This past Halloween night, I anxiously and curiously attended my first live, indoor, public theater experience since the COVID lockdowns in March at Columbia Heights’ iconic GALA Hispanic Theater. I expected both “tricks” and “treats” as I navigated this normally mundane and joyous activity during unusual, pandemic times. As part of a pilot program approved by the DC mayor’s office and the Department of Homeland Security, the GALA is one of several entertainment venues in Washington D.C. selected to bring back live performances as safely as possible. On opening night, it was the only theater in Washington, and possibly the northeast region, that had reopened. In some ways the night had two subplots: the plot of the play itself, El perro del hortelano (The Dog in the Manger), and the plot of experiencing the theater in the time of Corona.
When I entered the theater, I was greeted by staff wearing masks who took my temperature and offered me disposable gloves, extra masks, and hand sanitizer. Tickets and playbills were mobile so I had minimal contact as my ticket was scanned and was promptly directed to my seat. The bar was open to purchase drinks for the show, but gathering was not encouraged.
The theater, which has a maximum capacity of 350, was operating at about 9% capacity then (including actors, crew, audience, etc.) but has since been authorized to operate at 18%, selling up to 50 seats per show. We were very spread out throughout the theater and from my vantage point, patrons wore their masks during the entire show, unless they were sipping on a drink. The show was about an hour and a half with no intermission, likely to prevent huddling, talking, or crowding in the lobby or restroom. The stage itself was surrounded by plexiglass! We were well into the show when I realized that—kudos to the lighting and set designer.
She also explained the lengths to which GALA has gone to keep cast members safe—they have been avoiding contact with the outside world throughout the performances and are tested regularly for COVID.
The play was funny and poignant and it was my first time attending a performance entirely in Spanish. The surtitles were easy to follow, but I’m sure I lost some of the nuance in translation. It seemed like the actors were in their own world focused on the words of Lope de Vega’s classical play and acting in a “fishbowl”—literally and figuratively—as cast member Luz Nicolás later told me. According to Ms. Nicolás, it’s hard to see the audience through the plexiglass creating the fishbowl effect. She also explained the lengths to which GALA has gone to keep cast members safe—they have been avoiding contact with the outside world throughout the performances and are tested regularly for COVID. In her eyes, being away from family has been a sacrifice but one she is willing to make for her love of theater and for her many colleagues around the world whose careers and passions are in limbo.
As the show went on and the safety measures were clear to me, my anxieties eased and I enjoyed the show. Soraya Padrao gave a strong lead performance as Diana, Countess of Belfor, who finds out that her secretary, Teodoro, whom she secretly loves, is engaged to her lady-in-waiting. Diana becomes ravaged by jealousy and frustration that Teodoro is not of her class level, disrupts the engagement, and admits her feelings to Teodoro. She then leads him on a seemingly unending “she loves me, she loves me not” adventure throughout the play. Co-lead Ariel Texidó conveyed Teodoro’s frustration with Diana’s manipulation and indecisiveness as he reckons with his own feelings towards her—is it love for Diana or love for the power and upward class mobility that their union would provide? Carlos Castillo provided wonderful comic relief as Teodoro’s confidant and messenger Tristán who probably gets more entangled in Teodoro and Diana’s web than he wanted. The supporting cast members gave joyous performances as characters all involved in Diana and Teodoro’s dramatic love triangles. In the end, for Diana and Teodoro, love trumps class divide but not without some plot twists along the way.
As I sat in my seat, masked and eventually relaxed, I noticed that all of the actors seemed wrapped in their performances and happy to be doing what they love again. And for a little while, I forgot about Halloween, the pandemic, the then-impending election, and enjoyed a night at the theater.
My congratulations to the cast, crew, and administrators at GALA Hispanic Theater who worked tirelessly to provide a safe environment for everyone and keep theater live and a-live during these difficult times. GALA’s 45th Season continues with programming options currently listed on their website for December through March.
