Cleveland’s Latin Us has a mission to bring cultural works to city

Cleveland’s LatinUs Theater Company produces Spanish-language works from Latin-American countries

LatinUs Theater Company was formed two years ago with the mission of educating the Hispanic community by promoting and producing artistic and theatrical works in Spanish, as well as honoring the cultural heritage and traditions of the Latin-American population of Northeast Ohio. However, the spirit of inclusion remains important for the Cleveland-based company, which presents “Divorciadas, Evangélicas y Vegetarianas” (“Divorcees, Evangelists and Vegetarians”) weekends Feb. 21 through March 1 at Playhouse Square’s Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre. “We’re always looking for plays that come from Latin America because we want to bring what we’re used to seeing when we lived in those countries and have experienced there to the stage,” said Monica Torres, LatinUs Theater Company executive artistic director, who appears in “Divorciadas, Evangélicas y Vegetarianas.” “We’ve done a lot of scripts from different LatinAmerican playwrights. The first one was from Spain, then Argentina, then from Puerto Rico — and this one is from Venezuela. It was written in 1989, but its message is still just so timely.” Under the direction of Kivin Bauzo, three local Hispanic actresses will address the pressures women face to behave in a certain way. Torres said while “Divorciadas, Evangélicas y Vegetarianas” has nothing to do with movie director Pedro Almodóvar — whose latest movie, “Pain and Glory,” was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2020 Academy Award — the play’s tone and feel is similar to his work. The story involves three women — Gloria, a selfcentered vegetarian; Beatriz, a resentful divorcee; and Meche, an existential evangelical — who are at the crossroads of life. Facing internal demons and societal expectation with a little bit of irony, the trio explores themes of love, maternity, work and religion. “It’s about women having existential crises,” Torres said. “They talk about the problems and all of the complications that sometimes men bring to women’s lives. So it’s a dark comedy. All of them make a connection and help each other start living again and believing in themselves again.” The nonprofit company — located in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood of Cleveland — is in the process of getting its own black box theater in the Astrup Building, which is being renovated. “We’ll finally have our own place,” Torres said. “Until then, we’ve been going around the Cleveland area producing our shows.” While some movie audiences may find the use of subtitles cumbersome, Torres said the last LatinUs Theater Company production at Playhouse Square used the same approach with great results. Also, she stressed there’s something special about the entire experience. “It’s like going to the opera because it’s always in a different language and you always have the supertitles,” Torres said. “This is unique for the theater. “Of course, we always have a great Spanish-speaking audience, and now with subtitles we’re getting even more people to attend.”

“We’re always looking for plays that come from Latin America because we want to bring what we’re used to seeing when we lived in those countries and have experienced there to the stage.” — Monica Torres, LatinUs Theater Company executive artistic director

COURTESY OF LATINUS THEATER COMPANY LatinUs Theater Company rehearses its upcoming show, “Divorciadas, Evangélicas y Vegetarianas” (“Divorcees, Evangelist and Vegetarians”).