Written and Starring John Leguizamo
It is a joy when, on any given opening night, the Ahmanson Theatre is packed. And so it was for the much-anticipated opening night of Latin History for Morons—the air crackling with excitement as subscribers, fans, celebrities, and reviewers found their seats. Long before his accomplished body of work as actor and producer of film and television, John Leguizamo made his mark doing stand-up comedy—an art form that requires, among other things, a heightened sense of timing. It is that preternatural timing, coupled with his sweet heart, that makes his one-hour-fifty-minute, one-man, one-act show fly by. That, and, as always, his compelling story. While rich morsels of Latin history are featured prominently in his soliloquy, at its heart, this is the story of a father driven by the ordinary madness of parenthood on a journey to avenge his son who was the target of the middle school bully.
Middle school is miserable for way-too-many students and parents alike, but there is nothing quite like being the parent of a child who is the object of the class bully. In the heart of every wounded parent, secret thoughts of revenge do battle with the desire to positively role model in the face of adversity.
Moments after curtain up, Leguizamo tells the audience that we are the titular morons, generously placing himself smack in the middle of that sorry collective by revealing that it was his own “ignorance” that led him to dig deeper than in common textbooks and search for Latin heroes to help his son formulate a revenge-worthy class project.
What elevates any one-man show from memoir to a Broadway-worthy show is, in part, the skilled inclusion of a varied cast of characters. Leguizamo embodies them all: his son; his teenage daughter who, though constantly “wearing headphones and texting,” always knows exactly what is going on in the family; his long-suffering wife; his therapist; the school principal, and even the father-of-the-bully. With simple shifts of voice, accent, and posture, each comes to life to populate the world according to John Leguizamo on the Ahmanson stage. And wait’ll you see him dance.
A celebrity known for his political activism, Leguizamo exercises the smartest balance of sharp-witted comment and restraint to make his political points without getting far afield from the story.
Smart, funny, and skilled. This is John Leguizamo at his best, decked out in Luke McDonough’s costumes, which are a terrific nod to the universal frumpy professor, surrounded by equally clever scenic design by Rachel Hauck.
Photo cred: https://www.centertheatregroup.org/tickets/ahmanson-theatre/2019-20/latin-history-for-morons/