'Til Sunday

Nairoby Otero plays three characters in her extraordinarily moving and perfectly realized one-woman play ‘Til Sunday, directed by Michael D’Angora, which takes place in the Cuban immigrant community of New Orleans and skips around between the years 1972 and 1985.
One of these is Claridad, a girl straddling two cultures: early in the play, she leaves Cuba for the US at age 2; by the end, she celebrates her quinceanera. Another is the girl’s mother, who has had to leave the island with her daughter, though not her husband. He remains behind, but hopes to join them soon. The play’s title refers to their biweekly Sunday phone calls back to him. The third character is Pepe, a gregarious cigar-smoking, dominoes-playing neighbor who readily pontificates about Cuban and American politics.

Switching frequently among these three roles, Otero memorably evokes the hardship of family separation and the difficult hope of better life in a new world. The mother’s calls back to her husband over the

by gil kaan

‘TIL SUNDAY/written by Nairoby Otero/directed by Michael D’Angora/LA LGBT Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre/thru June 25, 2017

In her ’TIL SUNDAY, writer/performer Nairoby Otero grabs you the very first moment she hits the stage and then, after 75 minutes, ends her solo show with a wrenching punch in the gut. Otero portrays a number of characters in this one-woman tour de force revealing the story of the real-life struggles of a Cuban mother who ventures to New Orleans to provide a better life for her little girl.

With only the most essential of props (and very well-utilized at that), Otero clearly delineates her characters of: the single mother working overtime to take care of her 2-year-old daughter; the said daughter, now on the eve of her quinceañera; and their friendly neighbor graciously subbing as friend and father figure.

Otero’s teenager bubbles over with infectious excitement talking to her off-stage girlfriend while practicing her make-up for her big

YOLO! Productions is proud to be bringing a revival of ‘Til Sunday to the Eighth Annual Hollywood Fringe Festival. Starring the show’s writer, Nairoby Otero and directed by Michael D’Angora, ’Til Sunday will begin performances at The LGBT Center the first week of June.

’Til Sunday, a one-woman play, tells the story of a young mother coming from Cuba to New Orleans with her daughter in search of a better life. It gives a look at a family that defines what it means to be Cuban, what it means to be an immigrant and, ultimately, what it means to be American. Based on real-life struggles of Cuban families that came to the United States in the early 1970s seeking political asylum, ’Til Sunday tackles issues relevant in our national discourse today.

The play received rave reviews for its 2009 run at New York’s Abingdon Theatre. With a film adaption in the works, Otero is excited for audiences to rediscover this story and the events that have shaped the Cuban American experience.

Nairo