SPIT IN YOUR FACE World Premiere To Be Presented At Detroit Repertory Theatre
Paul Heller and Alberto Lomnitz's comedy closes the Rep's 69th season with a champagne afterglow opening.
The Detroit Repertory Theatre closes out its 69th Season with the World Premiere of Spit in Your Face by Paul Heller and Alberto Lomnitz. The production opens on Friday, May 29, 2026 at 8pm, with a Champagne Afterglow, and runs through June 28, 2026, with four shows weekly on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Spit in Your Face is a bombastic new work that is a hilarious look at modern politics and absurd theatre. When an idealistic American producer hires Liliana—a young Mexican-American woman of indigenous descent—to assist a fiery, notoriously radical Mexican director, he's thinks building cultural bridges. Instead, he sets the stage for a theatrical battleground of egos and performative righteousness between the “anti-capitalist” producer and the “anti-colonialist” director. With Liliana caught in their crossfire, she must reclaim the narrative from the men who claim to speak for her.
“This play is fall-on-the-floor, spit-take funny. It's a refreshing examination of the role of artists in their endeavors to make change,” Leah Smith, Executive Artistic Director, explained as to why she selected this play for the Rep's season. “The marrying of the two—comedy that makes you pee your pants and political discourse—is so on point right now.”
Maurizio Dominguez and Leah Smith are co-directing the production and are supported by a team of talented stage managers and designers. Recent Wayne State University alumna Anette Orellana is playing the role of Liliana. Henry Ballesteros is making his Detroit Repertory Theatre debut as Fernando Calderón. Matt Hollerbach is returning to the Rep's stage as Tom.
Performances of Spit in Your Face are presented on Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 same day, all general admission. The Detroit Rep offers a variety of subscription packages and group discounts for tickets. More information is available at DetroitRepTheatre.com or by calling the box office at (313) 868-1347.
In its historic home on Woodrow Wilson, the Detroit Rep's Gilda Snowden Lobby Gallery features artwork for sale by local artists, a 30-foot bar and a kitchen serving up delicious homemade food, open to all theatregoers one hour before every performance. The opening night celebration includes complimentary champagne and a chance to meet the actors and artists behind this production.
Videos