SPEAKING IN TONGUES to Open at The LATC
Jose Luis Valenzuela directs a cast including Evelina Fernández and Sal López at The Los Angeles Theatre Center.
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Commissioned by Latino Theater Company and developed in its Circle of Imaginistas playwriting group, the world premiere of Speaking in Tongues by Luis Alfaro will continue the MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” recipient's funny, poignant exploration of life in the small, predominantly Mexican-American agricultural towns of California's San Joaquin Valley. Jose Luis Valenzuela directs a five-week run, October 17 through November 15, at The Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown Los Angeles. Preview performances take place October 15 and 16.
The setting is a Pentecostal church on the edge of a cornfield in Earlimart, a California town off Highway 99 in Tulare County. Hermana Romie (Evelina Fernández), Hermana Cubby (Lucy Rodríguez), Hermano Mando (Sal López) and Hermano Tico (Geoffrey Rivas) share chisme, food, and their devotion to the Apostolic faith. Hermana Romie's husband was the pastor of their church — until he disappeared eight weeks ago. Hermana Romie has secretly authored his sermons for years while hiding her own gifts to uphold the church's patriarchal traditions. As immigration raids threaten the community and their daughter (Esperanza América) prepares to leave for a secular life in Los Angeles, Hermana Romie claims her own authority, uniting religious devotion with activism and leading the congregation toward collective resilience.
Speaking in Tongues is part of a body of geographically inspired plays by Alfaro that explore the nature of identity, community, labor, immigration and the relationship of people to the land. The play is peppered with references to real life in Earlimart, including casual mentions of nearby towns such as McFarland and Tipton, popular eateries like Taqueria El Sol De Jalisco and La Barca Bakery, and neighborhood lore: the Visalia Mall (it has air conditioning!) and “Tule fog.”
A Chicano playwright born and raised in L.A., Alfaro is the son of farmworkers from the San Joaquin Valley.
Alfaro was formerly associate artistic director of Center Theatre Group at the Music Center of Los Angeles County and is currently an associate professor at the University of Southern California. He has received a fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, popularly known as a “genius grant,” awarded to people who have demonstrated expertise and exceptional creativity in their respective fields. His plays, including The Travelers, which was produced by Latino Theater Company in 2023, Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, Mojada, The Labours, Lady Killer, Aztlan, Delano, Body of Faith, Alleluia the Road, Black Butterfly, Bruja and Straight as a Line, have been seen at regional theaters throughout the United States, Latin America, Canada and Europe.
The creative team for Speaking in Tongues includes scenic designer Prairie T. Trivuth; lighting designer “Lee” Xinyuan Li; sound designer Robert J. Revell; projections designer Yee Eun Nam; Costume Designer Samantha Jo Joffray; and choreographer Urbanie Lucero. The wardrobe supervisor is Manee Leija, and the production stage manager is Alexa Wolfe, assisted by Martha Espinoza. The production manager is May Congxiao Fei.
Named to the Los Angeles Times “Best of Latino L.A.” list and a 2025 “Nonprofit of the Year” by California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, the Latino Theater Company is dedicated to providing a world-class arts center for those pursuing artistic excellence; a laboratory where both tradition and innovation are honored and honed; and a place where the convergence of people, cultures and ideas contributes to the future. The company has operated the City of Los Angeles-owned Los Angeles Theatre Center, housed in a former bank building in Downtown L.A.'s historic core, since 2006, producing hundreds of plays, creating over 4,000 jobs and helping hundreds of nonprofit organizations by providing space and resources. The City, recognizing the Latino Theater Company for its “effective first-class theater center operations,” recently extended the company's initial 20-year lease for an additional 30 years, through 2056. Artistic director Jose Luis Valenzuela is the recipient of multiple awards including lifetime achievement awards from both the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and theater review site Stage Raw.
Speaking in Tongues opens Saturday, Oct. 17, at 8 p.m. Performances continue Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through November 15. Preview performances take place Thursday, Oct. 15 and Friday, Oct. 16, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for previews and all Thursday performances; $48 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances, except opening night; $24 for students, seniors, veterans and LAUSD teachers with valid ID; and $75 for opening night, which 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 the Los Angeles Garage Associates parking structure, 545 S. Main St., Los Angeles, CA 90013 (between 5th and 6th streets, just behind the theater).
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