Las Garcia - BEYOND ENCORE

The thing about solo shows is that the entire experience of the performance relies on a single person. On the ability of a single actor to transport us to a place, to make us believe she is one or a dozen characters, on making us feel...something. And Gabriela Ortega made me feel a lot. I left "Las García" with the conviction that no one but her could have played these roles and told this specific story. It felt raw and intimate in the way that only someone with the life experience to back it up can evoke. She (the performer, the writer) is inextricably linked with the characters. It rings true. And that is all I can ask of someone who is putting on her first solo show. Gabriela manages to work past the limitations of the theater sp... full review

Fantastic. Would recommend for sure!... full review

Gabriela Ortega's posthumous tale of three generations of "Las Garcia" takes center stage on her one-woman show of loss, confusion, and yearning to fill in the gaps of taken history by the April, 1965 Dominican Republic removal of leftist president Juan Bosch. Seen from the perspective of the grandmother, Ortega captures the role with vigor and purpose and encapsulates the story of an artist caught in the midst of revolution down to the minutia, through emotional and provocative stage presence, often catching the audience to be one with her story. Given the hour long format, the pacing can be rather quick, and the transitions can get muddled going from one to the other, this play is also densely packed, requiring the utmost attention to char... full review

I loved the show and highly recommend it. ... full review