By Darlene Donloe
John
Leguizamo literally takes his audience to school in his latest show, John
Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons, currently enjoying a successful
run at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles.
One
of the most underrated talents in the entertainment industry, Leguizamo, an
actor, stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and playwright, is a master at delivering
exciting and entertaining one-man shows. For nearly 30 years he has used his
own life to create some innovative productions. His other shows include Ghetto
Klown, Mambo Mouth, Spic-O-Rama, Freak, Sexaholix….A Love Story
In John
Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons Leguizamo, he mixes
comedy with some actual historical facts that have somehow never been acknowledged
in American history. Class is in session as he educates audiences on
Latino culture in a way that will stay with you long after you’ve left the
theater.
The
impetus for this show came from his son. First, there was nearly zero reference
to Latinos in his son’s history books. So Leguizamo
went on a search to find a Latin hero for his son’s school history project. Second, his son was being bullied and racially-profiled in
school. Wanting his son to take the high road, Leguizamo encouraged
him to fight the bullies with words, facts, and information instead of his
fists. It was then that Leguizamo started doing research. What he
found was an enormous amount of Latin contributions to America and the world.
Until then, he himself had no clue of the depth of Latin influences. He decided
to build a show about his findings after he did a workshop at Berkeley Rep (The
Ground Floor Summer Residency Lab at Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and several
noted playwrights told him he had something special. That’s when and
where John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons was born. The show
debuted in 2017 before moving to Studio 54. Latin History for Morons was nominated for
the 2018 Tony Award for Best Play.
In
between his dropping knowledge, Leguizamo, who wrote the show, does what he
does best, he presents it in comic form. He is a smart enough performer to know
that he can’t just beat people over the head with historical facts. Since he’s
acting in a professorial role, he has to keep his class, in this case, his
audience, engaged.
Like
a teacher or professor, Leguizamo asks questions of the audience to see just
how knowledgeable they are about American history. Some members failed the test
– which Leguizamo quickly, but comically points out.
In short order, Leguizamo
breaks down the 3,000 years of Latin culture between the Mayans and, who else,
Pitbull.
Leguizamo
goes so deep into lost history that he leaves some of the audience stunned with
facts that until watching this show, went unknown. With the
information that came out of this show, it’s not a stretch to see Leguizamo
teach a course on the subject in public schools or at colleges.
There
is something about the way Leguizamo tells a story. He knows how to tell people
to kiss his ass and go to hell in such a way that they will enjoy the
trip. In this case, his angst is directed at historians who have
whitewashed history ignoring the contributions of those of Latin descent.
If
you know Leguizamo’s work, you know he can go there. And by “go
there,” I mean he can get raunchy and politically incorrect. If
you’re highly-offended – just beware. In the end, it’s all good!
A
noted actor, Leguizamo is a Tony-Award winner. He is also an Emmy-nominated
actor who appeared recently in When They See Us, Moulin Rouge!, To Wong
Foo, Thanks for Everything! and Julie Newmar.
John
Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons is entertaining, clever, educational,
informative, hysterical, and touching.
Kudos
to John Leguizamo!
John
Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons is directed by Tony Taccone.
The
show is 110 minutes without an intermission.
On the
DONLOE SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O (oh,
yeah) and E (excellent), John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons gets
an E (excellent).
