Alexis Scheer's 'Laughs in Spanish' Sets Co-Production at City Theatre and Geva Theatre for Spring 2027

Bilingual theatre is having a genuine moment, and one of the most compelling new plays heading into 2027 is Laughs in Spanish, a co-production between Pittsburgh's City Theatre Company and Rochester's Geva Theatre Center that is currently in casting and pre-production. Written by Alexis Scheer and directed by Laura Alcalá Baker, the production is scheduled to begin performances in March 2027, giving theatre professionals ample runway to pursue this one. If you work in casting, choreography, stage management, or design for live theatre, this is a production worth tracking closely right now.

Alexis Scheer is a playwright whose work has been gaining significant traction in regional and off-Broadway circles. Her previous plays, including Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, demonstrated a sharp ability to blend dark comedy with deeply felt cultural specificity, and she brings that same sensibility to Laughs in Spanish. The play centers on the Latine diaspora experience through bilingual characters who move fluidly between English and Spanish, reflecting the real communicative lives of many Latin American communities in the United States. The Miami setting grounds the story in one of the most culturally rich and linguistically layered cities in the country, even as the production itself will play in Pittsburgh and Rochester. Laura Alcalá Baker directs, and her work in American regional theatre has consistently centered stories from Latine and Latin American perspectives, making her a natural and deliberate fit for this material. Casting is being handled by Katja Zarolinski, so actors and their representatives should be directing inquiries accordingly.

The production is a co-presentation between two well-regarded regional institutions. City Theatre Company, based in Pittsburgh, has built a strong reputation over its decades-long history for championing new American plays and developing emerging voices alongside established ones. Geva Theatre Center in Rochester, New York, is one of the largest not-for-profit theatres in the Northeast, regularly producing work that moves on to wider recognition. Both companies are led by strong artistic leadership on this project: Clare Drobot serves as Artistic Director for City Theatre, and Elizabeth Williamson holds that role at Geva. The fact that two institutions of this standing are co-producing signals a meaningful investment in the play and a production scale that goes beyond a typical regional tryout. Co-productions of this nature often allow for shared design resources and creative continuity across both runs, which is worth noting for designers and stage managers who may travel with the production.

The performance schedule is clearly defined across two cities. City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh will host the first leg of the run, with performances from March 19 through April 4, 2027. The production then moves to Geva Theatre in Rochester, New York, where it runs from May 1 through June 6, 2027. Pre-production is expected to begin in February 2027, though department heads and key designers on productions of this scale are typically brought on considerably earlier. Pittsburgh offers a strong regional theatre infrastructure, and Geva's home in Rochester draws from both local talent and touring professionals from New York City. Designers and stage managers comfortable working across multiple venues on a single production should take particular note of the touring structure here.

The production's integration of Latin dance styles into scene transitions signals a clear need for a skilled choreographer with specific fluency in those forms, making this an especially interesting opportunity for movement artists and choreographers working in the bilingual and Latine theatre space. The bilingual script will also shape casting calls significantly, as the production requires actors who are genuine code-switchers rather than performers approximating the experience. From a design standpoint, a play rooted in Miami's cultural landscape and incorporating dance carries real implications for the scenic, lighting, sound, and costume departments. This is not a spare, minimalist production by the nature of its material. Expect full design teams to be assembled across both producing organizations in the months ahead.

For theatre professionals ready to pursue this one, the full production listing for Laughs in Spanish is available now on ProductionList.com, where you can find production contacts, office addresses for both City Theatre Company and Geva Theatre Center, and the most current staffing and scheduling updates. With performances still more than a year out, the hiring window for this production is open and active. The time to make contact is now, before the key department positions are locked. Bookmark the listing and check back regularly as the creative team fills out ahead of the February 2027 production start.

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