SABOR

by AnaSofía Villanueva

Sabor is a story of a mixed-race Latina, Clara, in search of her place within the elite culinary world and among her relationships. After the passing of her abuelo, Clara makes drastic life changes: breaking off her engagement, quitting the French Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan, and starting her own catering business in Queens with start-up money from her father, a successful Nuyorican restaurateur who...

Sabor is a story of a mixed-race Latina, Clara, in search of her place within the elite culinary world and among her relationships. After the passing of her abuelo, Clara makes drastic life changes: breaking off her engagement, quitting the French Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan, and starting her own catering business in Queens with start-up money from her father, a successful Nuyorican restaurateur who wishes she would learn Spanish and avoid his patterns of grief and alcoholism. The transition is complicated by the familiarity of her former fiancé and the invigoration of an Instacart delivery person who challenges her ideas of success, sexuality, and identity. As her relationship with her father comes to a boiling point, the spirit of abuelo gives them a chance to start creating their own language—a language of food.

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SABOR

Recommended by

  • Jessica Chipman: SABOR

    Sabor is rich with meaning about the beautiful complexities of life. This play is about a woman struggling to discover how all facets of who she is fit into how other people in her life view her. It's about families, how we carry the burdens of previous generations--their lives, their toils, their losses, their hopes and dreams and expectations--and how the past inevitably intersects with the present. In the end, it's also about love. Come for the relatability of Clara's messiness, stay for the dancing, be surprised by the magically real beauty. I can't wait to see this in performance!

    Sabor is rich with meaning about the beautiful complexities of life. This play is about a woman struggling to discover how all facets of who she is fit into how other people in her life view her. It's about families, how we carry the burdens of previous generations--their lives, their toils, their losses, their hopes and dreams and expectations--and how the past inevitably intersects with the present. In the end, it's also about love. Come for the relatability of Clara's messiness, stay for the dancing, be surprised by the magically real beauty. I can't wait to see this in performance!

  • Maximillian Gill: SABOR

    The title says it all. This play is all about flavor, but not just about the flavor of food (though there are some mouth-watering descriptions of various dishes) but also the flavors of different cultures, ethnicities, and sexual identities and how they mingle together and enrich all of us. I love the use of a single setting that still admits the larger scope of history and memory. There are moments of astonishing bravery that made me gasp even as the relationships between Clara and the people in her life kept me engaged in every scene. A truly wonderful play!

    The title says it all. This play is all about flavor, but not just about the flavor of food (though there are some mouth-watering descriptions of various dishes) but also the flavors of different cultures, ethnicities, and sexual identities and how they mingle together and enrich all of us. I love the use of a single setting that still admits the larger scope of history and memory. There are moments of astonishing bravery that made me gasp even as the relationships between Clara and the people in her life kept me engaged in every scene. A truly wonderful play!

Character Information

  • Clara
    Latina presenting and full-figured
    Character Age
    early 30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Puerto Rican and French Woman
    Character Gender Identity
    woman
  • Vicente
    Latino presenting
    Character Age
    late 60s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Nuyorican
    Character Gender Identity
    Cisgender Man
  • Abuelo
    Latino and/or Indigenous presenting. Spanish fluency.
    Character Age
    30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Indio-Boricua
    Character Gender Identity
    Man
  • Luis
    Latino presenting
    Character Age
    30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Nuyorican
    Character Gender Identity
    Cisgender Man
  • Mateo
    Black and masculine presenting. Spanish fluency.
    Character Age
    30s
    Character Race/Ethnic Identity
    Afro-Boricua
    Character Gender Identity
    Non-binary

Development History