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GALA Hispanic Theatre thrives as it enters its 50th season

GALA Hispanic Theatre has put on some of the seminal works of theater in Spanish, from 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' to the first ever production of 'On Your Feet!' in Spanish over its 50-year lifespan. But where the D.C. theater also shines is debuting new work or updating the classics to be relevant to local and modern audiences. Take 'Choke: Sucede hasta en las mejores familias,' a play by Emilio Infante that artistic director Gustavo Ott knew he wanted to put on even before he arrived at GALA in the winter of 2024. He discovered the play in Texas, where it told the multigenerational story of a family whose health is plagued by the oil refinery where its patriarch worked for years. When staged at GALA, it depicts a Hispanic family living in the shadow of a factory in Baltimore, one whose wages helped the family's children move out and up in the world. It portrays the same themes of environmental justice, and family, as the original. The show runs through May 18 and tickets are available on GALA's website. 'There's a very interesting parallel between the struggle within the family and the struggle of the family with the corporation,' Ott said. 'So it's about family, but it's also a political play and that's why we thought that it would be a very good selection for the season — which we already thought would have to be a political season because of what's going on.' That season included 'Fuenteovejuna,' a play about the people uprising against a military dictator in 15th-century Spain; and 'Once Upon a Time…And Two Are Three!', a Dominican folk tale that tells the history of the culture we now call 'Latin American.' expand Opening night of 'Choke' at GALA Hispanic Theatre. Courtesy GALA Even 'Botiquín de Boleros de Columbia Heights,' a musical planned for later this season that will celebrate the quintessential Spanish language ballads, touches on issues of the day by setting the historic play in a bar in GALA's home neighborhood of Columbia Heights that is trying to reopen after COVID-19. The play breaks the fourth wall by opening the 'auditions' for bolero singers for the bar to audience members — and also creating a call and response between the singers and the crowd. 'It's about Covid, but it's also about letting people have a good time,' Medrano said. 'It's a show. It's theater but it's also karaoke.' The show runs June 11-29 and tickets are available here. The company that Medrano co-founded all those years ago with her late husband Hugo Medrano — who died suddenly in 2023 and had been GALA's only artistic director — will take that energy into its 50th season; Rebecca Medrano notes ruefully that she always expected Hugo to be around for. To honor him, they are putting on some of the most iconic shows GALA has ever produced, including 'Kiss of the Spider Woman,' which portrays two inmates in a Buenos Aires prison, including one who is a political prisoner. The play, which Hugo starred in as Molina, was the first Spanish language play to win a local theater association Helen Hayes award in 1994. Next up is 'The House of Bernarda Alba,' another tale of persecution — are you picking up on the theme — which GALA previously staged in 1984 and 1997. The season will move onto new, modern works, including one called 'Aguardiente' that GALA commissioned from director and choreographer Luis Salgado. The play explores the identity of Puerto Rico, as well as Colombia, as Caribbean nations and their relationship to the U.S., seen through the lens of two struggling writers who are in New York. Those shows and others will run alongside several others, as well as the near-constant children's programming at GALA; they put on shows for children called Galita, and also host Paso Nuevo, which is a free after-school theater program for D.C. children. Medrano and Ott, whose partner, Heather McKay, runs the education programs, see those programs as critical to shoring up GALA's future — which is why potential budget cuts in D.C. could be so devastating. 'I think we're going to need individuals to step up,' Medrano said. The theater company will host its annual gala June 2; Noche de Estrellas will honor screen and theater actor Fernanda Castillo; tickets here. As far as the longer-term future goes, Ott hopes to eventually create more space for GALA to operate — a second building that can host more educational programs and events, maybe even a whole Hispanic Cultural Center for the Arts. 'We're not going to disappear. In the down times, that's when we thrive. People are committed to the theater.' he said. We treat theater as a church because it's faith that moves us, nothing else. We're the faithful, and you won't find anybody better than us at building community.'