John Leguizamo's New Play 'The Other Americans'

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Podcast: All Of It

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Episode: John Leguizamo's New Play “The Other Americans”
Date: September 23, 2025

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Overview

This episode of All Of It explores The Other Americans, a new play by acclaimed actor and playwright John Leguizamo, now running at the Public Theater. Host Alison Stewart is joined by Leguizamo, who wrote and stars as Nelson Castro, and actor Trey Santiago Hudson, who plays Nelson’s son Nicky. The discussion delves into the play’s genesis, its grounding in real-life events, its nuanced portrayal of Latin family and mental health, and the aspirations behind telling this multi-layered story about the pursuit—and pitfalls—of the American Dream.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Origins and Development of The Other Americans

• John Leguizamo began writing the play five years ago, inspired by a little-known hate crime in Long Island that stayed with him deeply (03:01).
• The narrative was shaped by his personal drive to understand what led up to the family’s crisis and how it reverberates in their lives (03:10).

"It was a subject matter that was gestating in me for a long time, based on an unknown little hate crime that happened in Long Island. And I just felt like I couldn't let it go. It stayed with me." — John Leguizamo (03:10)

Setting and Authenticity

• The play is set in 1998 Queens, a deliberate choice to both keep fidelity to the factual event and highlight the shock Leguizamo felt that such racism persisted in his beloved New York (04:50).
• The setting isn’t nostalgia—it underscores the persistence and evolution of racial conflict in America.

Character Complexity:

• Nelson Castro (John Leguizamo):

  • A relentless businessman who inherited laundromats and moves his family to Forest Hills in pursuit of the “American Dream,” only to face internal and external turmoil.
  • Not intended to be a one-dimensional or easily sympathetic “race play” figure; his complexity and flaws reflect internalized racism, colonial legacy, and societal pressure (07:37).
  • “I know lots of Latin men who believe in the American dream and then undo themselves going after it and sometimes undo their families as well, chasing this elusive opportunity.” — John Leguizamo (07:45)

• Nicky (Trey Santiago Hudson):

  • Once a star student and athlete, Nicky is recovering from a racially motivated assault, suffering PTSD and brain trauma.
  • A vessel for exploring vulnerability, emotional extremes, and the struggle for self-reconstruction amidst family pressure (04:08, 06:36, 10:00).

"Nikki is almost like a vessel for me to sort of like, find the extreme parts of my own emotions and let them come to light. It's therapeutic almost, in a way." — Trey Santiago Hudson (04:08)

Mental Health and Cultural Barriers

• The play tackles the stigma around therapy in Latin (and Black) families, highlighting cultural attitudes that equate seeking help with weakness (11:46).

"This is what happens in Latin families, in Latin culture… a lack of understanding that only crazy people go for therapy. And so that's part of the issue...Just ignore it. Don't make it, stop being so dramatic." — John Leguizamo (11:46)

• Leguizamo intentionally did not label Nicky’s condition in the play to invite broader audience empathy (12:41–13:13).

Generational Conflict & Family Dynamics

• Nelson’s ambition and risk-taking set up family tensions, particularly over the costs (financial and emotional) of Nicky’s recovery (13:22).
• The move to Forest Hills, motivated by “proximity to whiteness,” disrupts Nicky’s social and emotional life, paralleling Leguizamo’s own experiences as a child of striving immigrants (14:19, 14:53).

"My parents were always… trying to improve, and we were always moving…I was always the new kid on the block…So I put that in there as well, you know, that this, you know, moving out of the element." — John Leguizamo (14:53)

Real-Life Reflections

• Both Leguizamo and Hudson discuss how the play confronts their personal histories with trauma and family, and how performance itself becomes cathartic (16:01, 16:22).
• Trey Santiago Hudson’s real father, Ruben Santiago Hudson, directs the play, which adds genuine father-son tension and learning to the production process on- and off-stage (17:33).

Strong Women and Gender Dynamics

• Although central to the father-son story, strong female characters—Nelson’s wife, daughter, a neighbor—reflect the “powerhouse” role of Latin women.

“Latin women are strong. Latin women are a powerhouse.” — John Leguizamo (20:58)

Performance and Audience Response

• The play’s intimate set design and staging intensify the emotional stakes for both cast and audience, requiring deep connection and authenticity (24:40, 25:18).
• Trey’s raw, unbuffered performance as Nicky often leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, and audiences have responded with gratitude and a need for comfort (23:44, 20:05).
• The cast engages in pre-show rituals, inspired by director Ruben Santiago Hudson, to ground themselves and honor their shared pasts (18:58).

The Meaning of the Title

“The Other Americans to me means we are Americans as well, and yet we're not allowed to feel or be as American as the rest of Americans, because we're not white. And that's what it means.” — John Leguizamo (26:44)

Impact and Hope for the Play

• Trey Santiago Hudson and John Leguizamo both hope audiences leave feeling the experience was necessary—both comforting and clarifying in its honesty and emotional range (27:08).

"I hope they leave it going. I needed that. I have people after every show come up to me…with tears in their eyes and just saying thank you." — Trey Santiago Hudson (27:08)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the relentless American pursuit:

  “This hustle, this constant hustle, how we love it, how we feed into it and praise it, this relentless hustle, it's this treadmill life…And so, the American dream is this constant chasing for the gold ring.” — John Leguizamo (05:36)

• On the generational effects of colonialism:

  “I've always felt colonialism played a huge part in what happened to my family through the centuries…certain cruelties that the conquistadors brought that get passed down.” — John Leguizamo (07:37)

• On stage performance as therapy:

  “Sometimes going through this together, the performers, the audience, it provides clarity, something that you didn't even know that you needed.” — Trey Santiago Hudson (20:05)

• On breaking down after an explosive scene:

  “As an actor, your body doesn't understand the difference between imagination and reality. It assumes everything is real…you do put your body under stress…he gave it all.” — John Leguizamo (23:44)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:01] – Writing origins and inspiration
• [04:53] – Why it's set in 1998
• [07:37] – Complexity of Nelson, internalized racism, and colonial legacy
• [10:00] – Nicky’s homecoming, family dynamics
• [11:46] – Mental health stigma in Latin families
• [14:19] – Nicky’s transition to Forest Hills
• [16:01–16:22] – How writing/acting the play helped Leguizamo process trauma
• [17:33] – Working with a real-life father as director
• [20:49] – Role of strong women in the play
• [24:40] – Set design and intimacy
• [26:44] – What the title The Other Americans means
• [27:08] – Audience response and the impact Leguizamo and Hudson hope the play has

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Summary

The Other Americans is not just a family drama but a layered meditation on identity, industry, trauma, and heritage. Through Alison Stewart’s thoughtful questions, Leguizamo and Hudson reveal the play’s deeply personal roots, its social critique, and the cathartic journey it offers both its creators and its audience. It confronts the myth of the American Dream, exposes the hidden costs of assimilation, and affirms the power of empathy, laughter, and pain. Audiences are not just spectators—they’re participants in the emotional healing the story provides.

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Transcript

[WNYC Announcer]

Our state has changed a lot in the last 140 years. We know because Multicare has been here guided by a single making our communities healthier. That comes from making courageous decisions, partnering with local communities to grow programs and services, and expanding healthcare access to those who need it most. Together, we're building a healthier future. Learn [e-mail].

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it. I'm Alison Stewart live from the WNYC studios in Soho. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful that you're here. On today's show, we'll talk about censorship, comedy and free speech with NPR media correspondent David Folkenflick and Vulture senior editor Jesse David Fox. For Hispanic heritage, we are speaking with debut novelists. And we'll kick off the celebration today with Ruben Reyes Jr. The author of Archive of Unknown Universes. And Lew Wall's viral Facebook Marketplace musical act is now part of their new comedy show. They'll join us to talk about breaking the fifth wall. That's the plan. So let's get this started with a new play about a struggling laundromat owner in Queens and buried family secrets. A new play from actor and playwright John Leguizamo is titled the Other Americans. The story leaves you wondering who has a real shot at the American dream and is it worth it? It's 1998, and Nelson, played by Leguizamo, has moved his family from Jackson Heights to Forest Hills. He owns some laundromats he inherited from his dad and they're but moving to North Forest Hills. Nelson has made it. His wife is not so sure, and she may be right. It comes to light that his teenage son Nicky was viciously attacked by white boys. For months now, he's been recovering in a mental health facility. Now his family eagerly awaits his return. His mom just wants to feed him with her special sofritos and maybe get him back into college. His dad thinks Nicky will help him with the family business. When Nikki returns, things are much more complicated. He's explosive, skittish, sometimes irrational. As conflict between Nikki and his father comes to a head, secrets emerge, secrets that could change the future of the family forever. The Other Americans was written by John Leguizamo, who stars as Nelson Castro. Welcome, John.

[John Leguizamo]

Thank you for having me. What a pleasure.

[Alison Stewart]

And Nikki is played by Trey Santiago Hudson. Welcome to you as well.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Thank you so much.

[Alison Stewart]

If that name sounds familiar, it's because the play is directed by Ruben Santiago Hudson. The Other Americans is playing at the Public theater through October 19th. John, when did you start writing this play?

[John Leguizamo]

I started writing it about five years ago. Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

So in terms of the play, what had to change over those five years?

[John Leguizamo]

You know, it was a subject matter that was gestating in me for a long time, based on a. On an unknown little hate crime that happened in Long Island. And I just felt like I couldn't let it go. It stayed with me. It just wouldn't let go, you know, and it had to be done. And so I finally got the courage to put it on paper and reverse engineer what happened in this family, what happened to get to this point, and then what happened after. And then, you know, five years of doing it at the public under Oscar Youssef, the artistic director, Mandy Hacket, the dramaturge who's brilliant, and then at Arena Stage with Hanna Sharif, who, you know, gave me great tutelage and knowledge.

[Alison Stewart]

What did you find relatable to Nikki's story, Trey?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Well, John writes these complex, multi layered characters that really sort of mimic real life people. Right. So, yeah, Nikki has a lot going on. Some that we can see, some that as the audience, some that we. That we can't. And that's incredibly relatable. Right. We always have multiple things going on. That was. That was the first thing. And then also, Nikki is almost like a vessel for me to sort of like, find the extreme parts of my own emotions and let them come to light. It's therapeutic almost, in a way. Thanks.

[John Leguizamo]

I hope that. Bro, you must have a lot of demons.

[Alison Stewart]

So many.

[John Leguizamo]

So many.

[Alison Stewart]

Why did you want to make this 1998?

[John Leguizamo]

Because that was the era when it happened.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah.

[John Leguizamo]

So I wanted to keep some things really true to the event. And also because it was shocking to me at the time that something like that could happen in my New York to my people. I was like, aren't we beyond this? Aren't we already away from all this nonsense? And no, sadly, the fact was, no, it wasn't. And so that's why I said it back in that time, because it's not just something that's happening now, it's something that's been happening.

[Alison Stewart]

So we meet Nelson. He comes into the house. He's swearing into the phone what was important to you to communicate to us, the audience about him in those few opening moments. What do we need to know about Nelson?

[John Leguizamo]

I think it's the desperation of what I've seen in business, in American business, and the drive of business folk, men and women, that you don't see as much everywhere else in the world. As you see in America, this hustle, this constant hustle, how we love it, how we feed into it and praise it, this relentless hustle, it's this treadmill life that it just. You have to get more and more and more, and you're never satisfied. You have to have, you know, 50 TVs in your home, two, three cars, you know, you just got to purchase and buy. And so that the American dream is this constant chasing for the gold ring.

[Alison Stewart]

So Nikki was a superstar in his old school, but we learned that he's struggling after this very traumatic and racist attack he experienced. How do you think the attack has reshaped how Nikki feels about himself?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Oh, boy. Well, first of all, massive loss of confidence, right? He, you know, he was smart, capable. You know, now he can't sleep, he can't function physically the same way he could. And so that just leads to a huge loss of confidence, which he tries to rebuild through therapy, through his family, through friends and struggles with it. And then when his family continues to try and put him back in a box or put him on, maybe on a pedestal, like where he once was, to try and fit into those shoes again, those expectations off the bat, I think is really, really challenging for him and makes it even harder.

[Alison Stewart]

You know, Nelson's a guy that a lot of audience members might have a hard time sympathizing with, but you know him a little bit. He sort of reminds you of Archie Bunker meets Willy Loman. Yeah, kind of a character. When you think about him. You have to have sympathy for him. You have to understand him. So what's good about Nelson?

[John Leguizamo]

Well, you know, it's interesting you said that, because I didn't want to write a simple, easy, digestible race play. You know, I wanted to make it very complex because that's how we experience it as Latin people. You know, the internalized racism that you think is the way things should be and that, you know, you'll never be good enough. And you accept that, and you accept that you're not allowed to reach for certain things. So I have huge sympathy for Nelson. I know lots of Latin men who believe in the American dream and then undo themselves going after it and sometimes undo their families as well, chasing this elusive opportunity. So I have great sympathy for him. I mean, I know he made some bad moral choices just because of all the pressures on him, all the systemic racism, the internalized racism, and even colonialism. I mean, I know we don't talk about in the play, but I've always felt colonialism played a huge part and what happened to my family through the centuries. You know, the loss and the theft of all our wealth and our opportunities that continue and get passed down and certain cruelties that the conquistadors brought that get passed down through generation through generation. Like when Nelson says that his father wouldn't say I love you or hug him, and then when he showed vulnerability and love, he locked him up in a trunk. That's a story that happened in my family, and I know it comes from colonial brutality. Colonialism. Brutality. So that's all baked into the play.

[Alison Stewart]

My guests are playwright and actor John Leguizamo and actor Trey Santiago Hudson were talking about their new play, the Other Americans, about a family grappling with secrets and mental health struggles. It's running at the public theater through October 19th. So, Trey, the first. The big part of the act. The first act is we're waiting for you to show up. Waiting for Nick to actually show up and everybody in, and the family member's a little bit anxious about it. What do you see as your primary role in those first few moments when you're on stage after you were discussed for so long?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

You know, I. As an actor, I just focus on what Nikki wants coming in, and that's just to be perceived as normal, perceived as okay and ready to try and get back on his feet and do his thing. And the way John's written this, he comes in and slowly but surely just gets whittled down in that first scene by his family. The things that he wants, they just start to disappear. His dad just continues to just beat him down. But I always go in with, like, I'm ready. I'm good. I'm great. I'm all the things that have been said about me. And from there, I just let the writing do its thing and the other actors do their thing, because I can try and be as perfect as possible. I'm great. I'm a golden child. And every single time, without fail, right on down.

[John Leguizamo]

Yeah, it's a big tribute to Trey in his acting. I think he has the hardest role in the play because, first of all, he's dealing with so much neurological trauma, brain trauma. So he's got to give that a reality. And then he's got to be the character Nikki, who's still trying to function and trying to be perfect for the family, but can't live up to it. So he's all these incredible, intense emotions, and, you know, a lot of the issues of sporadic rage, lack of buffers, no executive function, all these things that start to Take over the paranoia, the anxiety. He just executes so beautifully.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah. We talk about mental health very differently in 2025 than we did in 1998. What does Nikki's family. What don't they fully understand about what's going on with him?

[John Leguizamo]

Well, this is very important because this is what happens in Latin families, in Latin culture, and I think it does in black culture as well. This not disdain for therapy, but a lack of understanding that only crazy people go for therapy. And so that's part of the issue that. Talk to your friends. Get over it. Work on yourself or just work harder. It'll go away. Just ignore it. Don't make it stop being so dramatic.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Or you're stronger than that.

[John Leguizamo]

Yeah.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Don't be weak.

[John Leguizamo]

Right. So all those issues do, you know, create a problem because there's no vulnerability.

[Alison Stewart]

What do you got to be sad about?

[John Leguizamo]

Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly, exactly. So you get it when you were.

[Alison Stewart]

Trey, when you were researching a little bit about the way that PTSD and traumatic brain injuries can affect a person. Because he does have brain injury. I thought he had brain injury.

[John Leguizamo]

Yes, he does. Exactly right. I didn't want to name it in the play. I want it to be. I gave all the evidence, but I didn't want to name it.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah. Why not?

[John Leguizamo]

I think I used to name it, and it would cause a lot of disassociation from people. People would dissociate from.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Well, I think audience members. Right. We connect with things that we relate to.

[John Leguizamo]

Right.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

And so if you're not overly specific about exactly what's going on all the time, then people can find ways to relate to it in their own lives.

[John Leguizamo]

Mm.

[Alison Stewart]

How does Nelson feel about the fact that his son has been in a hospital for so long? Does he talk about it? Does he not?

[John Leguizamo]

He talks about it a little bit. He does. You know, obviously, it drains the coffers. This whole incident was a huge drain on the family, but he did. But Nelson is also a gambler. You know, I mean, he's this huge gambler who takes big swings, is not risk averse, which is a huge problem for the families. He's squandering all their finances, putting liens on the house, trying to get to, you know, a bigger laundry empire in Queens and expand to Jersey. So that's also a drain. And then his son being at the hospital, he just, like, you know, for him, it's not the best use of money, the best use of time. His son would have been fine. He would have recovered. It all would have worked. Without, you know.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, they moved to Forest Hills. The family's not so happy about it. But Trey, when Nick moves there, how does he cope with the transition before the incident, when he first moves to Forest Hills?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Not well. He loses all of his friends. He has to make new ones, and a lot of them aren't reciprocating. You know, I think it's a big change at a time of his life, in his life where he doesn't need that. He doesn't need to be uprooted like that. He's got a lot of good things going on. You know, my mom says it in the play how I was captain of the swim team, you know, and then we moved here, and now I'm not right. So I think it was a big shift. And I think ultimately he blames his father a lot for it down the line, for everything that ends up happening as well.

[John Leguizamo]

You know, it's interesting because, you know, there's a lot of my life in the play as well. You know, obviously, that's the way I. You know, an author, a playwright writes. You know, you put some of yourself. You got to have some of yourself in there. And, you know, my parents were always. They were immigrants, and they were always trying to improve, and we were always moving, and I always dreaded moving because I was always the new kid on the block and I had no friends, and I'd always be the popular kid. Then I'd stop being the popular kid and go back to the bottom of the food chain. And so I put that in there as well, you know, that this, you know, moving out of the element. My parents always wanted to be better. And, you know, this proximity to whiteness was so important to them, you know, and I hated it because I was so happy with my Latin and black kids. I didn't want to be because I was always beat up. I was always got beat up, and, you know, I just pummeled constantly. And I was in a lot of fights. I won some, but lost a lot.

[Alison Stewart]

Did writing the play exorcise those demons for you?

[John Leguizamo]

Absolutely. I almost cursed it, but I didn't because it was.

[Alison Stewart]

Juliet said, thank you.

[John Leguizamo]

I did. I was able to. I have a little bit of executive function. I have a few buffers still left. Yeah. Okay, now I lost my train of thought.

[Alison Stewart]

I was asking you if it exercised demons for you.

[John Leguizamo]

Yes, absolutely. The whole subject matter, the violence perpetrated against Latin communities, you know, my difficult childhood, growing up with a very difficult father, all that. Yeah, it's all. It's all in the play. So it is a great exorcism. I walk a little lighter, I walk a little happier.

[Alison Stewart]

We're talking about the Other Americans, which is playing at the public theater through October 19th. We'll have more with John Leguizamo and Trey Santiago Hudson after a quick break. This is all of It. You're listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. My guests are playwright and actor John Leguizamo and actor Trey Santiago Hudson. We're talking about their new play, the Other Americans. It's about a family grappling with secrets and mental health struggles. It's running at the public theater through October 19th. All right, your real dad, your real life dad, Ruben Asanto Hudson, is a director on this project. How do you manage the father son relationship when you're working?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

I mean. Yeah, it's a good question. Thanks, Alison. It's kind of. It's not too hard because first of all, I'm playing a son in the play, and then my dad is directing it. But on top of that, I look, you know, in the play, you look to your director to guide you to tell the story the best. And in life, you look to your father to guide you on how to live your life the best. So I didn't really have to change my perspective on him. If anything, it's just allowed me to respect him even more as an artist. I've always wanted to be in the room with him. This is my first time doing it, and it's been a blessing. It's been so cool. People talk so highly of him, and it's great to experience that firsthand.

[John Leguizamo]

You know, it's interesting because Reuben was always like, oh, you. Because there were other actors while I was workshopping it for years. And. And he said, no, you got it. You got to see my son. I go, yeah, right. Yeah, sure. You know? Yeah, yeah. One of these days. Anyway, anyway, the actor that we had planned for the reading dropped out because he got a movie or something. And. And. And so we read Trey. And Trey was so magnificent, so incredible, so real that it blew me away. I was like, oh, my God, Ruben, I'm so sorry. I wish I had done this sooner because he's a find. He's a find. He's incredible. What a talent.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

What did you learn about your dad as a director?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Oh, man, he's a leader. He's an incredible leader. The way he speaks. I mean, we'll have a circle before every single show and hold hands. The way that our Ancestors did hundreds and hundreds of years ago. And we'll hold hands, and we'll close our eyes and we'll talk about why this is important, because it really, really is. And sometimes I feel like I'm not even in the mood to hear something inspirational. I'm trying to focus on the character and whatnot. And he just brings me to tears almost every single time. It's beautiful.

[John Leguizamo]

You know, it's amazing because Ruben is really a nurturer. And these circles and the soothing that we have to do between scenes because we're giving our all. You know, we're leaving a bit of our soul and a little bit of our pain on the stage. And you have to go there. You have to sacrifice a piece of yourself every night. But, you know, the hugs in between scenes with each other just puts you back together to keep going. Cause if you don't hug, it's so hard to, like, let it go and to keep going and then to jump back in and go deeper and to rip out the scabs off your wounds, you know, Emotional wounds.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Yeah. And on top of that, even the audience members afterwards will come up to you and need a hug and hug you without even asking, just run up and hug you. Because it's one of those plays where you need it. It's therapeutic in that way. Sometimes going through this together, the performers, the audience, it provides clarity, something that you didn't even know that you needed.

[Alison Stewart]

One of the things I thought was interesting in the play, it's a father and son play, but there are incredibly strong women in this play as well. From your wife to your daughter, sister, to your neighbor who comes to visit. Although Nelson doesn't necessarily listen to them initially. First of all, why doesn't he listen to them? And then what is their role in play, the women in this play?

[John Leguizamo]

Well, Nelson would not listen to anybody. Anybody, right? No. No male friends, no male rel. He's not gonna listen to anybody.

[Alison Stewart]

He True.

[John Leguizamo]

He's a little bit of a narcissist. The strong women, you know, because Latin women are strong. Latin women are a powerhouse. You know, like last year, the year before, Latin women were the number one startup businesses in America at 86%, which is the driver of our economy. But they can't get venture capitalists to donate, invest in them. They can't get banks to give them approvals. So therein lies the pain. So, yeah, no, I surrounded this family with strong women because that's how I grew up, with powerful women that were taking care of all the males. Keeping them on their paths, fixing everything, fixing everything when they break everything.

[Alison Stewart]

There's a line in the play that Nick really hates it when his mom says, you're better. You're getting better. Why is better such a triggering word for him having come from a mental health facility?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

It's kind of like what I said before about this idea of him trying to be what he was before. He's Learned in these 10 months in the facility that it's not that linear. It's about facing his issues head on, understanding them, and then moving forward. So saying this is a part of me now, and this is how we are as people as well, right? Things happen to us, traumatic incidents. And instead of pushing them away and you're saying, oh, I'll be better in time, face them head on so that you can then move forward and be stronger because of it.

[Alison Stewart]

It's interesting because Nick can be. Sometimes he can be a little explosive in the play. Things seem to set him off. How did you decide how big to.

[WNYC Announcer]

Be with your explosions?

[Alison Stewart]

Because it could go various ways.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

You know, I believe Nick was always someone who was an emotional person, someone very in tune with his emotions, cared a lot, a very caring person. And so I think that because he's in such a vulnerable state and not in full control over his body at this point all the time. I think with a brain injury, you're not always in control of what's happening, that he's then able to hit these extremes without necessarily wanting to or not being able to control them. And so I kind of challenged myself to see how far I could go with still keeping it natural, keeping it real. And so Nick just plays on all ends of emotion from 0 to 100 in every single happy, sad, afraid, betrayed, angry, everything. And then you fine tune it over time and respond to your actors and respond to the writing and the circumstances, and it becomes something authentic.

[John Leguizamo]

Yeah, it's really powerful when Trey hits those really uncomfortable, not temper tantrums, but rages, you know, they're very unsettling. I mean, for the rest of us actors watching or listening the cast, I mean, it's incredible. He goes there and you have to kind of lose your mind because, you know, as an actor, your body doesn't understand the difference between imagination and reality. It assumes everything is real. And so you do put your body under stress. And I seen Trey, you know, come after one of these explosive, unsettling rages, and, you know, it'd be like a puddle after, you know, because he gave it all. You know, he's sweating. And it's so intense and powerful and beautiful to watch.

[Alison Stewart]

The set is so interesting. It's a kitchen, it's a living room. It's three sides. What did you talk to your set designer about what you wanted it to be like?

[John Leguizamo]

Well, I saw Fat ham.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh.

[John Leguizamo]

And I was like, I want that set for my play. And Arnulfo was the set designer.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, really?

[John Leguizamo]

Yeah. And so we got what we wanted. You know, it's queens. You see the. The row houses, these. These two story little row houses right next to each other. And. And then you get the home, you get the pool, the above ground pool. You know, the attempt at having, you know, suburban life in a city. I find it incredible because it really takes you into this Latin home, this Latin life.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you like the intimate setting?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Hmm, Great question. Yes and no. Of course, it's a challenge to make sure. But what it does is it forces you to have to connect with your castmates even harder because everything is so close, not only just the stage, but the audience right there, that it forces you, in order to do it right, to just really connect with the people around you. And luckily for me, they're all incredible. John, you're such a good actor, man. It's such a joy to work with you.

[John Leguizamo]

Thank you, brother. Same, same. I feel it's the same kind of joy.

[Alison Stewart]

We got an interesting text that said, wait, this seems to be sold out. So I'm gonna ask you, the other American, is it sold out? Are there plans to extend it?

[John Leguizamo]

I don't know what's gonna happen. We're sold out. I mean, fortunately and unfortunately, I don't know how to. How to react to that. I mean, I guess I should be excited, but at the same time, we get millions of texts, you know, can you please get me seats? And I go, yo, I can't. I just can't. I wish I could. I wish I could kick somebody out and put you in, but I can't.

[Alison Stewart]

But is there any plans to extend it or not sure yet.

[John Leguizamo]

I. I don't know yet. I guess. I guess it has to do with the reviews on Thursday, right?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

It might, yeah. Obviously we hope to, but it's not. Yeah, we don't have to. The power.

[John Leguizamo]

The power.

[Alison Stewart]

Maybe this will be the power that gets extended.

[John Leguizamo]

I guess it's a good problem to have, right?

[Alison Stewart]

It is the right kind of problem to have. What does the title mean? The Other Americans.

[John Leguizamo]

The Other Americans to me means we are Americans as well, and yet we're not allowed to feel or be as American as the rest of Americans, because we're not white. And that's what it means.

[Alison Stewart]

Trey, what do you hope that people leave the theater, go have a cup of coffee? What do you hope they're talking about after seeing this play?

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

I hope they're leaving feeling like it was necessary. We go through, like I've said, such joy. You know, the audience is with us, laughing and clapping as we dance around the stage. And then as times of just, you know, it's just so silent because people are just feeling and are just there with us. So I hope they leave it going. I needed that. I have people after every show come up to me and in some way find, you know, say thank you. This related to me because of so and so, or I have something similar happening in my life or my family. And with tears in their eyes and just saying thank you, I say thank John. He wrote this story. He had the courage to do this.

[Alison Stewart]

The name of the play is the Other Americans. It's the Public Theater. My guests have been actor Trey Santiago and playwright and actor John Leguizamo. Thank you. Thanks for coming in.

[John Leguizamo]

Oh, thank you for having me.

[Trey Santiago Hudson]

Thank you for having me.

[John Leguizamo]

It's. What a pleasure.

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