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Downtown Los Angeles theater lovers have reason to visit the Historic Core this fall as the Latino Theater Company presents the world premiere of Speaking in Tongues, a new play by award-winning Chicano playwright Luis Alfaro, at the Los Angeles Theatre Center (LATC).
Located at Fifth and Spring Streets in Downtown LA’s Historic Core, the Los Angeles Theatre Center may not look like much from the outside, but stepping inside is another story. Built in 1916 as a grand banking institution, the century-old architectural treasure features towering marble walls, ornate bronze detailing and a magnificent stained-glass skylight stretching across the former banking hall.
The historic grandeur meets modern theatrical design with sweeping staircases, glass railings and open balconies overlooking the impressive lobby.
Beyond this breathtaking entrance are four performance stages, making the Los Angeles Theatre Center one of Downtown’s most remarkable cultural destinations. Since 2006, the Latino Theater Company has operated the city-owned venue, bringing diverse stories, celebrated performers and original productions to the Historic Core.
Opening October 17 and running through November 15, Speaking in Tongues takes audiences far beyond Downtown LA to Earlimart, a small agricultural town in California’s San Joaquin Valley, where faith, family, immigration and community loyalty collide.
The story unfolds inside a Pentecostal church on the edge of a cornfield. Hermana Romie, played by Evelina Fernández, is struggling to hold her congregation together following the mysterious disappearance of her husband, the church’s pastor, eight weeks earlier.
Surrounded by fellow church members Hermana Cubby (Lucy Rodríguez), Hermano Mando (Sal López) and Hermano Tico (Geoffrey Rivas), Romie finds comfort in shared meals, neighborhood gossip and religious devotion. But with immigration raids threatening the community and her daughter, played by Esperanza América, preparing to leave for a secular life in Los Angeles, Romie must decide what leadership and faith mean to her.
Directed by Latino Theater Company artistic director Jose Luis Valenzuela, the production blends humor, cultural traditions and emotional storytelling while examining the realities facing Mexican-American families in California’s agricultural communities.
Alfaro brings a personal connection to the material. Born and raised in Los Angeles, the playwright is the son of farmworkers from the San Joaquin Valley. His writing frequently explores identity, immigration, labor, family and the complicated relationships between people and the places they call home.
The playwright’s attention to detail brings Earlimart to life through references to neighboring towns McFarland and Tipton, local favorites Taqueria El Sol De Jalisco and La Barca Bakery, the Visalia Mall and the region’s famously thick Tule fog.
A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, commonly called the “Genius Grant,” Alfaro has earned international recognition for works including Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, Mojada and The Travelers, the latter produced by Latino Theater Company in 2023. His plays have been presented throughout the United States, Latin America, Canada and Europe. He currently serves as an associate professor at the University of Southern California.
For Downtown LA theatergoers, the production also offers an opportunity to experience one of the neighborhood’s longest-running performing arts institutions.
The Los Angeles Theatre Center has been a fixture of the Historic Core’s cultural landscape for decades. Under the Latino Theater Company, its four-stage complex has hosted hundreds of productions, supported thousands of arts-related jobs and provided space and resources to hundreds of nonprofit organizations.
The company was named to the Los Angeles Times “Best of Latino L.A.” list and recognized as a 2025 Nonprofit of the Year by California State Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas. The City of Los Angeles recently extended the company’s lease through 2056, securing another three decades of theatrical programming in the Historic Core.
Valenzuela, who directs Speaking in Tongues, has also received lifetime achievement honors from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and Stage Raw.
With its intimate storytelling, recognizable California settings and cast of seasoned performers, Speaking in Tonguespromises an evening of theater that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. The production continues the Latino Theater Company’s commitment to bringing original voices and culturally significant stories to the stages of Downtown Los Angeles.
Showtimes and Tickets
Speaking in Tongues opens Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 8 p.m., following preview performances October 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. Performances continue Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through November 15.
Preview and Thursday tickets are $10. Regular Friday, Saturday and Sunday tickets are $48. Discounted $24 tickets are available for students, seniors, veterans and LAUSD teachers with valid identification. Opening night tickets are $75 and include a post-performance reception.
Parking is available for $8 with box office validation at Los Angeles Garage Associates, 545 S. Main Street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, directly behind the theater.
Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
