Having its Los Angeles premiere and performing for the first time in Outside In Theatre’s new ArtSpace home, Monet Hurst-Mendoza’s Torera is an auspicious beginning for the theatre company in their new home as it is a deeply gorgeous play with an astounding lead performance from Melissa Carvajal and its beautiful quiet moments that stayed with me long after the play ended.

Torera is a powerful play about a young latina woman who dares to step into the bullfighting arena in Yucatán, Mexico, confronting tradition, identity, and legacy. Written by Monet Hurst-Mendoza and directed by Jude Lucas, Torera intimately portrays Elena María Ramírez’s path to becoming her truest self, an empowering and poignant tale steeped in cultural tradition, class struggle, and the defiance of a patriarchal society.

My immediate grievance I need to get off my chest is not just a criticism of this particular play but recent plays in general where they try to stretch the limits of how far one can hold their bladder by having no intermission and run at over 90 minutes. With this particular one, it clocked in at almost two hours and more often than not, I can always make an argument of scenes that can be trimmed or cut entirely for every play I’ve seen so far that has done this. And if that’s not possible, please for the love of Cthulu put in that intermission. Okay, onto the more specific critiques for Torera:

I commend Jude Lucas’ direction incorporating dance elements for most of its scene transitions as it gives the audience something to look at while stage crew is busy setting up for the next scene. Utilizing the ensemble cast of Nate Riel, Anakarina Gallardo, Destiny Rivera-Gomez, and Marcus Wooling, these dancers help transition the storyline in a beautiful manner as the main cast will often interact with them before the next scene is fully up. There are slight occasions where the dancing drags just a bit, which would not be as noticeable if the runtime without an intermission wasn’t so long.

The strength of this production lies in its main actor, Melissa Carvajal, who is simply magnetic and radiant as Elena María Ramírez. She does a remarkable job believably starting the play as a child and transitioning into her 20s but more so than that, she carries immense gravitas and commitment into her emotions and her physical form as a matador in (secret) training. It also helps that Carvajal is a professional dancer in real life so her movement being so precise and graceful is not a surprise.

Wilson Aldas is fantastic as her romantic interest Tanok Cárdenas in what can only be described as a delightfully frustrating “from childhood best friends to will they won’t they” romance that rivals that of Korean dramas. The rest of the main cast amply support these two with Matias Ponce and Susana Elena Boyce providing complex and authoritative characters in Don Rafael Cárdenas and Pastora Ramírez respectively. My only criticism is that Susana came off a bit forced in some of her scenes that felt more melodramatic than truthful.

There is a plot twist wedged in this play that came off as completely unnecessary to me and that is that Elena is actually the daughter of her mother and Don Rafael Cárdenas (Matias Ponce), who is the father of Tanok. With this reveal, her relationship with her childhood friend Tanok dive into bizarre incestuous territories as her half-brother and frankly, something this play did not need. This information is learned through the scenes between the mother and her employer which I did not care much for as Elena’s journey to be respected as a matador was far more interesting and thus I would make the argument that those scenes could be cut entirely.

Despite several issues here and there, what is rather noticeable about this rendition of Torera is seeing the brief character life after a scene ends where we linger on a person still left on stage and fully take in their moments. Couple that with gorgeous lighting design from Cici Mao, it elevates the production in small yet significant ways that is full of soul. I think if anything these tiny moments are what will make me remember this play the most.

With a strong leading performance, gorgeous grace in the small moments, and an undeniable pulse in its vein to see the heroine achieve her goals despite all odds, I greatly enjoyed Torera with its flaws and whatnot. It also showcases the new theatre space home from Outside In Theatre perfectly and as a supporter of the arts from new theatre companies, you can’t go wrong with this production as its launch.

TORERA
Written by Monet Hurst-Mendoza
Directed by Jude Lucas
Presented by Outside In Theatre
Scenic Design by Ben Damir
Lighting Design by Cici Mao
Sound Design by Ellis Holland
Costume Design by Jude Lucas
Choreography by Julie Turner
Intimacy Direction by Celina Lee Surniak
Stage Management by Ariana Michel
Ass’t Stage Management by Julia Hibner
Production Management by Andrea Lopez
Casting by Candido Cornejo
Graphic Design by Michelle Hanzelova
Produced by Jessica Hanna

WHERE:
Outside In Theatre’s The ArtSpace
5317 York Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90042

WHEN:
Performances run September 6–29, 2025
Previews: September 4 & 5 at 8:00 PM
Opening Night: September 6, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Regular Run: Saturdays at 8:00 PM Sundays at 3:00 PM Mondays at 8:00 PM Tuesdays at 8:00PM

HOW TO GET TICKETS: https://outsideintheatre.vbotickets.com/event/TORERA_by_Monet_HurstMendoza/167887

TICKET PRICES:
$40 General Admission | $25 Student | $30 Discounted Preview General Admission Tickets | $20 Discounted Preview Student Tickets