The Latino Theater Company’s 40th season opens with a bold, meta-theatrical work that explores the complexity of identity and creativity, aptly titled “The Last Play.”
This innovative production fuses hip-hop, memory, and humor into a sharp meditation on legacy.
Written by celebrated playwright and hip-hop theater pioneer Rickérby Hinds, and directed by Afro-Latiné theater specialist Daphnie Sicre, “The Last Play” is set to open on April 26 at The Los Angeles Theatre Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Performances will run through May 25, with an exciting opportunity for audiences to attend six low-priced previews from April 17 to April 25.
Rickérby Hinds, a native of Honduras who immigrated to South Central Los Angeles at age 13, is acclaimed as one of the founding voices in the hip-hop theater genre.
Currently a professor in the Department of Theater at UC Riverside, Hinds has poured his energy and lived experience into this new work.
True to his mission as an educator, he has also used “The Last Play” as an important teaching tool.
Hinds has shared each new draft with his students, inviting their feedback and incorporating their insights into the creative process.
The result is a piece that reflects not only Hinds’ artistic journey, but also a collective dialogue with the next generation of theater-makers.
In this Latino Theater Company-commissioned comedy, Hinds pulls back the curtain on the creative process.
An Afro-Latino playwright—played by 2024 NAACP Theatre Award-winner Nic Few—finds himself paralyzed by the pressure of writing his final work.
In search of inspiration, he summons characters from his past plays, leading to a fast-paced convergence of comedy, critique, and confrontation.
The playwright is compelled to grapple with the meaning of his voice, his past, and his place within the theater canon.
“Playwrights always think they’re in control of the worlds they create.
But who’s really in charge?” asks Sicre, who has studied Hinds’ work for over 15 years, including in her doctoral research.
“This play is so full of joy and playfulness.
But it also raises significant questions about power, authorship, and self-definition.”
Sicre, who also serves as dramaturg for the production, collaborates with a creative team that includes scenic designer Christopher Scott Murillo, lighting designer Alejandro Melendez, sound designer John Zalewski, video projections designer Omar Ramos, costume designer Wendell C. Carmichael, and choreographer Marissa Herrera.
Ashley Weaver is the production stage manager, assisted by Andrea Lopez.
The cast of “The Last Play” features Rogelio Douglas III, Jasmine Gatewood, Khalif J. Gillett, Lee Harris, Darius M. Johnson, Celia Mandela Rivera, and Breayre Tender, with understudies Lee Harris and Shannon J. Sharpe.
As the Latino Theater Company embarks on its fourth decade, it continues to be a cornerstone of Los Angeles’ cultural landscape.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director José Luis Valenzuela—recipient of the 2024 Gordon Davidson Award—the company has produced hundreds of plays, supported thousands of artists, and revitalized the Los Angeles Theatre Center as a hub for innovation and tradition.
Recently, recognizing its significant impact, the City of Los Angeles extended the company’s lease through 2056.
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