John Leguizamo's 'The Other Americans': a family grapples with a 'rigged' system Raul A. ReyesSeptember 14, 2025 at 6:00 AM 0 John Leguizamo as Nelson Castro, and Luna Lauren Velez, who plays his wife, during rehearsal for "The Other Americans.
- - John Leguizamo's 'The Other Americans': a family grapples with a 'rigged' system
Raul A. ReyesSeptember 14, 2025 at 6:00 AM
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John Leguizamo as Nelson Castro, and Luna Lauren Velez, who plays his wife, during rehearsal for "The Other Americans." (Joan Marcus)
In his new play "The Other Americans," John Leguizamo plays Nelson Castro, a husband and father struggling to keep the family's laundromat business going, while grappling with his college son's breakdown after he was the victim of a hate crime.
"I just don't understand how everybody gets to fail up, except us," Castro says. "The system's rigged against us. That's why."
These ideas are personal for Leguizamo, who wrote "The Other Americans" after taking a "hard look" at modern Latino life, the lack of progress for many, and other issues.
"All that was bothering me," said the Colombian-born actor and activist. "Then this incident that happened in the '90s, a hate crime; and so I sort of reverse-engineered and created this play."
"It's about the American dream and capitalism," Leguizamo continued, "and how it is when you're Latin — the difference for us."
With its exploration of toxic masculinity, mental health and ambition, "The Other Americans" is a departure for Leguizamo, who rose to fame decades ago through his widely acclaimed one-man comedy shows.
Bradley James Tejeda as "Eddie" in rehearsal for "The Other Americans." (Joan Marcus)
Leguizamo said his new play is about "an American tragedy, so there is a lot of pain. But there is some humor, because Latin life, we know how to enjoy life better than anyone else, because we have to."
Still, it's a tragedy, "so be warned, it is a powerful piece," he said.
"The Other Americans" began performances at The Public Theater in New York City on Sept. 11 and runs through Oct. 19. Directed by Tony Award-winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the show features an all-Latino cast including Rosa Evangelina Arredondo and Luna Lauren Velez, known to audiences from her role in the hit series "Dexter."
Many Broadway shows have originated at the prestigious Public Theater, from "A Chorus Line" to "Hamilton" to Leguizamo's own "Latin History for Morons."
For this latest work, Leguizamo drew on his family background. "It's got some touches of my family and how I grew up. My parents were very, very ambitious and believed in the American dream," he said. He recalled how they often worked multiple jobs and sacrificed for the hope of a better future. "I put that sort of crazy immigrant ambition into it."
With "The Other Americans," Leguizamo set out to write a great American play, in the tradition of Arthur Miller or Eugene O'Neill. Leguizamo hopes that his play will help universalize the Latino experience, in the same way that works by Black playwrights like Lorraine Hansberry and August Wilson have become part of the theatrical canon.
His new play, Leguizamo told NPR last year when it premiered in Washington, D.C., gives "the everywoman, Latina, Latino, a sense that their life has value, has meaning," just like generations of white theatergoers have seen their lives portrayed on the stage.
John Leguizamo and Rosa Evangelina Arredondo, who plays Norma, during rehearsal for "The Other Americans." (Joan Marcus)
Leguizamo came to prominence in 1991 with his one-man show "Mambo Mouth." He has starred in movies ranging from "Carlito's Way" to "Moulin Rouge!" to the "Ice Age" franchise. He won an Emmy Award in 1999 for his solo show "Freak," and a special Tony Award in 2018 for "Latin History for Morons."
More recently, he has produced and hosted the MSNBC documentary series "Leguizamo Does America," where he highlights U.S. cities' Latino culture and roots, and PBS' "American Historia," where Leguizamo traces the history of Latinos, from civilizations thousands of years back to modern America.
While Leguizamo is renowned for his solo shows, he said it is "so great" and a "relief" to be onstage with a full cast.
"People don't understand how hard a one-man show is," Leguizamo said, explaining that after the initial excitement wears off, performing alone can become grueling. "But now, to be with all amazing cast ... it's incredible to be sharing the stage with so much talent."
Latino stories have found success on Broadway, in musicals like "The Buena Vista Social Club," "On Your Feet!" and "In the Heights." But there have been far fewer plays examining the U.S. Latino experience that have reached a broad audience, Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics" being a notable exception.
Arredondo, who plays Norma in "The Other Americans," said the play's title refers to the duality that informs the lives of Latinos. "We live in a world where people always say, 'Where are you from?' or, 'What nationality are you?' If you tell people that you are American, they still ask, but, 'Where are you really from?'"
To her, the title plays on the reality that even U.S.-born Latinos are often still seen as part of a separate group.
But Arredondo describes the play as "a fundamentally American story."
"I love this play because it can happen in any background. It could be an Irish family, it could be an Italian family," she said. "It could be a family in the Midwest. It so happens to be taking place in a Latino household in Queens, but it could be anyone's story."
She said it's rare to see Latinos depicted in films or on TV shows that do not center on a character's "Latin-ness," or on an immigration storyline.
In contrast, Arredondo said, "this play is about a family, how the family gets along. It's about family love, it's about family support, it's about family loss."
"This play is about a family, how the family gets along. It's about family love, it's about family support, it's about family loss," Rosa Evangelina Arredondo, right, who plays Norma, said. (Joan Marcus)
Velez plays Leguizamo's character's wife in "The Other Americans."
Velez describes her character as "a smart woman, very loving, who is all about family, very strong — I see this character in almost every Latina mother that I know."
"I'm the child of parents that really held on to the American dream and defined success by hitting certain benchmarks, like sending their kids to college and owning a home," Velez said. "And it took everything they had to be able to achieve this."
Velez sees these same values in the characters in "The Other Americans." Like the fictional Castro family, Velez said, most Latinos grow up with a strong American identity. "We come from generations who have devoted their lives to success here," Velez said.
At the same time, according to Velez, many Latinos still feel different when it comes to some traditional values and attitudes; for example, "you don't speak to your parents a certain way," she said.
"People can expect to see a play about a family and a story that is completely universal," she added. "But it has its own components that make it specific to a Latino family."
Velez believes that audiences will come to "The Other Americans" and be surprised. "I've never seen John [Leguizamo] do anything like this before, and he is truly brilliant."
Source: "AOL General"
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