“This cast was phenomenal… Spooky Action´s eccentric and stylistically daring work is truly a gift to DC theatre… The committed, versatile performances are a thrill to behold… This outstanding visionary accomplishment from Spooky Action offers both a profound sociopolitical commentary and a feast of artistry of the highest caliber, It is hilarious, unsettling, and eye-opening. It is theatre at its most exciting and essential, and it transpires mere feet from your seat.”
¨The Dragon is a riveting production, and the twin narratives provide compelling explorations of power and protest.¨
“Each actor plays multiple roles throughout the production and expertly transforms through physical and vocal changes. Tapia as the fierce hero, Lancelot; Makhlouf as the tender mother, Isabella; Alejandro as the sly secretary, Henry; Sellers as the deceitful mayor; and Das as the tragic heroine, Elsa.”
“The performances are the strongest component of this production. The initial friction between the prisoners melts to become an inviting triad of magnetism, and the guards are both pesky and foreboding with their contrastingly goofy “just following orders” mentality. Fran Tapia shines as Lancelot, the central hero, flanked on either side by a dynamically emotive Raghad Makhlouf and a tragically poised Surasree Das.”
“Dinkova’s cast fills the stage with an irrepressible energy, telling a story that should resonate with all of us. There are standout performances all around—led by Fran Tapia, who enters as the journalist Sofia but whose turn as Lancelot the knight-errant fills the house with her exuberance and optimism.”
“When Tapia’s Verónica delivers an anguished monologue about immigration status, the stakes ratchet further. At other times, the mood is as bubbly as Bellini.”
“The bolero renditions are stirring and mellifluous”
“The interactivity adds a warmth that supports the story’s message about the importance of community.”
“The music, laughs, fourth wall-breaking and Beltway-related allusions achieve symbiosis in part because the boleros direct attention to some of the fundamentals of human experience: love, longing, dread, loss, endurance.”
“The voices and versatility of Fran Tapia”
“Co-owners Veronica (a grounded, logical presence in Fran Tapia) and Claudia”
“There were overt political messages, especially in Fran Tapia’s character Verónica delivering an emotionally brave and passionately bold monologue about her visa status and the concept of “waiting.” Given the increased ICE raids around the country at the time, the question of her status — symbolized by the unanswered question of what her dreaded red letter said — was a palpable one to see.”
“Tapia imbues Verónica’s lament, “Solamente una vez,” or “Only Once,” with notes of pain and resilience. On edge after a harrowing immigration experience, and given the state of the nation, Verónica also leads her bolero family to face the election head-on with a song in their hearts in Amor de mi alma”
“Salvador Jr. and Tapia bring the house down in the hilarious “This Old Feeling,” combining physical comedy with fantastic lighting design by E-hui.”
“In a suggestive shadow play set to “Heaven Is a Place on Earth,” featuring, unbeknownst to them, Basilius and Gynecia, the show finds the beat and the worldly, witty voice of Whitty’s book“
“Basilius and Gynecia were an unmatched duo, with Oscar Salvador Jr.’s powerful and relaxed presence contrasted by Fran Tapia’s crazed, loving, and sensual queenliness.”
“Fran Tapia is fairly slithering as the satanic Woland»
“Atop a trap-door stage adorned with a celestial white spiral, our satanic emcee Woland welcomes us into the staticky netherworld of 1930s Moscow. Tapia captivates in this role, donning mismatched eye shadow, four-inch pumps, and velvety vocal chops to match her punkish ensemble costumed by Herin Kaputkin.”
“Manuscripts don’t burn” says Professor Woland (Fran Tapia) to a forlorn writer in the final moments of Spooky Action Theater’s latest production… This statement captures the essence of Spooky Action’s incantatory adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, re-dubbed here as Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show: Despots cannot erase ideas.”
“Strutting around a cabaret stage, the Satan-esque Woland (Fran Tapia, radiating shady bravado) ”
“The acting under Elena Velasco’s compelling direction masterfully carries this play through a wide gamut of emotional moments and complex episodes of comedic intrigue—certainly a difficult combination to pull off. This cast does pull it off and then some, Estella, for me, is the deliberate standout. Verging on a caricature of a somewhat famous actor, Estella is meant to be a spotlight stealer, perhaps that’s been the crux of the problem that she’s had as a mother all along. However, she does not pretend to be anything other than the over-the-top, definitely eccentric, larger-than-life figure she is. Tapia does a fabulous job tapping into the narcissism and still making it somehow lovable.”
“The parent-child tension is generational, universal, and duly captured by Pepin as the harried gallerist Mariana and Fran Tapia as her colorfully overbearing Colombiana mom Estella.”
“Tapia’s over-the-top mom and Linares’ laidback cop, amusing in a two-hander scene together, deliver the funny most consistently. Tapia also brings grace and gravitas to Estella’s dramatic scenes, including an argument with Mariana over Estella’s frequent periods of absentee motherhood, and a beautifully shaped monologue asserting herself as the sum of her experiences as a woman, artist, immigrant, mother, and human being.”
“This production’s multilingualism has allowed it to tap into an oft-overlooked array of Spanish-speaking DC performers. Luz Nicolas plays a resoundingly strong Nurse and Fran Tapia a stern Lady Capulet (both are GALA favorites.)”
“Chilean award-winning Tapia possesses a stunningly emotive voice, quickly evidenced in the show’s first number “Evita, Evita,” when near death Eva bravely addresses the needy crowd whom she endearingly calls her descamisados (the very poor).”
“Over about 14 years as a displaced dead body and beyond, Tapia’s Eva embodies the spirit of Argentina’s millions, the common people. They return the dedication: Candles are lit. Prayers are offered. Intercession is sought. Life goes on, but Eva isn’t easily forgotten.”
“Fran Tapia embodies the bigger-than-life, ambitious, and quixotic Eva. The singer-actress, like the character she plays, is indeed a ghost returned, for she first came to GALA as the company’s Paso Nuevo Education Director, only to be snatched up and cast in the Gloria Estefan bio-musical, On Your Feet!, for which she won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer and went on to do a national tour…”
“...In so many ways, this singer-actress is magnificent in the role, captivating us even when she stands, eyes closed, as a mummified statue. But you can’t keep this one in a closet! She flutters her eyes, tangos, flirts, and holds out her arms to embrace the world. She is most affecting taking us through the emotions of each song… no doubt this talented and hard-working professional will continue to shoot meteor-like and become an even more remarkable, much-in-demand superstar.”
“Dead Evita (Fran Tapia) provides a through line — narrating, looking mummified and sometimes reacting to the action like an offended ghost. Dressed in the obligatory white ball gown, Tapia exudes apt intensity.”
“a cast unafraid to push through and roll with it. GALA has assembled just such a cast. The polish and give-and-take between the actors make the inherent fantasy come alive. As Evita, Fran Tapia shines even in the character’s more decomposed states.”
“Also an actor and singer in real life, Evita (played with gusto by Chilean actor Fran Tapia) dances tango and sings on stage as her mummified body travels from one side of the world to the other hidden in a trunk.”
“At the center of this entertaining madness is winning out actor Fran Tapia as Eva, a corpse sporting a ball gown and the trademark platinum blonde chignon, standing stiffly in a closet, more a mobile cabinet actually. In death, she realizes a silent dignity with flashes of an unyielding passion for social justice.”
“Fran Tapia bears an uncanny likeness to Evita, who is joined by the excellent ensemble who dance the night away in near perfect choreography by Valeria Cossu, easily evoking the presence of the millions who stood and watched her funeral when Evita died in Buenos Aires. Whether acting alive or dead, Fran Tapia was splendid in the dual Evita roles, so good that at times, I wondered if the “dead” Evita was a wax figure. Costumer Becca Janney dressed her in a beautiful white strapless evening gown with a diamond necklace and long diamond earrings copied after the original, and glamorized by Tapia as Peron’s second wife.”
“The new “Mummy in the Closet” is a sure-handed version of the earlier work, with Fran Tapia from GALA’s “On Your Feet” glittering in the title role in an array of white gowns (by Becca Janney). That trademark, arms up pose that indicates her grandeur as leader of the people is never diminished, even as we hear of the embalming, abuse, disfiguring and deterioration of the corpse in its travels (It helps theatrically that she stands in a cabinet rather than lies in a casket) as evil swirls around her.”
“With the intimacy of GALA and the dedication of all involved — it’s like a family, with the starring Tapia taking a curtain call on opening night in a Hugo Medrano T-shirt. For that and all that it portends to the present day, I think I prefer this “Mummy in the Closet” to, say, “Evita” that spawned Perón’s entry to musical theatre.”
“Tapia is a powerhouse of talent in flashbacks of her career before leaving Cuba. The mature mother persona steps aside for a glimpse of a woman who had the same drive and passion to perform as her daughter, Gloria.”
“Francisca Tapia’s Gloria Fajardo captures the complicated relationship with her pop superstar daughter.”
“You will love the characters of Gloria’s family, portrayed masterfully by Francisca Tapia, Adriel Garcia, Adela Romero and Lauren Hogan. Their characterizations of the passionate and loving, if sometimes emotionally explosive advocates of Gloria and her career are presented with authenticity and finesse. Each actor embodies vocal prowess and physical ability to create the visual excitement in the latin movements. The supporting cast of this production is beautifully cast with dancers and vocalists of superb abilities.”
“Francisca Tapia´s (Gloria Fajardo) voice was phenomenal but her acting was so realistic she moved the audience from being slightly annoyed with her to being frustrated when Gloria refuses to speak to her daughter, and finally to empathizing with her as she worries about her daughter’s life. She did a magnificent job at being a stubborn, misunderstood, mother. When it is finally revealed that she had given up on her own dreams for the sake of her family the audience was so endeared by her acting they couldn’t help but have a change of heart.”
“Tapia is wonderful as Gloria’s strict mother, a talented singer in her own right who was prevented from realizing her own dreams of stardom.”
“It’s Broadway quality in a D.C. theater and with more in-your-seat interaction from a gem of a cast.”
“In a sequence of sequins and dynamic dance moves, Tapia shows us a versatility that can carry two versions of herself across time, space, and spirit. The effervescent young woman we meet is worthy of the bar-spitting “Rapuela” of real-life “Big Gloria” Fajardo. The parallel is all too real between this past life of Gloria’s mom, complete with dreams dashed too soon after tasting success, and the path of disillusionment she fears for her daughter.”
“Gloria’s mother, Gloria Fajardo (the dynamite Fran Tapia), brimming with biting remarks and disapproving of Gloria’s new music career and love interest (“I’m 48, and I know 48 things,” she claps back at Gloria in Spanish during a fight over her daughter’s future). Fajardo and Emilio’s back-and-forths only make for a ceasefire that’s all the sweeter after Gloria’s accident puts relationships into perspective. The same goes for the reconciliation after Fajardo’s longtime tensions with her daughter.”
“Tapia registers another musical highlight leading a Havana nightclub performance of Estefan’s anthem “Mi Tierra.” The dancing in that number, based on Sergio Trujillo’s Tony-nominated choreography for the original Broadway production, and in the “Turn the Beat Around” megamix is as vibrant and exciting as it gets.”
“Garnica and Fran Tapia, portraying Gloria’s mother, a former singer also named Gloria, deliver a lovely duet on “Si Jamás Te Había Confiado (If I Never Got to Tell You),” the one tune composed expressly for On Your Feet! by Gloria and daughter Emily Estefan.”
“The interactions of Gloria’s mother (a steely, perceptive performance by Fran Tapia) and Gloria’s Grandmother, Consuelo (Madelin Marchant) with Gloria are gems of familial love and contradictions. Ms. Marchant and Ms. Tapia portray the tough love that mothers pass on to foster courage in their children. The scene where Ms. Tapia implores her child to fight on (when she is struck by tragedy) is unforgettable in its emotional power.”
“Samuel Garnica, who inhabits Emilio with a balanced brew of overt charisma and underlying intensity, shares the show’s cathartic showstopper “If I Never Got to Tell You” with Fran Tapia, a standout as Gloria’s bitter mother.”
“In her showstopping performance of “Mi Tierra,” Tapia delivered her lines with immeasurable fervor and grace. She stunned the audience with her breathtaking vocal performance and stage presence, while also maintaining their complete interest in the backstory of her own character. Like her, many of the other cast members delivered wonderfully charismatic and vocally thrilling performances that kept the audience invested and served to fortify the strength of the show and its emotional impact.”