Rufino Romero (l.) as Luís J. Rodríguez or “Chin” with Haylee Sánchez as  “Camila” in the new stage adaptation of Always Running by author Luís Rodríguez and director Hector Rodriguez at Casa 0101 Theater. Photo by Ed Krieger Review by Abel M. Salas Based on the best-selling book by Luís J. Rodríguez, the Casa 0101 world-premiere of Always Running is a subtle tour de force. Directed by Hector Rodríguez (no relation to the renowned poet, novelist, youth advocate and founder of Tia Chucha Press), the production benefits from a surprisingly effective adaption of the classic memoir, a theatrical adaptation developed collaboratively by the director and the author himself. A Carl Sandburg Literary Award winner that garnered early praise as a New York Times “Notable Book,” Always Running was originally published in 1993. The searing, achingly honest and often brutally personal account of the author’s struggle to overcome the soul-scarring wounds imprinted on his psyche as the p...

by Abel M. Salas Once the capacity crowd has spilled out of the Tom Bradley Theater at the iconic Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC), Richard Montoya joins them in the ornate, marble-floored lobby. The seasoned performer is—with Herbert Siguenza and Ric Salinas—a co-founder of Culture Clash, the renowned three-man comedy troupe the evening’s throng of patrons had come to see. With the faint residue of stage make-up still evident on his face, the veteran actor-writer-director is being unduly modest. “Hey, man,” Montoya says, rolling his eyes slightly under raised eyebrows and flashing a sheepish, almost apologetic grin. “Guess you could tell we were working without a net up there.” In the aftermath of the acclaimed trio’s second-ever, full-blown staging of Culture Clash: An American Odyssey , an original new production premiered at the “Encuentro de Las Américas: Embracing Our Voices” international theater festival, Montoya is fretting over kinks and glitches—perceptible to him a...

  Richard Azurdia (l.) and Cheryl Umaña in This Land . Photo: Grettel Cortes Photography by Abel M. Salas What would you do if you were commissioned to write a piece addressing the demographic shifts in L.A. and told to pay especially close attention to places like South Central, Watts and Compton? If you were advocacy lawyer-turned-playwright Evangeline Ordaz and were asked to author a new play for the most prestigious civic theatre in L.A., you would dig. You would draw deeply from the well of unspoken and buried history. You’re assiduous research would take you to places, events and hard, cold truths those well-intended arbiters of culture and high art who award commissions might not have expected, or even cared to be reminded of. Oh well. If you were Ordaz, you would know, instinctively, that whatever considerations lay behind initiatives branded with terms such as “outreach,” “diversity,” “audience development,” “new voices,” “opportunity,” or “enrichment,” writing a p...

Lewis Powell III alternates with FInley Polynice in the role of the Genie in Aladdin DLE this weekend at LATC. Review by Abel Salas In an electrifying reprisal of a show staged earlier this year at Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights, TNH (Teatro Nuevos Horizontes) Productions opened its uniquely visionary take on Disney’s Aladdin Dual Language Edition to deafening applause, unabashed laughter and screams of delight from children and grown-ups alike at the Los Angeles Theater Center (LATC) in downtown Los Angeles last Friday. With more ample stage room, a concert caliber sound system, costumes by designer and art director Abel Alvarado that could have been lifted directly from an “Arabian Nights” runway fashion show, and an impressive, other-worldly set by Marco Del Leon, the English-Spanish Aladdin adaptation reboot did not disappoint. On the contrary, billed as an expanded, more spectacular version of the production which debuted in January this year to critical acclaim o...