GALA Theatre to Open 51st Season With World Premiere of GARBO: The Actor Who Saved the World
Gustavo Ott wrote the drama, with Carlos Celdrán directing the World War II-set world premiere.
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GALA Theatre launches its 51st season, The Start of a New Beginning, with the world premiere of GARBO: The Actor Who Saved the World, a powerful thriller, spiked with humor, based on a true story of one of the most decisive moments in World War II. This original work is penned by GALA's Artistic Director Gustavo Ott, with original music by Koki Lortkipanidze, directed by Cuban Carlos Celdrán, and translated by Heather McKay. The production will be presented September 3 through September 27, 2026, at GALA in Columbia Heights.
GARBO: The Actor Who Saved the World brings to the stage one of World War II's most extraordinary little told stories: Juan Pujol, a frustrated theatre artist from Catalonia who became one of history's most brilliant double agents. Driven by his instinct for performance and storytelling, Pujol created an elaborate web of deception that helped mislead the Nazi regime, paving the way to Allied victory in the Battle of Normandy. Transforming this true story into a cinematic, metatheatrical adventure, GARBO traces Pujol's journey from his early dreams of joining Federico García Lorca's legendary theatre troupe to his role in one of the war's most daring espionage operations.
At a time when disinformation, propaganda, and the fragility of democracy continue to shape public discourse, GALA's world premiere examines the power of storytelling to influence perception, challenge power, and shape history. The production asks what happens when imagination moves beyond the stage—and becomes a tool for resistance.
Performances of GARBO: The Actor Who Saved the World are in Spanish with English surtitles, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Press Night will take place Friday, September 4 at 8 pm and Noche de GALA will take place Saturday, September 12 at 8 pm. The production is approximately 90 minutes long, including an intermission, and is appropriate for ages 13 and up.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Featured in the production and making their GALA debut are actors Kevin Jorges as Juan Pujol (Garbo) and Clara Navarro as Ale, Araceli, and Sara Bishop; GALA company members Carlos Castillo as Thomas Harris and Padre and Delbis Cardona as Oficial 1, César, Attaché, Kapitán, and Oficial 2; and GALA debutants Jonathan Collet as Gustav, Luis, Damorest, and Eisenhower; and Giovanni Felicer as Hitler, Cyrill, and Tomás.
The creative team includes Jessica Cancino (Scenic Design), Hailey LaRoe (Lighting Design), Luis García (Projections Design), Rukiya Henry-Fields (Costumes Design), Koki Lortkipanidze (Composer and Sound Design), and Iara Rogers Benchoem (Properties Design). Solis Pettitt is Stage Manager, Sherry González is Assistant Stage Manager, and Luz Nicolás is Assistant to the Director. Technical Directors are Anson Stevie and Matthew Griffiths, and Amanda Leyva is Production Manager.
ABOUT PLAYWRIGHT AND DIRECTOR
Gustavo Ott (Playwright) is a playwright, fiction writer, translator, and journalist. He's GALA's Artistic Director and, for 20 years, was Executive Artistic Director of Teatro San Martín and Fiesta: International Theatre Festival in Caracas, Venezuela. GALA has produced more than 10 of Ott's plays over the years. He has written over 50 plays, which have been produced all over the world, and directed more than 40. His work has been translated into 15 languages. As a linguist, he has translated plays by William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Orson Welles, David Mamet, Daniel McIvor, Frank Loesser/Jo Swerling/Abe Burrows, Lisa Loomer, Rosemary Frisino Toohey, and Karen Zacarías. Ott participated in the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa (1993), the New Work Now Program at The Public Theater in New York (2002 and 2003); the Residence Internationale Aux Recollets (2006, Paris); the Cité Internationale des Artes de Paris Residency (2010); and the Playwriting Program La Mousson D'Ete and La Mousson a Paris in the Comedie Française. He was nominated for 2010 Helen Hayes Awards, Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical (Mummy in the Closet), produced at GALA Hispanic Theatre.
Carlos Celdrán (Director) is a Cuban playwright, director, and teacher who currently serves as Artistic Director at Arca Images in Miami, FL, and is also the founder and Artistic Director of Argos Teatro in Havana. Through his creative work, Celdrán explores autobiographical materials, builds psychologically complex characters, and delves into a dialogue between private memory and collective history. His work, Diez millones, which is considered one of the most iconic contemporary plays in Cuban theater, received the 2018 Literary Critics Award and has been produced in several countries. Celdrán was recognized with the National Award of Theater in Cuba in 2016, and has received more than 20 Specialized Critics Awards and the Medal of the International Theatre Institute (ITI-UNESCO). Celdrán has a degree in Technology and Dramaturgy from the Superior Institute of Art in Cuba, a Masters in Performing Arts from the King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, and completed his training in New York at the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.
TICKETS & GENERAL INFORMATION
Single tickets for GARBO: The Actor Who Saved the World are:
- $50 Premium Center
- $45 Orchestra Standard
- $35 Orchestra Value
- $25 Balcony Value
- $35 Seniors (65+), Military, Teachers, and Groups (10+)
- $25 Students and 25 and Under
- Noche de GALA: Chosen ticket price + $5 (per person)
Visit www.galatheatre.org or call (202) 234-7174 for more details.
GALA Theatre is located at 3333 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20010, one block north of the Columbia Heights Metro station (Green/Yellow lines). Parking is available at a $4 flat rate in the Giant Food garage on Park Road, NW (must validate parking ticket in the theatre lobby for discount). GALA has 4 wheelchair-accessible spaces and an elevator to transport people from the entrance to the lobby and to the house.
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