Following its Tony-nominated hit Broadway run seen by tens of thousands, Tony Award winner John Leguizamo’s one-man play “Latin History for Morons” will be presented by Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from September 5 through October 20, 2019. Opening is set for Sunday, September 8…
“Boisterous, joyful and politically urgent, there couldn’t be a better time for ‘Latin History for Morons.’ Keeping an entire theater enraptured through his own musings, impressions, and literal pratfalls, Leguizamo gives us a space to cheer and cry, to laugh and listen.”
– David Canfield, Entertainment Weekly
The WOW Agency brings “Latin History for Morons” to Los Angeles as part of a North American tour that premiered at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York and has traveled across the country including engagements in Atlanta, Dallas, Durham, Hartford, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and San Antonio among others.
“Latin History for Morons” is inspired by the near total absence of Latinos from his son’s American History books. John Leguizamo embarks on an outrageously funny, frenzied search to find a Latin hero for his son’s school history project.
From a mad recap of the Aztec empire to stories of unknown Latin patriots of the Revolutionary War and beyond, Leguizamo breaks down the 3,000 years between the Mayans and Pitbull into 110 irreverent and uncensored minutes above and beyond his unique style.
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Back to School…
We’re gonna be honest, Latin History for Morons as taught to us by father turned scholar, John Leguizamo, is probably the funniest and saddest lesson of the colonization of the indigenous people of the Americas anyone could ever study.
Throughout his one-man performance, John Legs opens up books with chapters of our past that most members of our society probably wish they could put back on the shelf.
With Chapter One beginning with the prosperity of the ancient Americas circa 3000 years ago, middle chapters consist of heartfelt reviews of the lust, greed and betrayals which brought each ancient civilization down.
More chapters relate to incomprehensible brutality that left a population of what was once 73 million native peoples inhabiting North and South America to the Southern tip of Chili, devastated to only 3 million. The last chapter putting us to the test, grading us, not only on our knowledge of history but how well we persevere and are able to keep our self respect. The end.
But, it’s more than that. Sharing these words with so much feeling isn’t always easy. John Legs uses story telling and impersonation to highlight what happened in the Americas during the European conquest and doesn’t hesitate to poke his pointer at how some of the practices are still being used in our modern day.
Many have faced scrutiny and even death to express these concepts throughout history. Yet, as you sit there on the edge of your seat with no way in tarnation to predict what John Legs will say or do next, you’re reminded with every chapter the level of his artistic mastery. Legs transitions effortlessly between the characters he’s impersonating, with each conversation reverting back to the role of narrating father-scholar.
Dueling accents, dialects and body mannerisms against one another with every statement, John drives you closer and closer into head on collisions with his brilliant punchlines.
He’s letting us see his genius. Sharing it like an unselfish child would share candy after class.
This is the highest bar of theatrical performance, music, dance, impersonation, cross-dressing and code-switching we may ever see, all taught to us by a true natural and master showman.
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Ben Brantley of The New York Times called “Latin History for Morons” a “surprisingly poignant one-man play that slyly poses sharp and timely questions of what culturally defines American identity and who, in the nationalistic age of Trump, has ‘the right’ to be here.”
Steven Suskin of The Huffington Post concluded, “John Leguizamo is back, as smart, provocative, bracing – and wise – as ever. In this dazzling comedic-philosophic evening of laughter, his Latin lesson is a treat.”
“Latin History for Morons” concluded its successful run on Broadway on February 25, 2018. The original 16-week engagement was extended an additional three weeks on opening night, November 15, 2017. The production was the first play of the 2017-2018 season to recoup its entire capitalization.
“Latin History for Morons” marks theatre’s most prolific modern Latino playwright, John Leguizamo’s sixth one-man venture onto the stage, following success on Broadway with “Ghetto Klown” (Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award), “Freak” (Drama Desk Award), “Sexaholix…A Love Story” (Tony nomination) and Off-Broadway with “Mambo Mouth” (Obie Award) and “Spic-O-Rama” (Drama Desk Award). “Mambo Mouth,” “Spic-O-Rama,” “Freak” and “Ghetto Klown” all went on to be filmed for presentation on HBO.
Fresh off the celebrated and financially successful Broadway run of “Ghetto Klown,” Leguizamo began his acclaimed work on “Latin History for Morons.” The play had its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre followed by its New York premiere at The Public Theater. Directed by Tony Taccone (“Wishful Drinking,” “Bridge & Tunnel”), the Tony-nominated production of “Latin History for Morons” is written and performed by Leguizamo, featuring scenic design by Rachel Hauck, lighting design by Alexander V. Nichols and original music and sound design by Bray Poor. “Latin History for Morons” is produced by The WOW Agency, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Public Theater.
Tickets are available online at CenterTheatreGroup.org, by calling Audience Services at (213) 972-4400 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Office (at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles). Tickets range from $35 – $145 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Ahmanson Theatre is located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.
For more information, please visit LatinHistoryOnTour.com
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