‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: Florencia Cuenca & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES: THE MUSICAL
Music & lyrics by Joy Huerta & Benjamin Velez
Book by Lisa Loomer & Nell Benjamin
Based on the play by Josefina Lopez
and HBO’s Real Women Have Curves,
screenplay by Josefina Lopez & George LaVoo
Directed & choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
James Earl Jones Theatre
138 West 48^th Street
https://www.realwomenhavecurvesbroadway.com/

By Scott Harrah

Musical stage adaptations of films and plays can be tricky indeed. On paper, a musical adaptation of Real Women Have Curves—the 1990 play by Josefina Lopez about an 18-year-old Mexican American woman in Los Angeles and her immigrant family’s struggles that was adapted into a hit 2002 HBO film starring America Ferrera—might have seemed like a hard sell. However, the finished product is sensational and one of the spring 2025 Broadway season’s most delightful surprises.

Tony nominations

The Broadway musical received two 2025 Tony Award nominations: Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical (Justina Machado) and Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) for Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez. Some might argue, including this reviewer, that the show deserved even more Tony nominations because it is such a beautiful and poignant musical on many levels.

From play & film to musical

When the film came out 23 years ago, it turned then-unknown America Ferrera into a star. She went on to play opposite co-star Vanessa Williams in the hit ABC TV comedy “Ugly Betty” for four seasons. The film was primarily known as a vehicle for female empowerment for plus-sized women. In 2025, however, the story of undocumented Mexican and Latina immigrants working in a women’s dress factory mirrors the current struggles of hard-working migrants in fear of being deported.

Tatianna Córdoba stars as Ana, an 18-year-old living in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles in 1987. Her family is from Mexico, but Ana is the only one who is a U.S. citizen. She has recently graduated from high school and wants to become a journalist. She obtains a full-ride scholarship to prestigious Columbia University in New York, but her mother, Carmen (Ms. Machado) wants Ana to stay in L.A. and help out with the garment-making business because the family is struggling. Carmen expects Ana to assume a traditional woman’s role and also follow in the footsteps of her older sister, Estela (Florencia Cuenca).

The family is working hard to meet a deadline for an order of 200 dresses. Each dress must be handmade, in a factory room without air-conditioning. Everyone in the factory is undocumented, but in the Reagan era, a law granted amnesty to non-citizens who had been in the USA since 1982. Although this law existed, many immigrants still felt unsafe because employers who knowingly hired “illegal” foreign nationals faced large fines and possible imprisonment.

Family decisions & the plight of Latina women

Ana faces a dilemma that is common when one is part of any family business: She’s independent, has her own dreams and wants her own life and career. In addition, she is grappling with the cultural expectations of her family as well as body-image issues. She wants to spend the summer working as an intern at a local newspaper instead of working in the factory, and this does not please her mother. What’s more, Ana meets a nice guy, Henry (Mason Reeves),  at the newspaper and starts dating him.

Real Women Have Curves is both the story of an immigrant family and also the collected stories of Latina women. All of the women are just trying to make an honest living in bleak conditions, in a city and country that is not exactly kind to them.

Itzel (Aline Mayagoitia) has one of the most moving stories. She is a refugee from Guatemala working in the factory with the others. When Itzel is arrested by immigration police, the other women fear they will be next.  Itzel and Ana have one of the show’s most powerful duets, “If I Were a Bird.”

Show-stopping ‘Curves’

Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez’s musical score is high-spirited and uplifting, with many great songs. The muscal’s showstopper is Act Two’s “Curves,” a song that follows a scene in which Ana and the factory women strip down to their undergarments in the stifling heat and sing about rejecting the social limitations placed on them. It’s a feel-good moment that has the audience cheering and erupting into thunderous applause.

Trujillo’s triumph

Director and choreographer Sergio Trujillo has worked on many great shows in recent years, but Real Women Have Curves: The Musical is one of his best. He has directed the cast skillfully, and the performances all coalesce well.

A solid cast

The show’s standouts include Ms. Córdoba (making her Broadway debut) as Ana. Ms. Córdoba brings all the grit, charm and determination needed for such a complicated character. The magnificent Justina Machado is a complete natural as Carmen, the traditional, no-nonsense mother of Ana and Estela. Her scenes with her family and also in the factory are all exquisitely performed.

The supporting cast members are all adept and each give their character a true-to-life quality that is often inspiring. Aline Mayagoitia’s portrayal of young Itzel is especially heartwarming. There’s just so much to enjoy in Real Women Have Curves: The Musical, from the clever dialogue to the down-to-earth production numbers and the overall message of hope when faced with the harsh realities of pursuing the American dream.

Published May 9, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on April 30, 2025

‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: (left to right) Florencia Cuenca, Tatianna Córdoba & Justina Machado. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: Justina Machado. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: Mason Reeves & Tatianna Córdoba. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: Tatianna Córdoba & Aline Mayagoitia. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: Mauricio Mendoza & Justina Machado. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES’: Tatianna Córdoba & cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

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‘BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB
Book by Marco Ramirez
Music by Buena Vista Social Club
Choreography by Patricia Delgado & Justin Peck
Directed  & developed by Saheem Ali
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 West 45^th Street
https://buenavistamusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

Don’t miss this joyful tale of music in Cuba told during two separate time periods: In the 1950s, in the days before the Cuban Revolution, when President Fulgencio Batista still ruled and Havana was a gambling haven. Juxtaposed cleverly with this timeline is the year 1996, when a group of Cuban musicians reunite to record the titular Grammy-winning album on which this lively, colorful musical is based.

The backstory

In 1996, producer Juan de Marcos (Justin Cunningham) brings together a backup band for the older Cuban singers. The story focuses on four musicians, Omara Portundo (Natalie Venetia Belcon), Ibrahim (Mel Semé), Rubén (Jainardo Batista Sterling) and Eliades (Renesito Avich), all coping with the Fidel Castro regime and how it has affected their lives.

The narrative tells how the eponymous album (released in 1997) was made, bringing the musicians world recognition. The story was made into an acclaimed, Oscar-nominated 1999 documentary of the same name, by German filmmaker Wim Wenders.

When approached about doing the album, Omara is hesitant because she has not sung in years. But she is soon convinced by the album producer to reunite with old friends at the club. She, of course, immediately has no regrets.

From the 1950s to 1996

Part of the story is told in flashbacks to the ‘50s. The young Omara (Isa Antonetti) and sister Haydee (Ashley De La Rosa) are being pursued to sign a recording contract. In addition, Haydee is enthralled with the glamour of the white clubs frequented by tourists in Havana, while Omara prefers performing at the mostly Afro-Cuban Buena Vista. We also meet the younger Compay (Da’Von T. Moody) and Rubén (Leonardo Reyna). Rubén is a master at the piano and gets the whole group jamming with glee.

This is that rare stage musical in which flashbacks actually work and make sense. All songs are performed in Spanish. The best aspect of the show is seeing all the magnificent choreography by Patrick Delgado and Justin Peck, with characters all sporting Dede Ayite’s authentic Cuban costumes.

An entertaining evening

Mr. Delgado and Mr. Peck, with the help of creative consultant David Yazbek, Marco Paguia (music director, orchestrations and arrangements) and music director Dean Sharenow, have assembled an incredibly entertaining evening.

Director Saheem Ali gets marvelous performances from the entire gifted cast, and the story and songs all flow together well. Dav’Von T. Moody as young Compay and Leonardo Reyna as young Rubén make a dynamic duo.

Standouts include Ms. Belcon as Omara and Ms. Antonetti as the young Omara. The two women have powerful voices that soar. For instance, Ms. Belcon’s vocals are both incredibly sultry and raspy in the song “Candela.”

The Atlantic Theater Company originally produced the musical in 2023. Granted, this reviewer never saw that production, but there is no question that this festive celebration of Cuban music and life belongs on Broadway. It is one of the spring 2025 season’s best musical revivals—a nonstop jubilee of culture, history and Cuban music that will keep audiences spellbound from beginning to end. ¡Viva Cuba!

Published April 4, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on March 27, 2025

‘BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB’: Leonardo Reyna (seated at piano) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB’: Isa Antonetti. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB’: (left to right) Justin Cunningham, Marco Paguia (seated at piano), Renecito Avich, Natalie Venetia Belcon & Román Diaz. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: (left to right) Natalie Venetia Belcon, Mel Semé (foreground) & Wesley Wray. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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September 25, 2018 at 5:00 PM

New York, NY –  The Broadway League will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a VIVA BROADWAY free outdoor celebration. This year’s event, which is sponsored by Charter and the Hispanic Federation with the support of the Times Square Alliance and Clear Channel Outdoor, will take place in Duffy Square (W 46th St. & Broadway) on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 from 5:00 – 6:00 PM (weather permitting). The program, which is open to the public, will include performances from current and recent Broadway stars as well as special guest appearances.

VIVA BROADWAY is an audience development partnership with the Hispanic community to help bridge the world of Broadway with Latino audiences around the country. The long-term initiative aims to increase awareness about Broadway while culturally enriching lives, bringing families together, and building new careers in the theatre.

VIVA BROADWAY organizes special events such as concerts and panel discussions in order to benefit initiatives that bring more families and students to shows and facilitate conversations between the Hispanic community and Broadway community.

For more about VIVA BROADWAY, visit www.viva.broadway. Performers are subject to change. For Broadway information in NYC as well as for shows on tour across North America and internationally, visit Broadway.org.

THE BROADWAY LEAGUE (Charlotte St. Martin, President), founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League’s 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers who present in nearly 200 markets in North America. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. The Broadway League has recently added a new category for International membership to collaborate with professionals from around the world who produce and present Broadway quality theatre. The Broadway League annually co-presents the Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards®, one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry.

Key League programs and resources include: Kids’ Night on Broadway®, The Jimmy® Awards, Stars in the Alley®, Internet Broadway Database® (ibdb.com), Broadway.org, SpotlightonBroadway.com, Commercial Theater Institute (with Theatre Development Fund), as well as numerous conferences and forums for our members. Broadway Bridges™, with the support of the New York City Department of Education and the United Federation of Teachers, is aimed at giving every New York City public high school student the opportunity to see a Broadway show before graduation. TheatreAccessNYC (co-produced with TDF) is the one-stop website of accessible Broadway performances for theatregoers with disabilities. Families.Broadway is the League’s site for family friendly offers and pricing. Broadway.org is the League’s official on-line headquarters for Broadway in NYC, on tour, and internationally.

For more information visit BroadwayLeague.com, or follow @BroadwayLeague on Twitter and visit us at Facebook.com/BroadwayLeague.

Broadway theatres are filled with an exciting array of new and classic musicals and plays, providing the perfect experience for every audience. Great seats are available at every price point and are easy to buy online, by phone, or in person at theatre box offices. It’s always the perfect time to see a show. Broadway performs every day of the week at multiple curtain times to accommodate every schedule.

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‘LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS’: John Leguizamo. Photo: Matthew Murphy

LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS
Written by & starring John Leguizamo
Directed by Tony Taccone
Through February 25, 2018
Studio 54
254 West 54th Street
212-390-5983, www.latinhistorybroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Funnyman John Leguizamo is a master at solo performances, as anyone who saw his previous one-man Broadway efforts Freak and Ghetto Klown can attest. Mr. Leguizamo has always hilariously mined material from his Hispanic heritage and streetwise New York roots, but here he takes the focus off himself (well, sort of) by talking about his bullied teenage son’s quest to find a Latino hero from history for a school project. Although Mr. Leguizamo covers much of the same territory he did in past shows, his statements about the “whitewashing” of U.S. and North American history ring with veracity in the xenophobic, anti-immigrant political environment in which we currently live.

The 95-minute monologue centers on Mr. Leguizamo giving a laugh-inducing lecture on how white Europeans, from Christopher Columbus to the Spanish Conquistadors and our own American founding fathers, skewed history through the decades to marginalize, overlook or flat out omit facts about the native people in the Americas, from the Native Americans in the USA and Canada to the Aztecs of Mexico, the Taino people of the Caribbean and the Incas of South America. As Mr. Leguizamo says, Hispanics have more Native American blood than Spanish or anything else, adding, “And we’re also 25% white, 25% Jewish, 25% Lebanese and 25% I don’t know what the f**k!”

Using Rachel Hauck’s minimal set, with not much more than a classroom blackboard, Mr. Leguizamo is an amusing mad professor, talking about how Hispanics fought in the American Revolutionary War and in the Civil War. He traces Latino people from the ancient Mayans all the way to up to what we have now, Pitbull.

There are many hysterical lines about how the European imperialists destroyed the indigenous peoples of the New World, particularly the Conquistadors with their many diseases and ravenous sexual appetites. The Spaniards, he says, were such predators of the native women of early Latin America that the guys were “like NBA players at a Kardashian pool party.”

Mr. Leguizamo also pokes fun at his Jewish wife and includes his trademark lampooning of his boyhood New York street life.

Besides the crisp writing, Mr. Leguizamo is most enjoyable when he’s imitating everything from friends and relatives to famous folks like Stephen Hawking and “Project Runway” host Tim Gunn. His portrayal of Montezuma as a fey, campy gay man perhaps comes across too much like his character Chi Chi Rodriguez in the drag-queen road movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, but he has so much fun (as does the audience) that it doesn’t matter.

Granted, not everything works here, as some of the talks with his wife and son become tiresome, but director Tony Taccone allows Mr. Leguizamo free rein to do what he does best: Satirize history while bringing colorful characters to life with energy, wit and enthusiasm, making us all laugh about the delicate and controversial topic of diversity while showcasing the absurdity of bigotry and ignorance in American society.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 20, 2017
Reviewed at November 19, 2017 press performance.

‘LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS’: John Leguizamo. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘Latin History for Morons’ lesson in laughs appeared first on StageZine.

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe as Gloria Estefan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

ON YOUR FEET!
THE STORY OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN
Featuring music produced & recorded by Gloria & Emilio Estefan
Book by Alexander Dinelaris
Directed by Jerry Mitchell
Choreography by Sergio Trujillo
Marquis Theatre
46th Street (between Broadway & 8th Avenue)
877-250-2929, www.onyourfeetmusical.com

By Scott Harrah

You’ll shake your body and do that “Conga” and yes, the “Rhythm is Gonna Get You.” If you grew up in the 1980s or 1990s listening to the infectious songs of Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine and her subsequent solo work, you’ll overlook Alexander (Birdman) Dinelaris’ boilerplate book of this energetic show. Why? Because Gloria and Emilio Estefan have enough golden oldie hits in their songbook to make us disregard the paper-thin storyline of their rise, fall and rise from the Cuban barrios of Miami to international stardom, with all the proverbial bumps in between. On Your Feet! The Story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan is one of the few feel-good Broadway shows in an otherwise lackluster fall season.

Granted, as a jukebox musical, the narrative in On Your Feet! is not as seamless as Jersey Boys or even Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, but it doesn’t matter. Broadway has never mounted a jukebox show with a Latin, salsa-tinged flavor until this, and the Estefans were indeed trailblazers that paved the way for Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Shakira and all the Latin pop crossover stars that followed. When the focus is on music and dancing, the show more than delivers with colorful costumes, Sergio Trujillo’s ebullient choreography, and a full Latin band, complete with all the inimitable Cuban percussion, flawless salsa sounds and a horn section, offering, to borrow an iconic line from “Conga,” “the rhythm of the island/And like sugarcane so sweet.”

Newcomer Ana Villafañe makes a superb debut here since she looks and sounds a lot like the real Gloria Estefan, and Ms. Villafañe shows off fine acting chops in numerous dramatic showdowns with family members. However, Josh Segarra, as her famous husband, looks nothing like the real Emilio Estefan. Mr. Segarra is also not much of a singer, but he is so drop-dead handsome and has such an endearing accent that audiences won’t care. Ms. Estefan’s story, while inspiring, is the typical rags-to-riches tale: Born in Cuba, young Gloria and her family fled to Miami as Fidel Castro rose to power.

Most of Act One deals with young Gloria’s clashes with her overprotective mother Gloria Fajardo, played with spunk by Andréa Burns (In the Heights), and Gloria’s dream of becoming a singer. Her mother does not approve of Gloria making music with Emilio and his Miami Latin Boys (later to become the famous Miami Sound Machine once Gloria became the lead vocalist), particularly since Mrs. Fajardo was performing as a nightclub singer in Havana, but had to put her own dreams on hold as the Batista government crumbled. Grandmother Consuelo (the winning Alma Cuervo) encourages Gloria to pursue her dreams of writing and singing music. Meanwhile, Gloria finishes a college degree in psychology while still performing on the club circuit.

We see Gloria and Emilio become stars in the music world throughout Latin America, but they encounter resistance from the record label when trying to release their first English-language single, “Dr. Beat.” They finally release the song, working hard to get it played on English-language Miami radio stations and in dance clubs across the country, but music industry executives tell them the song is too “dance” for mainstream America. When the group finally releases the Latin-tinged “Conga” (perhaps their biggest hit ever), the rest is history. The Estefans are on their way to superstardom by the end of Act One, leaving everything on a high note as cast members, including a little Jewish Bar Mitzvah boy in a yarmulke, move offstage and pull random audience members into a conga line for “Conga.”

Act Two mostly chronicles the Estefans’ marital struggles as Gloria becomes increasingly exhausted from touring, and fights with her husband and mother. In the winter of 1990, while on a tour bus on a snowy Pennsylvania highway, a horrible accident lands Gloria in the hospital, with a spinal injury and the possibility of paralysis, a nine-hour surgery and months of physical therapy. You already know the rest: Not only did Gloria recover, she went on to become an even bigger star, making a comeback on the American Music Awards, and singing another of her mega hits, “Reach,” at the Closing Ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in front of a global audience of millions. She made a hit solo record, reinventing such disco classics as “Turn the Beat Around” and the pop standard “Everlasting Love,” plus did many more sold-out world tours and Las Vegas gigs.

All the Gloria Estefan favorites are here, from “Bad Boys” to “1-2-3,” “Get On Your Feet,” “Words Get in the Way,” “Coming Out of the Dark,” and more. Gloria Estefan has won seven Grammy Awards and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, so she is more than worthy of being a “jukebox heroine.” Cynics may write the show off as another excuse to peddle tried-and-true songs to the masses, but so what? Besides, Tony Award winner Jerry Mitchell directs everything nicely with his usual entertaining touches, making On Your Feet! a “Gloria-fied” hit. If you are a Gloria Estefan fan, you must get “On Your Feet!“…and get tickets.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 12, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on November 11, 2015

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ The cast of the new musical. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Carlos E. Gonzalez & Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Alexandra Suarez as Little Gloria. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Andréa Burns. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe & Josh Segarra (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ The cast of the musical based on the life and music of Gloria & Emilio Estefan. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Andréa Burns. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Josh Segarra & Alma Cuervo. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Josh Segarra & Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Josh Segarra & Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ON YOUR FEET!’ Ana Villafañe. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘On Your Feet!’: A Gloria-fied hit appeared first on StageZine.

CLASS ‘KLOWN’: John Leguizamo in his one-man Broadway show ‘Ghetto Klown’ at the Lyceum. Photo: Carol Rosegg

By Scott Harrah

John Leguizamo is a man of many talents, star of stage, TV, and screen, but primarily known to New Yorkers for the Off-Broadway shows Mambo Mouth and Spic-O-Rama, and his previous Broadway credits Freak and Sexaholix…A Love Story.  His latest Broadway, one-man extravaganza, Ghetto Klown, is the 46-year-old’s most serious effort to date, as it depicts the ups and downs of his career and his roots as a Colombian/Puerto Rican growing up in Queens in what he aptly describes as “a cautionary tale.”

Don’t come to Ghetto Klown  expecting a 100% accurate depiction of the star’s career, as the Playbill itself contains an “Author’s Note” from Mr. Leguizamo admitting that “some moments in the piece fall out of their original timeline to create a more original narrative.” This is evident in everything from the show’s depiction of the decades of his life, from the 1960s well up to the 2000s.  Snippets of songs we know were 1980s hits, for example, are played when we’re supposed to be watching him reenact moments of the 1990s.  In addition, jokes are made about points in his career that we know are not actually chronological; and he takes much creative license with some of the facts.  However, it would be petty to focus on these things because there’s so much to love here about Mr. Leguizamo’s exuberant energy and manic stage presence.

More than anything, Ghetto Klown is a humorous, spoken-word autobiography that covers the highlights of his life, dishing in a sort of macho, Kathy-Griffin-style way about studying under Lee Strasberg and working with many big-name stars and directors in Hollywood:  Don Johnson on TV’s “Miami Vice”; Al Pacino in Carlito’s Way;  Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything…Julie Newmar (in which he played drag queen Chi Chi Rodriguez); Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, co-starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.  He talks about working with people like Stephen Seagal and Kurt Russell in Executive Decision (and neither is exactly painted in a positive light), but watches what he says when discussing why Sean Penn slapped him while they were both filming Brian DePalma’s Casualties of War.

The celebrity name-dropping is the show’s high point, but there’s much more here than just Mr. Leguizamo talking about his successes.  He also covers some of his biggest failures, most notably the short-lived Fox TV series “House of Buggin’ ” in 1995.  The show was supposed to be a Latino version of “In Living Color,” but Mr. Leguizamo wouldn’t budge when Fox executives reportedly wanted him to ax some cast members, after the first few episodes, and he left the series and Fox turned it into “MADtv.”

He pays homage to his Latino roots throughout, and there are a few Spanish jokes that only a New York audience (familiar with the rich Latin American culture here) could appreciate.  Some of the material about his personal life, endless stories about his wife, remembrances of his late grandfather, a childhood friend, and his bouts with depression and inner demons, become repetitive after awhile.

Director Fisher Steven mostly gives Mr. Leguizamo free rein to flesh out the many characters and delightful details of his life. Although some of his anecdotes may seem far-fetched, Mr. Leguizamo still makes us laugh and packs lots of gritty entertainment into more than two hours by simply telling jokes, baring his soul, sipping beer, with nothing but a few screen projections and old hip-hop songs to help him out.  Ghetto Klown will most certainly please Mr.Leguizamo’s many fans, the people who will truly appreciate his nonstop zaniness.  However, the show lacks the vision of such earlier works as Sexaholix…A Love Story and Freak. Ghetto Klown would be tighter and more streamlined if director Fisher Stevens had shortened some of the skits and trimmed the extemporaneous material.

Published March 28, 2011
Reviewed at press performance on March 25, 2011

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