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What Is Broadway Sin Barreras and Broadway Sin Vergüenza?
- Damian Ali
- Jan 20
- 4 min read
A look at a bilingual theater project taking shape in New York City
Image Courtesy of Vanessa Verduga/Broadway Sin Barreras
Broadway tickets now cost well over a hundred dollars, which is a big ask if your Spanish-speaking abuela has to sit through a two-hour show and only understands the songs. When I looked into what Latine audiences encounter on mainstream Broadway sites, I kept seeing the same phrases: “The show’s dialogue is in English,” “authentic experience,” and “you won’t lose the plot if you don’t understand the lyrics.”
This isn’t meant as criticism of any one show or its artists. It is an observation about who Broadway is still built for. If a show rooted in Latin culture has to promise that English will carry the story, it leads to a simple question: where can fully bilingual audiences go when they want more than recognition and less translation?
That question is already being answered in real time through Broadway Sin Barreras and Broadway Sin Vergüenza, two initiatives founded by Vanessa Verduga and focused on building work now, without waiting for permission.
“They were born out of necessity,” Verduga said. “I kept seeing brilliant artists with nowhere to land, especially bilingual and multicultural artists. I realized the industry wasn’t going to catch up on its own.”
The two programs are designed to work together, each serving a different role within the same system.
“Broadway Sin Vergüenza creates bold, accessible telenovela-style parody work, while Broadway Sin Barreras focuses on training and incubation,” Verduga said. “Together, they form a pipeline, and the moment felt urgent.”
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Verduga describes the initiatives as complementary. One responds to the need for immediacy and visibility, while the other emphasizes long-term development and support.
What makes these initiatives stand out is not only what they produce, but how they are built.
Both programs center on workshops, rehearsal-based development, and community collaboration. Work grows in shared spaces, with artists moving fluidly between English, Spanish, and Spanglish as part of daily practice.
Vanessa Verduga next to the Broadway Sin Barreras logo: Image Courtesy of Broadway Sin Barreras
Verduga said this approach is intentional, especially for artists who are often asked to prove themselves repeatedly before being given space to experiment.
“The most rewarding part has been watching artists feel seen and empowered,” she said. “The toughest part has been doing it without a roadmap and building structure while still creating art.”
She said uncertainty has become part of the process, not something that slows the work down.
“I’ve learned that discomfort often means you’re building something new,” Verduga said.
In this model, workshops are not simply steps toward a finished product. They are essential spaces where artists can test ideas, collaborate, and develop work without being judged by narrow standards.
Broadway Sin Barreras and Broadway Sin Vergüenza are built with a clear focus on community engagement, especially for audiences who rarely see themselves centered in musical theater.
For Verduga, that means moving away from the idea of a passive audience.
“Community isn’t passive. It’s part of the creative process,” she said. “Audiences aren’t just watching. They’re responding, shaping, and reflecting the work back to us.”
She said this philosophy has shaped how the telenovela-style productions are conceived.
“In our telenovelas, performers treat the audience as confidants, neighbors, and witnesses inside the world of the story,” Verduga said. “As we expand into full-length productions, that relationship will remain central.”
Image Courtesy of Vanessa Verduga/Broadway Sin Barreras
The work is designed to grow in conversation with the community it serves, not separate from it.
That approach is reflected in two Broadway Sin Vergüenza productions scheduled for a public workshop on Feb. 25 at Pregones/PRTT.
Champagne Tears: The Rich Also Cry is a telenovela-style musical parody featuring heightened comedy, dramatic reversals, and exaggerated storytelling. While primarily in English, it incorporates Spanglish elements and invites direct audience engagement.
Querida: Amor Sin Final is a bilingual jukebox musical featuring the songs of Juan Gabriel. The production combines Spanish-language songs with English dialogue and is staged in a concert-style format that includes audience interaction.
Together, the projects show how Broadway Sin Vergüenza uses parody and familiar storytelling as access points, while Broadway Sin Barreras focuses on longer-term development and training.
The work continues because people keep showing up. Artists collaborate. Audiences respond. Projects grow in real time, grounded in community.
The focus, Verduga said, is on building durable support now.
For artists with limited access to commercial stages, the initiatives offer something immediate: a place to work, collaborate, and be seen.
Artists interested in participating can learn more through the official website.
Broadway Sin Barreras and Broadway Sin Vergüenza are not positioned as fixes for the entire theater industry. They operate as parallel systems, built alongside the mainstream and shaped by the people using them.
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