Last week, Los Angeles wrapped up one of its vibrant annual theater celebrations: the Brisk Festival. Showcasing an exciting selection of theatrical works from across the globe, this year’s festival featured over 50 innovative and engaging plays, offering both English and Spanish performances. At the heart of the festival’s excitement was the much-anticipated world premiere of What’s Up Don Quixote, a fresh and imaginative reimagining of Miguel de Cervantes’ timeless novel. Co-produced by the multi-talented Charlotte Hendrickx, the play quickly became one of the festival’s standout highlights, drawing rave reviews from audiences and critics alike.
For New Yorkers and theater enthusiasts, the name Charlotte Hendrickx is no stranger. Her work has already been seen in the Big Apple, including her co-production of Promises, Promises, which was featured at the prestigious Big Apple Film Festival. While New York is celebrated as the world’s important city for theater, boasting a rich history and an unparalleled platform for live performance, Los Angeles, too, has grown into a critical hub for live theater. With many artists calling LA their creative home, the city now boasts a dynamic theatrical community that attracts a range of productions, including What’s Up Don Quixote.
New York may stand as the ultimate city for theater, but LA offered the perfect stage for the Brisk Festival. What’s Up Don Quixote, co-produced by Hendrickx, exemplified the city’s flourishing theatrical scene. Directed by Mario Ivan Martinez, the production breathed new life into Cervantes’ beloved character, blending elements of fantasy, humor, and introspective reflection. Charlotte Hendrickx’s work on the play revealed her knack for taking complex stories and making them relatable and contemporary.
Hendrickx, alongside an excelent team including Ye Zhong, Gisely Ayub, Valeria Muñoz, Ryan Jensen, and executive producer Rodolfo Ornelas, set out to craft a production that honors the spirit of the original while making it accessible to today’s audiences. The play weaves in traditional elements of theater, such as original music, while also embracing modern narrative techniques, creating an immersive experience that kept festival-goers on the edge of their seats.
The Brisk Festival’s emphasis on new and original works made it the ideal setting for What’s Up Don Quixote to debut. Festival-goers were treated to not just a classic retelling, but a vibrant, contemporary twist that made Don Quixote’s journey feel fresh, fun, and relevant. Audiences from LA and beyond were captivated by the production’s inventive interpretation, which combined humor, wit, and an underlying sense of nostalgia for a story that has been loved for centuries.
Though What’s Up Don Quixote was produced in LA, its success at the Brisk Festival only further highlights how interconnected the theater worlds of New York and Los Angeles are. Many of the artists involved in What’s Up Don Quixote, including Hendrickx, have worked across both cities, demonstrating how a production in one theater hub can have a ripple effect across the industry. New Yorkers have long prided themselves on their city’s unparalleled theater culture, but LA’s thriving scene has become a place where artists can take creative risks and produce work that resonates on a global scale.
The Brisk Festival, known for celebrating bold, original theater, has grown into one of Los Angeles’ anticipated events. Alongside What’s Up Don Quixote, the festival featured 31 short plays in English, 19 in Spanish, as well as workshops, masterclasses, and even live music concerts. Each performance offered a platform for diverse voices and perspectives, adding to LA’s ever-growing reputation as a destination for theater lovers.
Charlotte Hendrickx’s role in co-producing What’s Up Don Quixote underscores her growing influence in the theater world. The play’s popularity during the festival, with tickets selling out quickly, sparked conversations about adding extra performances.
Hendrickx’s work and her team in What’s Up Don Quixote, exemplifies the evolving nature of theater in today’s world, where classic stories are reimagined.
Published by: Holy Minoza
