances continue through May 18.
Inspired by the bestselling book by Helen Thorpe and more timely now than ever, this non-fiction play by Karen Zacarías follows four Latina teenage girls whose close-knit friendship is put to the test when each finds her opportunities in life dictated by immigration status—or lack thereof.
A true coming-of-age story.
This true coming-of-age story about four Latina girls is more timely now than ever, posing difficult, yet essential questions about what makes us American. Reporter Helen Thorpe (Elyse Mirto) follows the lives of four Latina girls in Denver who straddle two worlds: Clara (Noelle Franco) and Elissa (Valerie Rose Vega) hold legal documents, while Yadira (Valerie Rose Vega) and Marisela (Blanca Isabella) do not. Against the odds, each finds her way into a good college, but the hurdles only mount from there. Student loans are not an option when you don’t have a Social Security number, and if your parents face deportation, your siblings may be moving into your dorm.
”I like to play with archetypes and assumptions,” Zacarías said in an interview. “The girls are all straight-A students and leaders in their high school, but the two girls who have documents have opportunities that the two undocumented women don’t. I am a Mexican immigrant. I was a straight-A student. I understand these girls on a visceral level.”
“I was not looking to change people’s political opinions,” explained Thorpe. “I want to change people’s emotional relationship to the individuals at the heart of the discussion. I want readers to relate to people caught up in the middle of the issue as fellow human beings, to walk around in their shoes. Then, they can draw whatever conclusions they want about ‘they should be here, they shouldn’t be here, they should have gotten this or that document, they should have done it this way.’ All of those opinions are legitimate, but if you can’t relate to the people caught up in the whole debate, it’s a shallow conversation.”
Photo by Grettel Cortes Photography
The cast also includes…
The Latino Theater Company cast also includes Brenda Banda, Oscar Emmanuel Fabela, Saul Rodriguez and Sari Sanchez. The creative team includes scenic designer François-Pierre Couture; lighting designer Xinyuan Li; composer and sound designer Robert J. Revell; projection designer Hsuan–Kuang Hsieh; costume designer Maria Catarina Copelli; and choreographer Marissa Herrera. Casting is by Espi Revell. The production manager is May Congxiao Fei and the production stage manager is Alexa Wolfe, assisted by Martha Espinoza.
Zacarías is the most produced Latina playwright in the United States. Her award-winning plays include The Copper Children, Destiny of Desire, Native Gardens, The Book Club Play, Legacy of Light, Mariela in the Desert, The Sins of Sor Juana, the adaptations of Just Like Us, Into The Beautiful North, and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent. She is the author of ten renowned TYA musicals and the librettist of several ballets. She is one of the inaugural resident playwrights at Arena Stage, a core founder of the Latinx Theatre Commons, and a founder of Young Playwrights’ Theater. She was voted 2018 Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine for her advocacy work in the arts.
Performance details.
Just Like Us opens on Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m., with performances thereafter on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through May 18. Tickets range from $10–$48, except opening night which is $75 and includes a post-performance reception.
The Los Angeles Theatre Center is located at 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90013. Parking is available for $8 with box office validation at Los Angeles Garage Associate Parking structure, 545 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (between 5th and 6th Streets, just behind the theater). For more information and to purchase tickets, call (213) 489-0994 or go to latinotheaterco.org.
*Information courtesy Lucy Pollak Public Relations at LucyPR.com.
