Review: PERRA PUTA LOCA BRUJA at Harrisburg Fringe Festival Gamut Theatre

Vanessa Codorniu’s one-woman show Perra Puta Loca Bruja: A Latina’s Reclamation Journey premiered at the Frigid Fringe Festival 2026, where it won several awards and an invitation to the Gotham Storytelling Festival. Codorniu, originally from NYC, has become well-known in the Harrisburg area as a Latina actor, writer, improviser, teacher, and producer. Her work has been seen at the Harrisburg Fringe Festival over the last few years, performing with improv teams Cosmic Trash and The Offbeats as well as the first PA Latino improv group LoS CoMpLiCaDoS. Additionally, she teaches improv through the Harrisburg Improv Theatre and her own company, Improv-Unleashed.com. To learn more about her, visit https://perraputalocabruja.com/.

Codorniu’s Perra Puta Loca Bruja takes the stage at the 2026 Harrisburg Fringe Festival at Gamut Theatre’s Alexander Grass Second Stage on Sunday, July 19th at 5pm. Perra Puta Loca Bruja, in Codorniu’s words, “is ritual, rebellion, and revelation, an invitation to laugh, grieve, and remember the power we are told to fear.” It uses four words typically intended to wound and reclaims them, transforming these words and what they represent into a source of power—“the ‘bitch’ who protects, the ‘whore’ who reclaims, the ‘madwoman’ who sees, the ‘witch’ who heals.” This reviewer had the opportunity to catch a sneak peek of this performance, written, produced, and performed by Vanessa Codorniu.

The work itself is transformative. It invites the audience into a sacred space filled with music, movement, images, words, and emotion. By telling the story of her own life, interwoven with stories reaching back decades, Codorniu illustrates the ways in which our pasts shape us, how we can learn from our ancestral wisdom, and how we can heal by reclaiming our past. One of the phrases that stuck with this reviewer that sums up the work beautifully is the entreaty to “call back parts of ourselves—take the time to do that because life will have us leaving parts of ourselves behind.”

As a performer, Codorniu is authentic and engaging. Her prowess as a storyteller is undeniable, her words and voice are powerful instruments that demand thought and attention. She sprinkles comedy throughout the performance, giving the audience permission to find the joy and laughter in life. The way in which she weaves in music, dance, movement, and images creates a multidimensional experience that draws the audience in and has them hanging on her every word. It is an emotional journey guided by a masterful and empathetic storyteller.

Perra Puta Loca Bruja: a Latina’s Reclamation Journey by Vanessa Codorniu is a performance you do not want to miss. Catch it at Harrisburg’s Fringe Festival this weekend, Sunday, July 19th at Gamut Theatre. For more information on this show, as well as Codorniu’s other work, visit her website at perraputalocabruja.com.