Washington Performing Arts and GALA Hispanic Theatre join forces to co-present the world premiere of English with an Accent by Venezuelan American performing artist Migguel Anggelo, a rising force in the national theater scene. The hybrid dance-theater work of original music — to be performed once only, April 1 — explores self-realization through the eyes of an anthropomorphized, immigrant caterpillar.
English with an Accent is narrated as a storytelling song-cycle and backed by a company of 10 dancers. The story is a semi-autobiographical fable that follows the journey of a newly arrived caterpillar in New York City. Fleeing the crime and noxious dictatorship of Venezuela, and unsure of which direction his insect life is taking, he wonders how to honor his potential as a caterpillar — when so many others assume he’s just a lowly worm. As the caterpillar explores the streets of New York City, he begins to question his own identity as well as the promise of the “American Dream.”
Reflecting on the realization of his dream, Anggelo says, “I am very excited to bring English with an Accent to our nation’s capital and am so proud to collaborate with Washington Performing Arts and GALA Hispanic Theatre. After 16 long years, I am now (finally!) a naturalized U.S. citizen, so this work is especially meaningful to me. It represents my quest for safety, for happiness, for self-worth, and finding that in the United States, I can now call this country my ‘home.’ Home and safety matter to everyone, regardless of where they are from, and it’s my hope that people who don’t normally see their stories reflected on stage, find theirs in our work.”
Created by Migguel Anggelo, English with an Accent features music by and lyrics co-written with Jaime Lozano (heralded as the “next big thing on Broadway” by Lin-Manuel Miranda), who also provides musical direction. The production is directed, choreographed, and developed by the internationally acclaimed Avihai Haham, whose previous work includes West Side Story, Evita, Hair, and Encores! Working The Musical, among others.
English with an Accent is being presented for one night only on Friday, April 1, 2022, at 8 p.m. at GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th Street NW, Washington, DC, made possible with commissioning support from the Cultural Arts Center at Montgomery College. Tickets are $40 each (general admission) and are available through Washington Performing Arts and GALA Hispanic Theatre.
GALA Theatre is located one block from the Columbia Heights Metro station. Parking is available at a $4 discounted rate (with validation of the parking ticket at the theatre lobby) at the Giant garage with an entrance on Park Road NW.
COVID Safety: Starting April 1, 2022, the wearing of masks is optional. GALA Hispanic Theatre requires all patrons ages 5 and up to show proof of vaccination or recent negative COVID test (taken within 72 hours prior to showtime) to be admitted to the theater. For more information about the safety precautions implemented to protect the health of patrons, artists, staff, students, and volunteers, click here.
Washington Performing Arts is one of the leading arts presenters in the nation. Each season, the organization offers a tremendous range of artists and art forms, from the most distinguished symphony orchestras to both renowned and emerging artists in classical music, gospel music, jazz, and other rich traditions from around the world. Washington Performing Arts’s 2021/22 season — which includes English with an Accent — focuses on the return of live art, centering artists’ voices, and supporting the creation of diverse new works.
“English with an Accent was an absolute ‘must’ for Washington Performing Arts, and we are thrilled to reactivate our long relationship with GALA Hispanic Theatre in bringing it to our audiences,” said Washington Performing Arts President and CEO Jenny Bilfield. “The narrative of this work — transformation, identity, the nature of self and of home — especially resonated with us. In the nation’s capital, we live at the intersection of global cultures, and also the contours of social and political change. English with an Accent teases these themes. Most of all, however, it is a wholly original work by a visionary artist.”
GALA (Grupo de Artistas LatinoAmericanos) Hispanic Theatre is a National Center for Latino Performing Arts in the nation’s capital. Since 1976, GALA has been promoting and sharing the Latino arts and cultures with a diverse audience, creating work that speaks to communities today, and preserving the rich Hispanic heritage for generations that follow. By developing, producing, and presenting works that explore the breadth of Latino performing arts, GALA provides opportunities for Latino artists, educates youth, and engages the entire community in an exchange of ideas and perspectives.
“We are thrilled to co-present with Washington Performing Arts the work of Venezuelan artist Migguel Anggelo to Washington audiences,” stated GALA’s Producing Artistic Director Hugo Medrano. “Through his story and abstract movement, we are reminded of the struggles of millions around the world who flee their countries to seek refuge in another. It is a story that we, as a nation of immigrants, must never forget.”
ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM & COMPANY
Conceived by Migguel Anggelo
Music and Lyrics by Migguel Anggelo and Jaime Lozano
Musical Direction and Arrangements by Jaime Lozano
Directed, Choreographed, and Developed by Avihai Haham
Associate Direction and Choreography: Jakob Karr
Costume Design: Ryan Park
Lighting Design: Tuce Yasak
Stage Manager: Thomas Dieter
Executive Creative Producer and Production Design: David Stark
Dancers:
Orla Baxendale, Reed Tankersley, Mathilde Guerrero, Nathaniel Hunt, Kody Jauron, Jordan Lombardi, Daisia Pulzz, Maia Schechter, Shota Sekiguchi, Ian Spring
Migguel Anggelo (Creator, Lead Performer) is a Venezuelan-born and Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist. His work explores the intersections of queer, Latino, and immigration identities. He has released two musical albums: La casa azul and ¿Dónde estará Matisse? He has been awarded numerous fellowships, theatrical residencies, and performances at such diverse organizations as MASS MoCA, the Kimmel Center, Lincoln Center, Miami Light Project, National Queer Theater, LPAC, Joe’s Pub Working Group, NY Presenters Consortium, among many others. He has served as a cultural attaché, under the auspices of the U.S. State Department in two separate 10-city tours of Russia. In addition to English with an Accent, Migguel Anggelo has developed and performed LatinXoxo, his critically acclaimed semi-autobiographical, hybrid performance that explores queer identity through a musical and theatrical extravaganza, deconstructing gendered, Latino stereotypes. Other works include So Close: Love and Hate, Another Son of Venezuela, and Welcome to La Misa, Baby.
Jaime Lozano (Music Co‐Writer, Musical Director, Arranger) is from Monterrey, Mexico, with extensive experience in the performing arts industry. His credits include: The Yellow Brick Road (Off‐Broadway and National Tour), Carmen la cubana (European Tour), and Children of Salt (NYMF 2016 “Best of Fest’”), among others. Jaime holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts; was a 2020 Joe’s Pub Working Group resident artist, and a teacher/activist for the nonprofit R.Evolución Latina. As Migguel Anggelo’s frequent collaborator, the two co-created LatinXoxo, and he performs frequently with Anggelo. They are concurrently co-creating a new immigration musical with playwright Christina Quintana: The Last Supper.
Avihai Haham (Director, Choreographer) is a director and choreographer, and a three-time winner of the Israeli Choreography Prize. His recent credits include choreography and direction of Meshugeneh Ballet (Israeli Opera House) and Frida (Dance Theatre for Habima National Theatre of Israel). Additional artistic credits include: Encores! Working the Musical (NYC City Centre), Dancebreaknyc.org, Eurovision 2019 (Interval Acts show Choreographer), My Fair Lady (Choreographer), and Evita (Choreographer) for the Habima National Theater; West Side Story (Choreographer), Hair (Choreographer), and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (Choreographer) for the Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv; Around the World in Eighty Days (Director) and Oliver Twist (Choreographer) in Paris, France; Mythic the Musical (Choreographer) in Montreal, Canada; and Legally Blond the Musical (Director and Choreographer) in Israel.
