Philly Fringe 2025: 1812 Productions presents Tanaquil Márquez and Eliana Fabiyi’s La Otra

The play follows Colombian sisters Catalina (Robyn Unger), Angelica (Francisca Muñoz), and Yamile (Yajaira Paredes) as they reunite in Angelica’s Bogotá kitchen to celebrate their father’s 80th birthday. Longtime housekeeper to the sisters Luz (also played by Paredes) is the charismatic host, welcoming the audience to the world and language of the play.

An elegant bilingual staging

Any lines spoken in Spanish are simultaneously translated into English via subtitles projected above the stage, and any lines spoken in English are translated into Spanish the same way. It’s an elegant solution for providing access to speakers of either language without slowing the pace of dialogue, and the subtitles add opportunities for more creativity.

When Luz flirts verbosely in Spanish with an audience member, the subtitles cheekily translate her mini-monologue as “You are cute.” Subtitles appear with impressive synchronicity to the actors’ speech and staging, and words occasionally enlarge or shatter to match the emotion in an actor’s voice. The cast speaks with impressive diction and pacing that affords extra intelligibility to non-fluent speakers of both languages without sacrificing emotional authenticity.

Six actors, 12 characters

The intrepid six-member cast enacts a total of 12 characters with great success: despite very quick transitions, effective costume and wig design (LeVonne Lindsay) enables the audience to quickly distinguish individuals while emphasizing central character traits. The ensemble’s excellent physical performances make this doubling a wonderful perk of the performance. Bi Jean Ngo as Catalina’s son Hunter compassionately depicts the autistic-coded 12-year-old with pinned-together shoulders and a distinctive bouncy walk. Ngo even speaks as two characters in one scene through ventriloquism: it’s an impressive feat, but the clarity of a few lines and some physicality are sacrificed in the process, which doesn’t seem worth it when Ngo’s acting presence is so rich in other scenes.

True to her character’s name, Paredes is luminous as she portrays Luz’s struggle with the many injustices she has endured as a domestic worker. Her impassioned final monologue is a highlight of this top-tier performance.

Silliness and balance

The wonderfully silly hands of puppeteers Alfonso Valdespino, Annie Zulick, and Gabriella Velasquez enliven the show’s magical elements. Many flowers are due to Dahlia Al-Habieli’s inventive set design, and projections by Michael Long that facilitate the puppeteers, several hidden entrances, and the sleek kitchen set’s transformation into a lush jungle in the play’s most fantastical scene.

Márquez’s writing and direction is thoughtful and balanced, allowing each character moments of righteousness and fault—except the servant girl, Paz, who has limited characterization and no lines until the final scene, when she makes a momentous decision that’s hard for us to understand.

Worth the ticket price

This ambitious and inventive production is a moving and enjoyable romp with a welcoming heart, and universal resonance in its culturally specific portrayals. Two characters yearn to belong in the context of their Colombian and Vietnamese roots, but I unexpectedly felt seen in my own bi-cultural identity as a patrilineal Jew raised outside of Jewish community.

Though the $45 ticket price is steep among Fringe shows (and likely to be a barrier to some members of the immigrant and domestic-worker communities represented in the story), this boundary-crushing play is worth every penny.

Know before you go: This production involves live smoking of mint-scented stage cigarettes, significant use of stage smoke, and moving lights.