A sold-out run at The Public Theater. A record-breaking engagement at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Universal critical and audience acclaim. Chalk it all up to the mad genius of Emmy Award winner John Leguizamo.
When his son gets a school assignment on heroes, John seizes the chance to teach him all about the great figures of the Latino world. But once he sets out on his irreverent crash course across three continents and 3000 years of history - from conquistadores to cumbia, Montezuma to Menudo, and taking on the characters in all of it - he uncovers provocative truths that shock even him.
JOHN LEGUIZAMO - LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS.
The Colombian-born monologist-actor keeps up the energy he's known for in past shows such as 'Mambo Mouth' and 'Ghetto Klown,' writing furiously on a blackboard and occasionally breaking into dance. His takes on everyone from Sigmund Freud to Andrew Jackson are righteously funny, if bordering on the obscene, and there are some pointed messages about immigration issues. But attempts to keep things current with passing references to Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey fall flat.
There couldn't be a better time, in other words, for Latin History for Morons to get a Broadway upgrade. Leguizamo's one-man show features the performer as a version of himself, revising the way American history is typically taught to elevate the heroes of his own ethnic background, and to give his son the chance to feel pride in where and what he comes from. Leguizamo, who was born in Colombia, has long been a wild stage presence, an actor of enough range to keep an entire theater enraptured through his own musings, impressions, and literal pratfalls. (Previous one-man shows have netted him Obie and Drama Desk awards.) Yet while Latin History doesn't exactly depart from that script - Leguizamo is hardly subdued here - this production is a sobering expression of political urgency that reflects its star's maturation as a Latino public figure.
2017 | Off-Broadway |
The Public Theater Off-Broadway Premiere Off-Broadway |
2017 | Broadway |
Broadway Premiere Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | Tony Awards | Best Play | John Leguizamo |
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