‘How to Break in a Glove’ Gets Its Premiere by City Theatre at the Arsht

The cast of “How to Break in a Glove,” from left, Randy Garcia, Kaelyn A.
Gonzalez, Franco Kiglies, Barbara Bonilla, and Andy Quiroga. City Theatre premieres Chris Anthony Ferrer’s play on Friday, Feb. 6 in the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theatre. (Photo by Passion Ward/courtesy of City Theatre)

Picture this: 1999 Hialeah, Florida. In a single house, there’s a set of Cuban-born grandparents who were forced to flee their country; their daughter and her ex-husband; and their 11-year-old, Miami-born, very Americanized grandson. It’s three very different generations with three very different life experiences.

This is the setting for playwright Chris Anthony Ferrer’s “How to Break in a Glove,” receiving its  premiere from City Theatre in the Arsht Center’s Carnival Studio Theater on Friday, Feb. 6.

Barbara Bonilla, left, and Kaelyn A Gonzalez explore their unique mother-daughter dynamic in City Theatre’s “How To Break In A Glove” written during the company’s Homegrown playwrights development program. (Photo by Passion Ward, courtesy of City Theatre)

“The best way to describe the play is that it’s about people who want to love, but don’t know how,” says Ferrer. “They love each other, but they were never taught how to be anything but tough and have self-preservation.”

Ferrer, 37, pulls from his own childhood for his second-ever full-length play. Much like his youngest character on stage, Ferrer was also in little league. “That is the only real way that I was able to connect with my grandfather was through baseball,” he recounts.

The 90-minute play follows a young Tony trying to navigate the awkward time between being a kid and being a teenager all while growing up surrounded different ideologies. In one night, everything changes. Buried tensions arise and a family must learn to come together in a time of crisis.

Being 11 years old in 1999 Hialeah is tough, just as Tony, played by actor Franco Kiglies,  finds out in “How to Break in a Glove.” (Photo by Passion Ward/courtesy of City Theatre)

While the storyline is not autobiographical, Ferrer believes the character and the situations are relatable — especially if you happen to be Cuban-American. “The Cuban culture is very passionate in an angry, declarative way. Love is expressed in how much it upsets you, in how much the passion rises within you,” explains Ferrer.

When he first began working on the play in 2022, he says he was reflecting on his childhood and his relationship with his grandfather. “I saw a lot of similarities between the process of breaking in a glove and a relationship,” says Ferrer. Both require work, commitment, dedication, and a daily choice.

“It takes patience, it takes effort,” says the playwright.

Playwright Chris Anthony Ferrer pulls from his own upbringing in Hialeah in “How to Break in a Glove,” getting its premiere by City Theatre. (Photo by Michael Roud Photography)

The same can be said of the writing process. Ferrer worked on “How to Break in a Glove” with City Theatre’s artistic director Margaret Ledford, dramaturg Karina Batchelor-Gómez, and executive director Gladys Ramírez. The foursome first started back in 2022 when Ferrer was part of the first-ever cohort of the theater company’s Homegrown playwright development program.

“In this collaborative process, the show has evolved in such a way that feels real. I couldn’t be happier,” says Ferrer.

As part of the Homegrown program, writers work on a short play — what City Theatre is known for producing — and also begin work on a full-length show. The purpose of the program, says Ledford, “is to develop traditionally marginalized voices that don’t get that mainstream opportunity.”

Kaelyn A. Gonzalez and Randy Garcia play Carmen and Carlos, parents to 11-year-old Tony. (Photo by Passion Ward, courtesy of City Theatre)

Once Ferrer finished the program in 2023, he continued to work on “How to Break in a Glove” and eventually invited Ledford and Ramírez to a reading. It was that night that the two creatives were hooked.

“We got very excited that we could mentor Chris and work on the world premiere with him,” says Ledford. She adds that City Theatre hopes to continue this new tradition and develop other full length plays from past — and future — Homegrown cohorts.

Barbara Bonilla plays a traditional Cuban grandmother, Aleida in City Theatre’s “How to Break in a Glove.”  (Photo by Passion Ward/courtesy of City Theatre)

“Our unsaid motto is always ‘put the city in City Theatre,’” says Ramírez. “We can’t expect these kinds of stories to come without building the infrastructure, adding that “How to Break in a Glove” isn’t just a play from its Homegrown series, but “it’s a homegrown company and we’re very excited to share this with our community.”

In addition to her work as executive director of the theater company, Ramírez steps behind the curtain to direct “How to Break in a Glove.”

The cast of “How to Break in a Glove,” from left to right: Randy Garcia, Kaelyn A.
Gonzalez, Franco Kiglies, Barbara Bonilla, and Andy Quiroga. (Photo by Passion Ward, City Theatre)

“I’m very grateful that Margaret asked me to direct, because even though I’m not Cuban, I was in Hialeah in the ‘90s and I understand the culture,” says Ramírez. “People might not recognize the title, but they’ll recognize the characters. They’ll recognize the story.”

The play features an all-Hispanic cast from Miami, which includes Barbara Bonilla as Aleida, Andy Quiroga as Francisco, Randy Garcia as Carlos, Kaelyn A. Gonzalez as Carmen, and Franco Kiglies as Tony.

“If somebody leaves the theater and wants to call their mom, then I did my job,” says Ferrer.

WHAT: “How to Break in a Glove” by Chris Ferrer

WHERE: Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.

WHEN: Opens Friday, Feb. 6 through Sunday, Feb. 22. Performances 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7 and Feb. 21.

COST: $66.69 and $72.54 (includes fees)

INFORMATION: (305) 949-6722 or arshtcenter.org

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