Angela Reynoso, a Bronx native playwright and actor, is starring in a new play centered around four diverse characters drawn together in a game of dominoes in upper Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park.
“Domino Effect,” a new play by award-winning playwright Marco Antonio Rodríguez, opens April 4 at A.R.T./New York Theaters in Manhattan. Reynoso stars as Gisel, a driven 20-year-old Dominican woman. The ensemble also features a millennial Iranian refugee, a mysterious 60-something immigrant whose background remains under wraps, and a 40-something Black trans woman who doubles as a voodoo pageantry queen.
Director Mino Lora said the play “leaves you feeling hopeful.”
“We hope audiences of all ages will see themselves reflected in the characters and recognize the importance of community, intergenerational connection, and the immense power that lies in listening and understanding, especially to those who see the world differently than you,” Lora said in a statement.
In an interview with the Bronx Times, Reynoso said she became “so obsessed” with the arts at a young age, and while she was drawn to theater, she also loved dance and visual arts.
She landed at Lehman College, which had a multidisciplinary arts major. Although she had envisioned herself at a more arts-dedicated school, the program at Lehman turned out to be ideal, Reynoso said. There, she honed her skills in photography, digital storytelling, film and acting for stage and screen and graduated in 2021.
She met the playwright for “Domino Effect” after he saw her in another show and asked her to read for a role. “Since then, it just felt like a family,” Reynoso said.
Other cast members, who had signed on earlier, helped formulate the characters for the play, which addresses timely topics of immigration, race, sexuality, identity and intergenerational ties. Because of the cast’s contributions, “You get to see a piece of every actor in those characters,” said Reynoso.
Hers is the youngest of the four but has a “strong and confident personality,” she said. “It’s fun to see a younger person teaching a lesson to someone who’s older.”
The play is in English but incorporates some Spanish and Farsi. It is also a comedy, which Reynoso said was atypical territory for her but provides a great vehicle for storytelling.
As opening night draws near, Reynono said the cast is practicing daily and will soon rehearse on their finished set for the first time.
“I’m feeling really good,” she said. Of her fellow “funny and talented” colleagues, “I love this cast so much.”
“Domino Effect” is also notable for its all-Latine design team, who coordinated the lighting, props, set and costumes. Two of its producers are Pierre Jean Gonzalez and Cedric Leiba Jr, both actors, producers and advocates who support the Latine and LGBTQIA+ communities.
The show is presented by People’s Theatre Project, LatinX Playwrights Circle, and Boundless Theatre Company and runs April 4-20. Tickets are available at peoplestheatreproject.org.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
