EL BOLERO WAS MY DOWNFALL explores the legacy of queer Puerto Rican literary icon Manuel Ramos Otero (b. 1948 – d. 1990), and is adapted for the stage from his celebrated Spanish language short story “Loca la de la locura.”
Our 2017 version —running in strictly limited engagement during the month of June— celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the production with a brand new English translation, an expanded cast, new and unplugged torch songs, and an entirely additional set of audiovisual elements.
The play’s protagonist is a nightclub entertainer and self-fashioned femme fatale serving the last days of a long prison sentence. She is also a man, matter-of-factly recounting a lifetime of travestismo and the passions that end up in murder.
