West LA Times

Bringing together the Old World and the new, the fourth edition of UCLA’s biennial Hispanic classical theater festival, LA Escena, takes place from Sept. 12 to 17. For the first time, all performances will be presented at the newly renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater in Westwood.

LA Escena 2024 will include ten live performances — all free to the public — and one livestreamed presentation. The festival features staged readings of brand-new adaptations and inventive presentations of works from the 17th-century Golden Age of Spanish theater. Performances will be presented in Spanish and English, and the festival dates coincide with the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 15.

LA Escena is produced by UCLA’s Diversifying the Classics project, which is based in the UCLA College Division of Humanities. The festival’s artistic director is Barbara Fuchs, a UCLA professor of Spanish and English and founder of Diversifying the Classics.

Los Angeles’ first Hispanic classical theater festival, LA Escena launched in 2018 with a mission to promote greater inclusion of Hispanic culture in the theatrical canon. The series celebrates the Spanish Golden Age’s rich tradition from both sides of the Atlantic through creative reimaginings onstage.

“To see these vibrant works in the hands of contemporary artists, and to introduce them to new audiences — that is the true joy of LA Escena,” Fuchs said. “The plays are constantly reimagined. That’s what makes them classics.”

Like previous editions, LA Escena 2024 will include performances by companies from Spain (Madrid-based Grumelot) and Mexico (Mulas Teatro and Los Colochos Teatro). Additionally, it will feature “La tinta de mi honra,” written and directed by Mexico City–based playwright David Gaitán (Sept. 14 at 9 p.m.).

The lineup also includes new works from Diversifying the Classics’ Golden Tongues series, which commissions modern adaptations of Hispanic classics by local playwrights from diverse backgrounds in partnership with Los Angeles theater company Playwrights’ Arena.

Other highlights include a new staging of Mexican author Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s witty take on Greek mythology, “Love is the Greater Labyrinth” (Sept. 14 at 4 p.m.), and an operatic version of Ana Caro de Mallén’s protofeminist romantic comedy “Valor” (Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.). Both presentations are based on English translations by Diversifying the Classics.

Los Angeles–based theatre dybbuk will present “The Marvelous Puppet Show” (Sept. 15 at 5 p.m.), an “illuminated lecture” exploring a prescient play by Miguel de Cervantes about media manipulation and social control.

The festival will conclude with a livestreamed reading of Lope de Vega’s “The Beast of Hungary” (Sept. 17 at 4:30 p.m.), performed by New York's Red Bull Theater as part of their ongoing collaboration with Diversifying the Classics.

Tickets for all performances at Nimoy Theater are free but require advance registration. Tickets for "The Beast of Hungary" will be available through Red Bull Theater's website.

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