John Leguizamo is ready to play teacher…
The 51-year-old Colombian actor plans to give audiences a special educational lesson with his latest one-man show Latin History for Dummies.
The Public Theater – an off-Broadway production company in New York City known for hits like Hamilton, Fun Home and Eclipsed – will showcase Leguizamo’s latest comedic creation during its spring 2017 season.
Leguizamo, a Golden Globe, Drama Desk and Emmy nominee, had a string of New York City stage hits in the 1990s with Mambo Mouth, Spic-o-Rama and Freak, and he has been inspired to create and star in his the next show after noticing a lack of representation for Latinos in the American historical narrative.
“Just imagine you’re a white kid, and all of a sudden everybody’s Latin, and everything they’re teaching you is Latin, and you don’t hear anything about yourself or about your contributions,” Leguizamo said in a statement. “And it’s really weird and unfair because we had huge contributions.”
The show takes place under the guise of a satirical history lesson aimed at Leguizamo’s son and will explore Latin historical themes dating back thousands of years, as well how Spanish-speaking immigrants helped to shape the most powerful nation in the world.
The project will be co-produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre and directed by Berkeley Rep’s Tony Taccone.
No official date has been set for the show’s premiere.
