The Other Americans @ the Public Theater

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The Play: The Other Americans; the familiar dysfunctional family drama is filtered through the Latino experience in this story about the Colombian-American owner of a string of failing laundromats desperately trying to grab hold of a piece of the American dream despite the great cost to those he loves most

Written by: John Leguizamo        Directed by: Ruben Santiago-Hudson

One good thing: Some critics have chided Leguizamo, who is best known for his funnier solo shows, for telling this story which is at times melodramatic and predictable but it's clear that the point here is to demonstrate that we all—black, brown and white; native and immigrant—share the same hopes and despairs; and the fact that this show has alreaddy been extended several times is proof that its message is hitting home with lots of theatergoers 

One not-so-great thing: The set design tries to cram in too much and a simpler approach might have made the transitions from one scene to another less clumsy

 

 


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