THE OTHER AMERICANS at the Public

[halfhourcheckwithmerman]

Posted: 9/13/25 at 9:03pm

I tried to find a thread on this and couldn't... has anybody seen this yet? 

John Leguizamo (written and performing), directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, started previews Thursday. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 9/14/25 at 7:48am

I have to laugh because I also noticed no thread and was going to start one when I got out of the show last night.

I saw it at Arena Stage and so I was already familiar with the play going in, but there were definitely some areas trimmed to make it tighter. It’s very much in the vein of the “American Dream at any cost” genre - think “A Raisin in the Sun”, but also mixed with some “Ordinary People”. Leguizamo plays a very slick and hardened laundromat owner in financial trouble after years of bad business decisions in an attempt at upward mobility, who is also contending with his son coming home after an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital due to PTSD after a racially-motivated assault that happened while he was working at his father’s laundromat. Without giving too much away, these seemingly disparate plot points intersect into quite a twist.

Leguizamo is very much against type here and I found him to be a very unwavering example of machismo and pride to the point of narcissism, which drives the plot to a damning conclusion. We know him primarily for comedy, and there is definitely enough of that here, but his dramatic chops here are quite impressive. Luna Lauren Velez is his long-suffering wife, and she was also pretty good, although I do wish she expressed a bit more fiery anger post-climax as opposed to an odd stoicism, although she does play the role of a smothering Latino mother very well which works for plot purposes.

I think the real breakout star, though, is Trey Santiago Hudson (yes, son of Ruben) as Nick, the son. He deftly handles the character’s PTSD and mood dysregulation very well without resorting to melodramatics. He understands his character’s triggers surrounding returning home and makes adept use of them to convey the son’s mood lability. In thinking a bit deeper clinically, I believe the son has a form of TBI from his assault and the psychiatric issues are a secondary diagnosis arising from that. He’s the heart in this play and you can’t help but root for him despite the circumstances that are hindering him.

The set has been condensed from the Arena Stage run to fit a 3/4 thrust, and I like this better because it intensifies the claustrophobia of living a household divided. I did take issue with the sound design because the dialogue is primarily English, peppered with quite a bit of Spanish (especially exclamations), but the lack of boom mics (from what I could see) makes it harder to hear the characters if they aren’t directly facing you, which is not good in quieter moments, but they have time to work on that.

The run is almost entirely sold out, but if you can get a cancellation or rush ticket, I HIGHLY recommend going since I think it’s a great new entry into the American Dream theatrical canon, and an overall win for Leguizamo as both writer and performer.

[inception]

Posted: 9/14/25 at 8:41am

Looks like nothing else is scheduled for that theatre space this Fall, so perhaps plenty of room to extend?

[quizking101]

Posted: 9/14/25 at 10:30am

It has already been extended once (an extra week). Most times there is usually a two-week extension built into a contract so they may add another after they freeze and open. 

I do recall this show when I saw it at Arena Stage that it was  having potential Broadway aspirations considering its partnership with the Public Theatre, but I struggle to think about what would be an appropriate space other than Circle, since then then scenic design would need to be revised yet again to be a regular proscenium show. 

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 9/14/25 at 9:15pm

I also saw the DC run. I felt that the bones of a very good play were in there somewhere, but it dwindled too much and felt like it had a lot filler - it was far too long and far too easy to lose interest. I'm glad to hear that it's been tightened for the run at The Public. I, too, was incredibly impressed by Trey-Santiago Hudson, who I think could have a bright future ahead of him.