Contact: Jim Byk | Shane Marshall Brown
EGOÍSTA
By Erlina Ortiz
Directed by Tatyana-Marie Carlo
Tony Award-winning producer Dale A. Mott, Edgewood Entertainment (Broadway: A Strange Loop, Appropriate), will present a workshop presentation of Egoísta, the acclaimed new comedy by award-winning playwright Erlina Ortiz, on Friday, June 26 at 11:00 AM at Open Jar Studios. The presentation reunites Dascha Polanco and Diane Guerrero for the first time since starring together in Netflix’s acclaimed “Orange Is the New Black” and will be directed by 2026 Drama League Award nominee Tatyana-Marie Carlo (Spread).
Winner of the 2022 National Latine Playwriting Award, Egoísta is a sharp, deeply human comedy that explores sisterhood, caregiving, grief, ambition, and the impossible balancing act between pursuing your dreams and showing up for the people you love. Equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, the play follows Josefina (Dascha Polanco), a rising comic whose career begins to take off just as she is pulled into caring for her chronically ill younger sister, Betsaida (Diane Guerrero). As the sisters navigate obligation, resentment, sacrifice, humor, and survival, both are forced to confront the fragile yet enduring bonds of family.
Infused with Ortiz's signature humor and emotional honesty, Egoísta asks a powerful question: when survival requires selfishness, what do we owe the people we love.
Egoísta emerged from the Latinx Theatre Commons Comedy Carnaval after being commissioned and developed by Live & In Color. The play received its world premiere production at Actors Theatre of Louisville, where it was programmed by Robert Barry Fleming and was directed by Amelia Acosta Powell. Its West Coast premiere took place at Skylight Theatre in Los Angeles. It was also featured on the 2023 Kilroys’ List and received a critically acclaimed production at Philadelphia Theatre Company in 2024 under the direction of Carlo, where it attracted 63% new ticket buyers to the company.
Now, following continued development, Egoísta moves toward its Off-Broadway future, further cementing Ortiz's reputation as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary American theater. Through its deeply personal examination of family, survival, and care, the play offers a timely and resonant portrait of the sacrifices women make for those they love, and for themselves.