Garbo: El Actor que Salvó al Mundo
GALA Hispanic Theatre
PreviewsSep 3, 2026
OpensSep 4, 2026
ClosesSep 27, 2026
DCPlayPublished on September 22, 2026
A humorous and thrilling spy adventure that centers one of the Allies' most unsung heroes: a theatre kid.
Book8/ 10
Quality of the script and book
Acting8/ 10
Strength and consistency of performances across the cast
Production6/ 10
Direction, choreography, and technical stagecraft
Viz10/ 10
The marketing, identity, and visual development of the specific production
How to get there:
GALA Hispanic Theatre
Columbia HeightsGYD50D5XCaBi♿
3333 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20010
Intro
Sometimes you really can just act like you belong, and you will. The extent of this success can range from getting floor seats to a concert using a hastily-printed press badge, to befriending and subsequently destroying the Nazis. Juan Pujol García, thankfully, chose that latter path. GALA Hispanic Theatre's latest world premiere, Garbo, tells this somehow-true story via a snappy script and appropriately high stakes.
Book
Gustavo Ott's book opens in Venezuela in the 80's, as Juan is visited by the British Embassy, and want to give him a gift. What does Juan, the most boring grandpa in the world, have to do with them, his grandchildren ask? Thus begins: story time.
In Madrid, in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, Catalonian actor Juan Pujol García is disillusioned with political extremism, and seeks to join the efforts against the Axis as a spy. After being rejected by the English effort, he turns his attention to the Germans, who accept him. What follows is a baffling coincidental series of events that build credibility with García's plots, as his über-creative mind keeps coming up with complex, believable agents and information sources that he feeds to the Nazi effort. He, presumably based in London (but actually Lisbon), is correct just often enough that the Germans actually start celebrating. When the Allies catch wind of this apparent mastermind, he is finally recruited for their effort under MI5, and this thespian is now a double-agent. Ott brings all this under a tarp of sharp humor and creative characterization, bringing the true story almost into a world of UN-believability. But the story does get serious, especially in Act II, where the culmination of Garbo's efforts have to work to effectively win the war. Ultimately, it makes for a fun wartime romp that teeters the line between humor and stress very well.
I wonder if Garbo ever interacted with the guys from Operation Mincemeat?8/10
Acting
Kevin Jorges is a strong central performer in the title role, providing a strong yet increasingly jaded turn as the actor who seemingly is in over his head. However, I found that Clara Navarro provides the most entertaining one, as she juggles three distinct roles excellently, especially as Garbo's wife Aracelli for most of the show.8/10
Production
The production, directed by Carlos Celdrán, was largely simplistic. There is a lot of reliance on Luis Garcia's historical projections to tell the story, but the complementary lighting by Hailey LaRoe fills in a lot of the atmospheric gaps. The costumes by Rukiya Henry-Fields were the strongest staging element in my opinion, full of textured color and individualized pattern.6/10
Visual Identity
GALA has done an excellent job with the branding of this show, featuring glitchy, noir-y decorum on their marketing materials that highlights the undercover stakes of the title character. The staging itself is introduced as a solitary table and chair, showing how he kept this adventure to himself practically to the grave. 10/10
Overall
32/40
