'Laughs in Spanish' is a zippy comedy about art, theft, love and mothers
Blending the culturally specific with the maternally universal, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's new production of "Laughs in Spanish" is a zippy 90 minutes of laughter, bachata dancing, sitcom contretemps and brightly colored clothing.
Alexis Scheer's comedy — performed in English but laced with Spanish, generally understandable in context — opens with a fusillade of bilingual swearing from Miami gallery owner Mariana (Isa Condo-Olvera). On the day of an important Art Basel opening, all of the art has been stolen from her gallery.
At first, Mariana blames her assistant, grad student and artist Carolina (Ashley Oviedo), whose boyfriend Juan (Arash Fakhrabadi) turns out to be the police officer investigating the disappearance. To compound the crisis, Mariana's mother, famed actor Estella (Rána Roman), turns up unexpectedly, trailed by her new personal assistant Jenny (Jenna Bonofiglio) — a former boarding school classmate of the gallery owner with unfinished romantic business. Estella has a secret agenda, too, that will lead to a mother-daughter confrontation.
Directed by Anna Skidis Vargas with stage-movement direction by David Roman, Chamber's production is perfectly cast in all five roles; everyone here has the light touch needed to whip up this froth. You couldn't ask for a more entertaining star turn for Rána Roman, who gets to play with and mock the cultural clichés surrounding her diva character, then turn on her prowess for a big scene at the end.
Jazmin Aurora Medina's stunning costume designs reflect all the play's threads — Miami location, Latinx cultures, art-world people. She also has paid careful attention to plot detail in putting Juan in street clothes, not a uniform.
There are many ways to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month in Milwaukee. If you want one with plenty of laughter and a tear or two, take your Mami to this show.
If you go
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre performs "Laughs in Spanish" through Oct. 8 at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. For tickets, visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org or call (414) 291-7800.
More: 15 Milwaukee performing arts shows we're excited about this fall 2023
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mother-daughter throwdown leads to 'Laughs in Spanish'
