Dominant Animals returns to Teatro LATEA for Hispanic Heritage Month run

Cris Eli Blak’s Puerto Rican family drama Dominant Animals will return to Teatro LATEA in New York City for three performances Oct. 2-4, 2026. The production digs into machismo, generational trauma and incarceration as VOE Coqui Productions brings the show back after its June New York Theater Festival run.

Why it matters: - Dominant Animals uses a Puerto Rican family story to examine machismo, toxic masculinity, incarceration, emotional silence and generational trauma. - The play is built around questions many families face: how to break inherited cycles, how to accept accountability, and whether vulnerability can support healing. - The production is part of Hispanic Heritage Month programming, giving the story a timely platform in New York City.

What happened: - Cris Eli Blak’s Dominant Animals will return to Teatro LATEA in New York for three performances Oct. 2-4, 2026. - VOE Coqui Productions is presenting the engagement, with Eddie Martinez as executive producer. - The production follows a June New York Theater Festival presentation. - The play is set inside a Puerto Rican household in Queens. - The performance dates are Friday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 4 at 3:00 p.m. - The venue is Teatro LATEA, 107 Suffolk Street, Second Floor, New York, NY 10002. - Tickets are listed at Teatro LATEA events.

The details: - Blak said the play was written to address topics that have not been said in the same way before. - The story avoids a simple hero-versus-villain structure. - The characters are portrayed as wounded, flawed and capable of both harm and redemption. - The play looks at masculinity as control, toughness and an unwillingness to show vulnerability. - It also examines how incarceration affects families long after a person returns home. - The story follows how judgment, anger and broken communication can reshape parent-child and sibling relationships. - The production includes themes of forgiveness, fear, trust and self-protection. - Blak said he wanted to tell “a truth” that is often swept under the rug in communities of color. - Eddie Martinez said VOE Coqui Productions exists to elevate authentic, underrepresented voices and support stories that encourage reflection and conversation. - Martinez said the play offers an honest portrait of a Puerto Rican family confronting issues often experienced in Latino communities but not openly discussed. - Martinez also portrays Felix Burgos. - General-admission tickets purchased through Sept. 18 are 10% off. - Discounted tickets are $27, down from the regular $30 price. - Group tickets are $25 per person for groups of 10 or more when arranged directly with Teatro LATEA.

Between the lines: - The play’s appeal goes beyond one family and is designed to resonate with audiences across backgrounds. - The production frames masculinity as a learned family pattern, not just an individual trait. - By centering accountability and forgiveness, the show suggests healing depends on more than expressing pain; it also requires changing behavior. - Adrienne Acevedo Lovette’s appointment as director adds another Latino creative voice with significant stage experience to the production. - Lovette has directed more than 50 plays and musicals in the U.S., Off-Broadway and internationally. - Lovette is a SXSW Audience Award winner, a Sundance Collab Film Challenge winner and a SeriesFest Women Directing Mentorship semifinalist. - Audience response to the June presentation was strongly positive, with attendees calling the production “breathtakingly powerful” and “profoundly impactful.”

What's next: - Teatro LATEA will host the run during Hispanic Heritage Month in early October. - The production team says photos, artwork, interviews, press seats and other materials are available upon request. - Additional outreach will likely focus on drawing audiences interested in Latino storytelling, family drama and social themes.

The bottom line: - Dominant Animals returns as a short New York run with a clear message: family silence and inherited ideas about masculinity can wound, but accountability and vulnerability may still open a path to repair.