The Latino Theater Company mounts a drama centered on elders facing a fading flock
Playwright Luis Alfaro returns to California storytelling with “Speaking in Tongues,” a production staged by the Latino Theater Company at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Set inside a struggling Pentecostal church located in California’s Central Valley, the play charts the emotional and spiritual crossroads of a congregation facing an uncertain future. At its core, the narrative follows church elders as they are forced to reckon with their fading community and navigate an increasingly palpable rift with a younger generation.
Actors Geoffrey Rivas and Sal Lopez take the stage in this production, portraying church figures caught in the difficult balance between preserving religious heritage and confronting profound community changes. In Alfaro’s text, the Central Valley setting provides a distinct backdrop for exploring these domestic and spiritual tensions. Rather than presenting an idealized portrait of faith, the dramatic action centers on the hard realities of an embattled sanctuary where attendance and influence are slipping away from its founding leaders.
The dramatic focus of the piece turns on this struggle between the older and younger members of the church. As the elders attempt to hold fast to the customs, language, and spiritual foundation that have sustained them, the younger generation represents an evolving world that challenges their long-held authority. The conflict forces the leadership to articulate what it means to preserve a fellowship when the community around them begins to dissipate.
Presented under the auspices of the Latino Theater Company at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, “Speaking in Tongues” brings together Alfaro’s dramatic voice with seasoned performers Rivas and Lopez. By centering on the quiet crises of a Central Valley Pentecostal church, the production examines how community elders confront loss, manage shifting generational dynamics, and seek a way forward for a congregation under strain.
Alfaro's focus on an embattled Central Valley congregation highlights how localized regional subcultures provide fertile ground for theatrical storytelling. For working playwrights and directors, it demonstrates the power of framing generational and cultural struggles through the intimate lens of fading community institutions.
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