The Audience Becomes Part of the Story in Miami New Drama’s ‘Todo Lo Que No Dije’

Christian McGaffney stars in Miami New Drama’s one-man world premiere “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”) now at the Colony Theatre through Sunday, Aug. 2. (Photo by Ari Feldmiller, courtesy of Miami New Drama)

Miami New Drama once again finds a way to reinvent the theatrical experience with the world premiere of its original one-man show, “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”).

The company reimagines the Colony Theatre stage, turning it into a black-box theater where audiences become collaborators rather than spectators.

From the get-go, theatergoers get their first indication that they aren’t in for something conventional. Instead of taking their seats in the historic auditorium, they are directed onto the stage, where 122 seats are configured for a playing area in the round. A table scattered with vintage postcards hints at what’s to come.

The discovery of an old postcard sends the Narrator on a journey to reconnect with his father in “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”). Photo by Ari Feldmiller, courtesy of Miami New Drama)

For 90 minutes and seated just a few feet from the character, only identified as Narrator, they will become participants in a story; the intimate setting changes the relationship between audience and performer at every show.

Two years in the making, written by Harley Elias and directed by Michel Hausmann, the play follows a man whose discovery of an old postcard sends him on a journey to reconnect with the father he hasn’t spoken to in decades. Along the way, he shares memories and family history, bringing audience members into the play as different characters from his life – a private investigator, a nurse in a Madrid nursing home, a security guard, a man with a tattoo, his father. How the interactions unfold is one of the production’s pleasures, and it would be a spoiler to reveal them. It’s all part of a theatrical experience that is difficult to categorize.

Playwright Harley Elias wrote “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”), a one-man show now at Miami New Drama. (Photo courtesy of Furiosa Productions)

“I wanted to write something that was a solo show that wasn’t just a story that was said and done in the past,” Elias said. “What I was after was a mystery and a search for something that’s kind of in the present moment that is, you’re not sure where it’s going to go, and you’re not sure how it’s going to resolve.”

Although audience members are invited to read postcards, interact with the Narrator, lend personal items, and step into the action, Elias said he was careful not to let those moments become theatrical tricks.

“I didn’t want it to feel gimmicky at all,” he said. “I wanted it to feel emotionally true and grounded in a present storytelling with the audience.”

[RELATED: Miami New Drama’s 2024 world premiere of ‘Birthright’ is now off-Broadway. Read the original review of the Miami production.]

The play itself also represents a departure for Elias, whose previous Miami New Drama collaborations, “Lincoln Road Hustle,” which he co-wrote with Billy Corben, and “Bad Dog,” which Elias based on his time working in a gallery, all have included larger ensemble productions.

The first actor that came to mind to bring to life “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”) was Christian McGaffney. (Photo by Ari Feldmiller, courtesy of Miami New Drama)

“This is the play I was born to write,” he said. “It’s a more personal play than anything I’ve ever written.”

Finding the right actor proved equally important.

Hausmann immediately thought of Venezuelan actor Christian McGaffney, who previously appeared in Miami New Drama’s “Las Aventuras de Juan Planchard.”

“I worked with Michel Hausmann 17 years ago in my first theatrical experience in Caracas, a play by Moisés Kaufman, and Michel was directing it.” McGaffney, who is now based in Los Angeles, was 20 years old then. The play was “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde.”

Christian McGaffney starred in the Venezuelan film shot in Miami  in 2021, “Simón,” where he plays a freedom fighter who escapes to Miami to obtain political asylum; it’s now on Netflix. (Photo courtesy of SimonTheFilm/Black Hole Enterprises)

“I was just a telenovela guy who wanted to experience theater. Michel gave me my first opportunity in theater.”

In 2021, during COVID, McGaffney was in Miami shooting Venezuelan movie “Simón” where he plays a freedom fighter who escapes to Miami to obtain political asylum; it’s now on Netflix. “That was my first job here in Miami and then I was back two years later to work with Moisés for ‘Juan Planchard.’ “

Elias said McGaffney’s natural rhythm matched the voice he’d imagined while writing.

“There was one guy that could do this,” Elias recalled Hausmann telling him. “It’s Christian.”

For McGaffney, reading the script for the first time was unlike any project he had encountered.

Founder and artistic director of Miami New Drama, Michel Hausmann, worked with Harley Elias in crafting “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”). He directs the world premiere. (Photo courtesy of Miami New Drama)

“I had a lot of questions,” he said. “Is this a drama? Is this a comedy? Is this a comedy with a heart? It was beautiful to actually work with Harley and Michel and start discovering what this play was about.”

The collaborative rehearsal process allowed the actor, playwright and director to shape the work together.

“I think it was more of us really exploring what we think would work and also what we think wouldn’t work in order for us to understand the play better,” McGaffney said.

Because audience members become part of each performance, McGaffney said no two shows are the same. The difficult part, but one he’s mastered, is that every show requires him to remain fully present while adapting to different volunteers who, by the nature of the show, create unplanned moments.

The audience is spectator and collaborator in Miami New Drama’s “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”). (Photo by Ari Feldmiller, courtesy of Miami New Drama)

The script is in Spanish, but every performance includes live English translation through headsets, allowing English-speaking audiences to also be immersed in the action.

For Elias, that accessibility is essential because the play ultimately transcends language.

“This is more pure theatrical experience and storytelling,” he said. “It’s that kind of old theater experience where you say to someone, ‘Listen, you have to be there.'”

The surprises continue after the applause and up until the time the audience gets ready to head back out into Lincoln Road. Vintage postcards scattered around high-top tables in the lobby invite everyone to fill them out, send them to someone they love or even to themselves. Drop them in the big blue Miami New Drama postal box in the lobby and they will be mailed.

“It’s like the show; it’s another way to connect,” Elias said.

Miami New Drama reimagines the Colony Theatre stage, turning it into a black-box theater for “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”) now at the Colony Theatre through Sunday, Aug. 2. (Photo by Ari Feldmiller, courtesy of Miami New Drama)

Born in Caracas where he lived until he was about 25 or 26, McGaffney said that doing a no intermission show, being on stage the whole time, and having to be the multitasker of so much interaction takes a lot of stamina. There’s also something else that has been an unexpected source of where he puts his energy during his time in Miami.

He has been volunteering at a donation center in Doral that is collecting for those affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela.

“It’s been a sweet-and sour situation for us as Venezuelans doing the play. I’ve had Venezuelans come up to me in the lobby who just want to talk and to express how grateful they are that they could see something like this in the midst of everything.  Right now, while things are so tough, it’s also a good place to be taken away for a bit, to soothe the soul.”

WHAT: “Todo Lo Que No Dije” (“Everything I Didn’t Say”). Performed in Spanish with live English translation available via headsets.
WHERE: Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach
WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Through Sunday, Aug. 2.
COST: $65, $70, $80 and $85 (a portion of ticket sales will be donated to We Love Foundation to support earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela)
INFORMATION: 305-674-1040 and miaminewdrama.org

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