Latin History for Morons

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Matthew Murphy

If only all our history teachers took John Leguizamo’s approach to teaching. In his one-man show, the comedian-actor traverses the entirety of Latinx culture and history, with plenty of humorous aplomb about colonialism and marginalization along the way.

press release: Following its Tony-nominated hit Broadway run seen by thousands, Tony Award winner John Leguizamo’s one-man play LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS will play Overture Hall in Madison FRI, JUN 28 at 7:30 PM. For more information, please visit Overture.org.

The WOW Agency brings LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS to Madison as part of a North American tour premiering at the legendary Apollo Theater in New York, and will travel across the country including engagements in Dallas, Durham, Hartford, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and San Antonio among others.  For more information on tickets and upcoming city engagements, please visit LatinHistoryOnTour.com.

LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS is inspired by the near total absence of Latinos from his son’s American History books. John Leguizamo embarks on an outrageously funny, frenzied search to find a Latin hero for his son’s school history project. From a mad recap of the Aztec empire to stories of unknown Latin patriots of the Revolutionary War and beyond, Leguizamo breaks down the 3,000 years between the Mayans and Pitbull into 110 irreverent and uncensored minutes above and beyond his unique style.

Ben Brantley of The New York Times called LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS a “surprisingly poignant one-man play that slyly poses sharp and timely questions of what culturally defines American identity and who, in the nationalistic age of Trump, has ‘the right’ to be here.”

Steven Suskin of The Huffington Post concluded, “John Leguizamo is back, as smart, provocative, bracing – and wise – as ever. In this dazzling comedic-philosphic evening of laughter, his Latin lesson is a treat.”

LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS concluded its successful run on Broadway on February 25, 2018. The original 16-week engagement was extended an additional three weeks on opening night, November 15, 2017. The production was the first play of the 2017-2018 season to recoup its entire capitalization.

LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS marks theatre’s most prolific modern Latino playwright, John Leguizamo’s sixth one-man venture onto the stage, following success on Broadway with Ghetto Klown (Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award), Freak (Drama Desk Award), Sexaholix…A Love Story (Tony nomination) and Off-Broadway with Mambo Mouth (Obie Award) and Spic-O-Rama (Drama Desk Award).  Mambo Mouth, Spic-O-Rama, Freak and Ghetto Klown all went on to be filmed for presentation on HBO.

Fresh off the celebrated and financially successful Broadway run of Ghetto Klown, Leguizamo began his acclaimed work on LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS.  The play had its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre followed by its New York premiere at The Public Theater.  Directed by Tony Taccone (Wishful Drinking, Bridge & Tunnel), the Tony-nominated production of LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS is written and performed by Leguizamo, featuring scenic design by Rachel Hauck, lighting design by Alexander V. Nichols, and original music and sound design by Bray Poor.

LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS is produced by THE WOW Agency, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and The Public Theater.