New York Latin Culture Magazine™

World-class Indigenous, European & African Culture since 2012

Latin Theatre

Latin theatre in NYC is on Broadway of course, but mostly Off-Broadway. Latin Off-Off Broadway theaters play important roles in their communities.

The Public Theater is producing theatre by artists of color. Repertorio Español, NYC’s Spanish repertory theatre, is one of NYC’s most successful Off-Broadway theaters.

Pregones/PRTT follows in the footsteps of the iconic Teatro Puerto Rico (1948-late 1970s). Teatro SEA’s bilingual puppet theatre, is one of our favorite New York theatre companies.

The National Black Theatre is growing. The Harlem Renaissance 3.0 is creating unprecedented opportunities for artists of color throughout the New York arts.

Latin Theatre NYC (Rafael Ben Ari/Dreamstime)

Latin Theatre in New York City

TeatroFest NYC 2023 is 210 Performances of 20 Latin Productions in 9 Latin Theaters Across New York City

A citywide festival of Latin drama, dance and music produced by the Alliance of Teatros Latinos NY.

MANHATTAN
Teatro Circulo
IATI Theater
INTAR Theatre
LATEA Theatre
Repertorio Español
Teatro SEA

THE BRONX
Pregones Theater/PRTT

QUEENS
Thalia Spanish Theater

March 1 – April 30, 2023
🇨🇺 🇩🇴 🇵🇷 🇪🇸

Continue Reading TeatroFest NYC 2023 is 210 Performances of 20 Latin Productions in 9 Latin Theaters Across New York City

Latin Theatre Archive

Latin Broadway

Broadway is the pinnacle of American theatre.

Broadway Week

Broadway Week is a popular 2-for-1 ticket promotion in January/February and September. Tickets go on sale in January and August.

Chicago

Chicago’s good bad-girl and bad good-girl lead characters were defined by Chita Rivera and Liza Minelli. Broadway’s longest-running show now cycles stars of stage and screen through its roles. 🇵🇷 🇮🇹

Funny Girl

The Funny Girl revival’s tap choreographer is New York Puerto Rican tap superstar Ayodele Casel. 🇵🇷

Hamilton

New York Puerto Rican Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” is the Broadway hit of our generation. He and the Miranda family are special, but Broadway is waiting for the next giant. 🇵🇷

The Life of Pi

The author of the book The Life of Pi is a Spanish-born, French Canadian. This classic hero story is a spiritual tale of survival with an Indian protagonist. Latins are Indian through the Caribbean. 🇨🇦 🇪🇸 🇮🇳

The Lion King

The Lion King tells stories of Mother Africa. 🌍

Moulin Rouge

Moulin Rouge! The Musical is set in the Paris red-light district. 🇫🇷

Parade

Parade is a Jewish American story that needs to be told. Based on a true story, it’s about the consequences of seeing or not seeing each other. 🇺🇸

54 Below

54 Below, in Studio 54’s notorious basement, is Broadway’s cabaret. Stars regularly perform there. 54below.com

Latin Off-Broadway

Technically, Off-Broadway has special contracts, but for us it is theaters with under 500-seats.

Off-Broadway Week

Off-Broadway Week is a popular 2-for-1 ticket promotion in February and September/October. Tickets go on sale about two weeks before.

Delacorte Theater

The Delacorte Theater is the home of Free Shakespeare in the Park, produced by the Public Theater.

National Black Theatre

The National Black Theatre is growing.

New York City Center

New York City Center is the home of the Manhattan Theatre Club, and a major producer of Broadway revivals in Encores!

Pregones/PRTT

Pregones/PRTT combines the Pregones Theater and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater.

Public Theater

The Public Theater produces Shakespeare in the Park, and is an incubator for theater that goes on to Broadway. It is New York’s most important Off-Broadway theater.

Queens Theatre

The Queens Theatre is the main performing arts center in Queens, the world’s most diverse place.

Repertorio Español

Repertorio Español produces Spanish repertory theater almost daily. It was founded by New York Cubans.

Signature Theater

The Signature Theater is a playwrights theater. It regularly develops artists of color.

Teatro SEA

Teatro SEA is New York’s Latin children’s theatre. It’s known for it’s puppetry and producing bilingual theatre.

Latin Off-Off Broadway

Off-Off Broadway is community theatre. It is where theatre begins.

The Flea

The Flea Theater is an experimental house for Black, Brown and Queer theatre. theflea.org

IATI Theater

IATI Theater is a bilingual Latinx experimental theatre. @iatitheater

ID Studio Theater

ID Studio Theater is a Colombian community theater in Mott Haven, The Bronx.

Intar Theatre

Intar Theatre is one of the oldest Latin theatre companies in the United States. Since 1966. intartheatre.org

La MaMa

La MaMa is an experimental theatre in the Lower East Side, for emerging playwrights.

Producers Club

Teatro Circulo

Teatro LATEA

Thalia Spanish Theatre

The Thalia Spanish Theatre is led by a Spanish director who has been producing bilingual theatre in Sunnyside, Queens for over 30 years.

About Theatre

All the world’s civilizations have their own unique theatre traditions. In Mother Africa, ancient Egyptian passion plays go back as far as 2,000 BC. Native Americans, including the Maya, Aztec and Inca cultures, had their own theatre traditions. India and China have rich theatre traditions.

European Theatre

European theatre traditions begin with Aeschylus “The Persians” at the Greek Theatre of Dionysus in 472 BC. During the Middle Ages in Europe, religious theater was used as a teaching tool, before it was banned as unreligious.

Italian Commedia dell’arte, which we now call slapstick physical comedy, became popular in the 1500s-1700s.

Latin theatre builds on Spanish Golden Age traditions (1590-1681) when all levels of society, from royals to street people, went to the theatre.

New York Theatre

New York theatre begins with Thomas Kean and Walter Murray’s Shakespearian and operatic theatre in the old Financial District in 1750. The first successful African American theatre was the African Grove Theatre which started at 38 Thomas St in Civic Center in 1821.

The first national American theatre was the short form comedy of minstrel shows from around 1850 – 1870. That racist nonsense still troubles us. In New York City, short form comedy evolved into vaudeville, radio, movies, and television. MTV and Tik Tok are contemporary forms.

“Direct from Broadway” became a theatre marketing slogan when productions began national tours after the U.S. Civil War (1861-65).

New York Latin theatre builds from Teatro Puerto Rico (1948-1994). Native American theatre traditions become part of Chicano theatre in the 1960s-70s.