Justina Machado and James Martinez just brought “Freestyle: A Love Story” to Los Angeles, a one-night debut at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre that sends two middle-aged Caribbean Latinos back to the 1987 night they fell in love at a bass-thumping freestyle show.

Created and directed by George Valencia, the musical-dance production draws on the short, bright life of Latin freestyle, the 1980s electro-funk sound shaped by New York street kids and artists like Judy Torres, who co-produced the show and performed alongside TKA’s K7. “Ugly Betty” actor Ana Ortiz and Valencia’s wife, Judy Reyes, are among the producers. Felix Solis had been slated to star; Martinez stepped in, reuniting with Machado, his “One Day at a Time” co-star.

As Andrea Flores reports for De Los, the love story runs in parallel with the movement itself, which flourished for roughly nine years before radio shifted toward hip-hop and R&B. Torres has said freestyle “was never given flowers.” Machado called the music a rite of passage wherever Latino communities were large.

Proceeds from the Los Angeles performance benefited the Sound of GOL Foundation and LA Watford Women FC, supporting Latina soccer players. The production heads next to NJPAC in Newark on December 5 and 6.

Original reporting: Andrea Flores, De Los / Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2026.

Further reading: Freestyle: A Love Story.

Photo credit: George Valencia, via De Los / Los Angeles Times.