Review: DREAM HOU$E at NextStop Theatre

There’s a lot of stress and anxiety around selling a house. Ultimately, it comes down to one question: Will the buyer like it? Reality TV shows on cable channels like HGTV have added on to the pressure. These shows have seeped into potential home buyers’ subconsciousness, causing a phenomenon of HGTV-inspired trends that can make or break a home sale.

NextStop's production of Dream Hou$e, directed by Dylan Arredondo and written by Eliana Pipes, is a surreal play about two sisters, Julia (Ixchel) and Patricia (Cristina Sanchez), who seek the help of Tessa (Jule Nelson-Duac), the host of the popular reality TV show Flip It and List It, to sell their childhood home after the passing of their mother. Both Patricia and Julia are looking to cash in on the gentrification of their hometown. As they work for the cameras and play Tessa’s games, tension builds between the two sisters and their relationship is put to the test. Arredondo’s direction paired with a great cast and creative production elements make Dream Hou$e one of the most engrossing plays in the DC metro area theatre “market.” 

Ixchel and Sanchez’s chemistry as sisters is spot on. Their sisterly dynamic is what makes the solid foundation of Dream Hou$e. They tease each other. They argue and get into fights. They comfort each other. They somehow stop time to chat in their own little bubble (you know as sisters normally do). Nelson-Duac’s Tessa starts off as a typical reality show host, but over the course of the play, becomes more and more unhinged, as her innermost thoughts are revealed through a disturbing “game” she plays with Patricia. She wants to be Patricia — teeth, hips, skin and all. While most of Dream Hou$e is mostly a surreal drama, there are comedic moments which balance out tense ones. Tessa's production crew, Carianmax Benitez, Sadie Koopman, Bri Houtman, and Leela Avilés-Dawson, are hilarious as they move about the stage with a fun and chaotic energy. 

Scenic designer Grisele Gonzalez creates a beautifully done adobe-style house, lovingly decorated by props designer Jason Dearing. This makes the house feel like it has been lived in for several generations. The house itself becomes another character in Dream Hou$e. To pull this off, the play’s creative team uses a brilliant combination of lighting (designed by Alberto Segarra), sound (designed by Madeline “Mo” Oslejsek), projections (designed by Zavier Taylor), and surprise effects to give the house its own personality. The house knows all, sees all, and bears all (literally its own guts)! 

Throughout Dream Hou$e, Patricia and Julia aren’t just selling their childhood home, they are also struggling with their identities, not just who they are as sisters, but also their ethnicity and heritage as Latinx women. They often code switch when they are around Tessa and are pressured to deal with racist stereotypes placed on them by the Flip It and List It team in order to sell the house. 

NextStop Theatre’s Dream Hou$e is one of the best plays on the market and it shouldn’t be missed!

Dream Hou$e runs from September 11 through October 5, 2025 at NextStop Theatre in Herndon, VA. Tickets can be purchased here. 

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