Off-B'way Review: The Other Americans; Mexodus

John Leguizamo and Luna Lauren Velez
in The Other Americans.
Credit: Joan Marcus

John Leguizamo has carved out a unique position for himself in the American theater with a series of riotously funny solo plays, including Freak, Spic-O-Rama, Sexaholix, and Ghetto Klown, documenting his experiences as an Hispanic citizen and performer. With his new play The Other Americans in which he also plays the lead at the Public Theater, Leguizamo attempts to branch out and depict the impact of blindly pursuing the American Dream on a Latino family in terms of traditional narrative drama. His heart and intentions are in the right place and the first act has some strong moments, but his plot is too melodramatic and contrived, borrowing too heavily from previous similar works, particularly Arthur Miller’s classic Death of a Salesman. The playwright’s performance and that of the tight ensemble and Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s muscular staging are proficient and professional, but the play feels thin and forced.

Like Miller’s Willy Loman, August Wilson’s Troy Maxon in Fences, and O’Neill’s Hickey from The Iceman Cometh, Leguizamo’s protagonist Nelson Castro is a self-deluded hustler. A would-be big-shot who always has a lucrative scheme in the works, Nelson is actually a bankrupt businessman whose fanciful deals are more hot air than solid planning. The setting is the Castro family’s expensive home in Forrest Hills, Queens (beautiful design by Arnulfo Maldonado) where Nelson and his wife Patti (marvelously maternal Luna Lauren Velez) are nervously awaiting the homecoming of their son Nick (appropriately volatile Trey Santiago-Hudson) after a stay in a mental health facility. It’s gradually revealed Nick is suffering from post-traumatic stress from a vicious attack by white racists. They are joined by daughter Toni (spunky Rebecca Jimenez) and her fiancee Eddie (adorably nerdy Bradley James Tejeda), and Nelson’s more successful sister Norma (intense Rosa Evangelina Arredondo) and family friend Veronica (funny Sarah Nina Hayon). 

B'way/Off-B'way Update: MTC and Public Theater Seasons

David Lindsay-Abaire
Credit: Tricia Baron

Manhattan Theater Club and The Public Theater have announced all or part of their 2025-26 New York theater season schedules.  MTC will present two plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning authors while the Public will deliver a plethora of world premieres. MTC will premiere The Balusters by David Lindsay-Abaire (Dinner with Friends, Rabbit Hole, Good People) at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theater in the spring of 2026. 

"Manhattan Theatre Club has been my artistic home since I was a baby-playwright, so of course I’m thrilled to be back with The Balusters, my newest play about well-intentioned people behaving really badly,” commented David Lindsay-Abaire. “The only thing more exciting than having a new show on Broadway? Having it helmed by the brilliant director Kenny Leon. After twenty-five years of plays with MTC, I’ve never looked forward to sharing a story with an audience more than I am with The Balusters." The play focuses on a small residential community which is thrown into turmoil when a newcomer suggests installing a stop sign at the corner of the neighborhood's prettiest block.