Elián
For 40 years, the Cuban government and the Miami exile community have played an endless game of political tug of war…
Then in 1999, a young boy is found on the shores of Florida clinging to life. Elián is a story of hope that soon falls under the watchful eye of the 24-hour news cycle, causing each side of the conflict to pull harder and harder on that rope.
We know the story ends with a boy in a closet, a gun pointed at him; but few of us know how it got to that moment.
With explosive real-life personalities, painfully hilarious moments, and great compassion, Elián pulls back the curtain and reveals how American democracy really works.
Christine Dolen, Artburst
“Elián is factually grounded, incredibly imaginative and impressively acted. Who knew a ‘dramedy’ about the Elián González custody battle could mix moving scenes with laugh-out-loud moments?”
Aaron Krause, Artzine
“Fast-paced, touching, and at times hilarious”
Christine Dolen, Artburst/Miami Herald
“Surprising and superbly acted”
Aaron Krause, Artzine
“Moving, riveting, and incisive play.”
Aaron Krause, Artzine
“Undoubtedly, live theater can heal. And, in this case, ‘Elián’ proves to be a cathartic experience.”
Bill Hirschman, Florida Theatre On Stage
“The play has razor-sharp observations”
“A new play, ‘Elián,’ explores the pain and rage that descended on the city during the monthslong dispute over the young boy in 2000.”
The National Pastime
Commissioned by Syracuse Stage
Syracuse Stage ’24-’25 Season
Opening night: June 13, 2025
Cuba, 2016. A mysterious illness rips through the American embassy in Havana. America, 2017. The Houston Astros are stealing signs, on their way to a World Series win. With tensions heightened from the lead-up and aftermath of an election year, the two nations play a dangerous game in the shadows, with their shared national pastimes – baseball and espionage – as their weapons of choice.
The Museum Plays
Michelle F. Solomon, Miami ArtZine
“Rogelio Martinez's ‘Bedfellows,’ inspired by L.A.'s Karri Upson's ‘Rubells,’ (2014), a silicone, spandex and fiberglass mattress, takes place in the museum's art research library among 40,000 volumes, the most extensive in South Florida.
Martinez's play deals with mortality using Upson's story as the catalyst. Upson was 51 when she died of cancer in 2021. ‘I teach playwrighting,’ says Caleb Scott's character as Martinez. Benitez…enters wearing a baseball cap, she's supposed to be Hausmann working with the playwright on the script for ‘The Museum Plays.’ The director is demanding a rewrite.
Interspersed with lessons on how to write a play, the machinations of what goes into creating the work, he recalls becoming intrigued with Upson. He had listened to an interview with her.
Benitez enters again, this time as Upson, and sits behind a microphone at a table, the sound in the microphone mimics that of a radio interview – she talks about her art and life as the interview is recreated. It's haunting in the confines of the library – Martinez's intimate play, Scott's command of the character and Upson's mattress, the work commissioned by the Rubells themselves in 2014, purposely tattered and decrepit. The artist referred to her mattress series as ‘artifacts of disease.’”
Property Value
a new play
Commissioned by Arden Theater Company
After swearing he would never return, Agustín finds himself back in Havana with his family. Agustín becomes increasingly obsessed with reclaiming what he believes is rightfully his. Property Value explores the true cost of leaving home and the impossibility of return.
Scar/Face Project
Miami New Drama Commission (in progress)
Scar/Face Project takes audiences on a meta-theatrical journey through the unexpected ripple effects of Brian De Palma's controversial 1983 film. The play examines what it means to be “the real thing” in a world where identity is constantly being negotiated, appropriated, and transformed.