World premiere on Denver stage

‘Laughs in Spanish’ plays through March 2

BY SONYA ELLINGBOE SELLINGBOE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e world premiere of “Laughs in Spanish” by American author Alexis Scheer plays through March 2 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and is set in the Wynwood section of Miami, Florida.

Scheer, who is also an experienced actor, was born and raised in a JewishColombian household in Miami and knows Wynwood well. e gallery where her play is set lies on this strip, noted for its colorful murals and art galleries.

We found her new work highly entertaining.

As the play opens, gallery manager Mariana (award-winning Stephanie Machado) is faced with empty walls — the artwork stolen and a major opening scheduled for that evening, tied in with the annual Art Basel showings. Her assistant, Carolina (Danielle Alonzo) and Caro’s boyfriend Juan (Luis Vega), a policeman, are there with her, searching for the missing art. Sirens are sounding out on the street.

“I need to think,” wails a ustered Mariana. Also present: Jenny (Olivia Hebert), Carolina’s friend.

Mari’s mother, Estella (Maggie Bo ll), a former lm actress, is visiting to help with the opening by means of a “special live performance” at the opening ... and needs help with her own problem: She is facing an upcoming court date.

e gallery is set up for a party, even though the art is still missing ...

“I will probably be charged as accessory to a crime,” Estella says. It seems that in the ‘80s, friends asked her to carry two suitcases across a border for them. “I thought they were lled with guavas,” she says. is leads to Estella talking about roles she will not play: the maid or the one who handles the cocaine — Hispanic stereotypes. She is presently working the night shift ... is she a brujera? (One who combines healing and intuition about the spiritual world?)

Mariana and her mother talk about art and politics throughout the play and about how artists push for changes in the world — whether or not successful.

Maggie Bo ll, who plays Estella, is a will be held in Hampden Hall in the Englewood Civic Center, 1000 Englewood Parkway.

Hall of Fame

Hong, cello. Tickets: ebertoluzzi@hotmail.com or visit englewoodarts.org. The concert widely experienced actor and playwright. Her skill was apparent as she dominated the scene, and her daughter made it quite clear that she did not want to be like her mother! e playwright does a good job of developing a mother-daughter relationship that sends one home with something to consider ...

Littleton’s Libby Bortz will be inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame on March 15.

Mari continues to listen as Estella tells her that she wants Mari to know her as more than a mother: as a person with hopes and dreams and ambitions out there in the world ...

“Laughs in Spanish” plays through

Arvada Center

Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., will present: “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder, Feb. 24 to May 21 and “The Book Club Play” by Karen Zacarias March 17 to May 18. Tickets start at $45. 720-898-7200, arvadacenter.org.

March 12 in the Singleton eatre, with evening and matinee performances.

If You Go

The Denver Center box o ce phone number is 303-893-4100 and the website is denvercenter.org. The Denver Center is at 14th and Curtis Streets in downtown Denver. Also playing: “Hotter than Egypt” through March 12 in the Kilstrom Theatre. Next scheduled: “The Color Purple” and “The 39 Steps.”

Lakewood play

Performance Now Theatre Company presents “Carousel” at Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, Lakewood, from March 17 to April 2. 303-987-7845, PerformanceNow. org.