Latino Theater Company Opened Play Yamel Cucuy
The new production uses puppets and original music to explore folklore and borders in Los Angeles.
Updated on Oct. 11, 2026 in Puppetry
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The Latino Theater Company has opened the bilingual play Yamel Cucuy at The Los Angeles Theatre Center. The production, which features both human actors and puppets, runs through early November.
Why it matters
The play explores the intersection of being hunted by immigration enforcement and being haunted by traditional folklore. Creators used these themes to visualize borders as both literal and spirit-world boundaries.
The production centers on a 13-year-old protagonist named Yamel. The play utilizes indigenous percussion and folkloric guitar, with supertitles provided in both English and Spanish.
The players
Latino Theater Company
This Los Angeles-based arts organization focuses on producing works that represent the diverse voices of the Latino community.
Glass Half Full Theatre
Based in Austin, Texas, this theatre company specializes in puppetry and cross-disciplinary performance art.
Caroline Reck
She is the director of Yamel Cucuy and a key creative force at the Glass Half Full Theatre.
The details
Directed by Caroline Reck, the production uses puppetry to illustrate Yamel's physical transformation and incorporates cinematic horror techniques to build suspense. The play was written by Indigo Rael, Caroline Reck, and Gricelda Silva, with additional contributions from Jesús Valles and Connor Hopkins.
Timeline
The production opened on October 10, 2026.
The final scheduled performance takes place on November 1, 2026.
Industry Dynamics
The production represents a shift in modern theatre toward cross-disciplinary storytelling that blends traditional puppetry with cinematic horror conventions. This approach allows smaller regional companies to compete for audience attention by offering unique, genre-bending spectacles.
The play is performed in both English and Spanish, making it accessible to a wider linguistic audience in the city. Attendees can follow the dialogue via English and Spanish supertitles provided throughout the performance.
The takeaway
The production highlights how incorporating non-traditional mediums like puppets can deepen the emotional impact of folklore-based storytelling. Theatregoers interested in the intersection of horror and social issues may find this a compelling approach to modern drama.
Further reading
Discover more about local productions at the Puppetry section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Broadway World.
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