Fast-Paced Fun and Universal Themes at Seattle Rep

After seeing Seattle Rep’s Laughs in Spanish, I was both energized by its lively humor and left with some challenging questions to ponder.  I attended the 90-minunte play, written by Alexis Scheer and directed by Dámaso Rodríguez, as a Spanish student hoping to practice my listening skills and curious about what a “part telenovela, part whodunit” comedy would be like. Although the Spanish portions of the play turned out to only be brief phrases sprinkled into the dialogue, I could not have asked for a production more chock full of jokes, telenovela tropes, and big questions about identity and decision-making.

The drama begins when Mariana (Beth Pollack) discovers that all the paintings have been stolen from her Miami art gallery on the morning of her biggest show of the year. Juan (Gabriell Salgado), a decidedly unhelpful police officer, is on the scene. Juan also happens to be the boyfriend of Mari’s intern, Carolina (Diana Garle), a graduate student studying painting. Both are more focused on getting Mari to show Caro’s paintings in lieu of the intended artist’s work than on solving the crime. Then, Mari’s theatrical telenovela-star mother Estella (Diana Burbano), with whom she has a fraught relationship, arrives unexpectedly, bringing with her a whole new source of drama. Things get even more complicated when Estella’s assistant, Jenny (Cheyenne Barton), turns out to be Mari’s old crush.

Scenic designer Sara Walsh captures the minimalist, white-walled aesthetic of an art gallery interior, but the play itself is bursting with colorful costumes and flashing lights—not to mention blaring salsa music and exhilarating bursts of dancing! I particularly enjoyed how these brief interludes of music and dance marked whenever Estella entered a scene, emphasizing her glamorous persona and drawing laughter from the audience. Together, these elements filled the production with a vibrant energy.

Laughs in Spanish is first and foremost a comedy. From start to finish, the dialogue is full of quips and amusing pop culture references. The range of jokes spans from Caro’s comments on graduate school, to Estella threatening to create a Hinge profile for Mari, to a discussion about using the phrase “gender is a construct” on the balloons of a gender reveal party.

Unfortunately, most of the jokes are only chuckle-worthy, leaning too heavily on clichés to draw true laughter from the audience. Take the all-too-familiar scene where Estella comments on Mari’s lack of a love life, or Juan’s predictable remarks about Caro being too feminist to say certain things. Still, they add just enough levity to the more serious topics touched on throughout the play. It was exactly this levity that I found Mari’s character to be missing. Mari is understandably frustrated when the gallery’s entire exhibit is stolen. However, her persistent bitterness, both toward the situation and her mother, weighed down many comedic scenes, making jokes fall flat under the gravity of her anger. For this reason, I preferred Estella and Juan’s easy, inviting humor. Despite its title, Laughs in Spanish delivers more fast-paced fun than laugh-out-loud funniness.

The rapid pace may have worked for the dialogue, but when transferred to the events of the plot, it felt slightly rushed. Although advertised as part telenovela and part whodunit, the thief is revealed surprisingly early, and the ‘whodunit’ aspect of the play quickly fades into the background. Instead, the play shifts to become a heartwarming comedy about family relationships and identity. I felt like I was being given a glimpse into the Cuban American and Colombian American characters’ lives, and not surprisingly, there was a lot going on in them. Over the course of one day, there was, in addition to preparing for the art show, a pregnancy reveal, a marriage proposal, a new romance, plenty of heated arguments, an impending court date, and a dredged-up history of hidden crime. At times, as the scenes bounced from character to character and event to event, it felt like the story was unfolding too quickly for me to absorb.

I appreciated how the plot intentionally included several telenovela tropes (family secrets, constant mother-daughter fights, and secret crimes), delivering them with a self-awareness that made them all the more enjoyable to watch unfold. However, that did not stop some plot points from falling flat due to the pacing. For example, after a few interactions, Mari and Jenny end up revealing their feelings for each other and sharing a passionate kiss. Although the scene itself was done well, with dimmed lights and slow music, I did not feel invested in their love story. Its development was too sudden, and the play immediately moved on, making their relationship feel rushed and the kiss unnecessary.

Laughs in Spanish brings up numerous important conversations, but it does not take the time to explore most of these issues further. Instead, its constant return to humor keeps them at a surface level. The topics are used as fuel for a few jokes and then glossed over in favor of a new dramatic development or a reference to a different topic. For instance, Mari brings up mental health early on in the play, mentioning that she has struggled with suicidal ideation all her life, but this topic is never discussed again. Similarly, Mari points out how her mother pretends that her daughter is not queer by saying “someone” instead of “a woman” whenever she talks about Mari finding a partner. However, despite the relationship that develops between Mari and Jenny, this issue is not revisited. 

That said, the play’s significant central questions cover ideas ranging from identity, success, and parenthood. Although focused on the experiences of Cuban Americans and Colombian Americans, these topics contain universal themes that almost anyone can relate to. These include choosing between career or family, struggling to establish an identity independent of your parents, and making decisions that are true to what you want, not just what you do not want. The latter is the trap that both Estella and Mari have fallen into, trying to be the opposite of their mothers. But as they resolve layers of misunderstanding, it becomes clear that they are not as different as they would like to believe. Near the end, Estella delivers a powerful monologue revealing the truth guiding her actions as a mother: how when Mari was born, she swore that her daughter could be anything she wanted. In addition to showcasing Burbano’s talent for captivating storytelling, this moment shared a message that resonated deeply with me: the decisions we make for the people we love shape who we become.

Due to its universal themes, Laughs in Spanish is a play that can be enjoyed by anyone–although its many pop culture references and inclusion of the identity issues faced by our generation make it particularly fitting for a teenage audience.  I smiled throughout the show, not just because of the jokes, but because I was glad to see a play unafraid to mix humor with the difficult questions that are central to culture, family, and finding yourself. 

Lead photo: Beth Pollack, Diana Burbano, Cheyenne Barton, Diana Garle, and Gabriell Salgado in Laughs in Spanish (2025). Scenic Designer by Sara C Walsh. Photo by Sayed Alamy. 

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