Laughs in Spanish

Laughs in Spanish was a play performed at Seattle Rep, written by Alexis Scheer. It's set in Miami, Florida, during the holiday season. The play is funny, entertaining, and keeps the viewer wanting more. It's a good play that I would ultimately recommend, even with there being some critiques I would make, such as the set. There are a lot of strong suits, though, like how it was a very light-hearted play even through the deeper topics they talk about and the characters' outfits. The play follows Mariana, an art gallery director, in the Miami area along with her assistant Carolina. The night before an art exhibition was supposed to happen, all the paintings were stolen. Juan, who happens to be Carolina's boyfriend, ends up being the cop on the scene after Mariana calls the police. Shortly after Mariana's mom, Estella, and her assistant, Jenny, show up.

I really enjoyed how the play touches on some deeper topics while still maintaining a more lighthearted demeanor. It touches on insecurity, identity, and feeling unready. Mari really struggles with comparing herself to her mom because her mom was a huge movie star, being immensely popular and not wanting to be like her. Mari won best in show for a painting she made. To celebrate, she went to a bar. She left momentarily to get money out of the ATM. When she came back, all the attention was on her mom. Before Mari told Estella about what actually happened though Estella was making jokes about what could have happened, she said, “I swear to god if he put a finger on you I will hunt him down and cut his dick off” which ultimately led to it feeling like a calmer conversation than if there weren't any jokes. Caro also expresses how unready she felt when she told Juan she was pregnant, she did not know if she wanted to bring a child into the world. Although throughout her talking to Juan, she was making jokes which helped it from being a hard, almost rigid conversation. Instead, it was easy and felt more free flowing. While they were talking, Caro said, “I hope it-THEY-I hope they feel empowered to be whatever gender or non-gender they feel.” It was said in a very non-serious tone, and it helped maintain the light-hearted feeling they were going for instead of an abrupt sad scene.

While there were some great parts, there were also some flaws, and the big one that stands out to me is the set was inconsistent. The inside of the art gallery was plain, boring, and could have used more detail. The outside, however, was incohesive and had too much going on. While art galleries are meant to be open and dull, there are still details, this one had nothing, even with the understanding the art was stolen. I wish they would have added more details to the desk, like business cards and pamphlets. The desk had nothing on it until after Estella made Mari decorate it. There was a plant in the corner of the room and nothing else. Obviously, there will not be any art on the walls due to it being stolen, but I wish throughout the play there was more happening within the art gallery. Adding actual placards to the wall as an example would have added more attention to detail and how things end up looking. Once you get to the patio, though, there is too much going on and it is hard to understand what's happening with it. With all the plants, the light up sign, and the Christmas decorations were all too much. It clashed a lot with the colorful furniture and how plain the inside was, it made it difficult to pay attention to smaller details. The patio would’ve been easier to comprehend if the Christmas decorations weren’t there. There was so much else happening in the background with the plants and lights that the decorations really seemed like overkill, it would’ve been better without them. The two sets could have been interesting if it weren’t for the fact they were so different, with the bland inside and overwhelming outside.

The outfits that the cast were wearing were very fitting to their characters and what they were supposed to represent. Mariana started off wearing a dark suit, which looked nice, but it wasn’t who she was. While yes, she was closed off at the beginning, which I think the dark suit represented well, she opened up a lot throughout the play. After she changed, she was wearing a bright red dress with tassels at the bottom. It was very fitting for her as she had a very fiery, bright personality, which matched well with the bright outfit after. Mari ends up having a very strong personality, being very bold and outgoing. Mari’s outfits overall fit her very well, and I really enjoy how they made her look. Estella, Mari’s mom, wears a light blue suit, which maintains a professional look while also being stylish which works for her being an actress. Estella is very sharp and strict while still soft at some level, so having the suit adds to the sharp demeanor that she has, but the light, soft blue shows that deep down she is a kind, soft, loving mom. After the change she's wearing a colorful dress that's very bright, loose-fitting, and non-professional. I think it's a good sign of the change she went through throughout the play. The bright outfit I think, really shows that she ended up opening up a lot throughout the play, being more herself and being a lot more relaxed with how she views not only Mari but also herself. When Estella was first introduced she was very strict, in her own world, and very critical of the people around her. At the end she was more involved with others and was able to relax more, which I think is represented well with the way she was presented in her outfits. Lastly, Jenny wore a plain shirt and a skirt with a fun design when she first showed up in the play. I think that the fun patterned skirt shows that Jenny is a fun person, but it's not super obvious. I think the plain white shirt is to show that she is shy and her outfit doesn’t stand out a lot. At the end, when they had changed, she was wearing a blue shirt with orange details and orangey pants. The shirt had orange circles on it, round or soft edged shapes on characters help make them seem softer and quieter. Jenny is a very bubbly, kind, and shy character so I think that having an outfit that won’t make her stand out too much but is still nice and has some color in it is very fitting for her.

Overall, I think it's a great play that could've used a bit more attention to detail. It was really great how the deeper topics were talked about and mentioned throughout the whole play, but they weren’t overbearing and still kept that light-hearted feeling to them. It helped keep interest in the play and made me want to keep watching. I still wish the set had been more cohesive with the way the inside and outside were presented. I think for the outside, less should've been more, and with the inside they generally should have just done more with it. I really enjoyed how the outfits really corresponded with all of the characters' personalities, it was a detail I really liked and I think it added a lot to the play. If you ever get the opportunity to watch Laughs In Spanish by Alexis Scheer, I would highly recommend it for everyone, especially if you yourself are Hispanic or generally just a Spanish speaker.

Lead photo: Gabriell Salgado and Diana Burbano in Laughs in Spanish (2025). Photo by Bronwen Houck.

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This review was written as part of an Arts Criticism workshop at Evergreen High School in Jim Mackerras' Language Arts classes, taught by Press Corps teaching artist Ayo Tushinde. This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Washington State Arts Commission.