INTERVIEW: Jorge B. Merced on the transformative impact of Johnny Rodríguez
Photo: Parrots at the Pagoda features Rubén Flores. Photo courtesy of Krystal Pagán / Provided by Print Shop PR with permission.
Parrots at the Pagoda is a new show written and directed by Jorge B. Merced that tells the story of Johnny Rodríguez, an iconic Puerto Rican composer, vocalist, drag artist and impresario, according to press notes. Performances of the piece continue through Sunday, May 25, at Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York City, where Merced serves as associate artistic director.
Rodríguez’s music is featured throughout the play, especially when the show brings to life the singer’s El Cotorrito club, which he owned in Puerto Rico. Rubén Flores portrays Johnny on stage, and he’s joined by Fernando Contreras, Bryan J. Cortés, Samy Figaredo, Cedric Leiba Jr., Khalid Rivera and Sebastian Treviño.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Merced about his new creation. Merced has many titles to his name: actor, director, dramaturg, songwriter and arts educator. He studied piano and composition at Escuela Libre de Música in Puerto Rico, theatre at City College-CUNY and EITALC/International Theater School in Cuba, dance/choreography at Alvin Ailey School, and forum theater technique with Augusto Boal, according to his official biography. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When did you first learn the story of Johnny Rodríguez?
I was originally researching Tito Rodríguez [Johnny’s brother], whose music helped shape a generation’s understanding of Puerto Rican romance and, in many ways, the ideal of the gentleman. His smooth voice and elegant style became a model of masculinity for many. That is when I rediscovered Johnny, not only as Tito’s older brother, but as a brilliant composer, trío musician and drag performer who had been nearly forgotten. I already knew some of Johnny’s songs, but not the full scope of his story, especially his spectacular rise to fame during the late 1930s and 1940s in both Puerto Rico and New York City. Learning that he was connected to Tito made me question why his legacy had been overlooked for so long and why that silence needed to be addressed. My hope is that when people leave the theater after a performance, they feel inspired to learn more about Johnny, his music and his life.
Why do you think Johnny’s story is so important to tell in 2025?
At a time when queer and migrant voices are often erased, sidelined or criminalized, Johnny’s life reminds us that live performance is not just expression. It is resistance. For those whose existence is policed or pushed to the margins, taking up space onstage in full voice and visibility becomes an act of defiance. Johnny’s story shows how performance can reclaim dignity, joy and presence in a world that tries to deny them. He challenged gender norms, redefined romantic music, and lived with courage and flair. I wanted to celebrate his legacy through the same fantasy and flair with which he lived his life; I aimed to create a structure that resists linear or realistic storytelling like he did. Instead of a biographical play or musical, I wanted to reimagine legacy through a queer perspective that finds strength in feathers, fantasy and metaphor.
How are Johnny’s songs used throughout the show?
Johnny’s songs guide the emotional and narrative journey of the play. Each number brings forth a memory, a relationship or a moment of reckoning. The arrangements are not meant to be nostalgic. They are transformed, theatrical and queered in spirit. Several are performed a capella to highlight the beauty of the original melodies and the distinctive trío harmonies, now expanded to seven and sometimes eight voices. My aim was for the music, along with satire and ritual, to become a living archive, one that allows Johnny to confront what the parrots and perhaps all of us feel was lost, and to honor what he dared to preserve through art.
How important are companies like Pregones/PRTT?
Pregones/PRTT is a lifeline for artists like me, especially those of us rooted in Latiné, queer and diasporic communities. I joined the company in 1987 precisely because of its commitment to artist-led processes, collective creation, and the belief that music is not just accompaniment but a central theatrical language. From the beginning, Pregones/PRTT has championed stories that are often overlooked or excluded by mainstream discourse, uplifting voices that speak from the margins with urgency and beauty. This approach shaped my growth as an artist and director, in deep connection with the community and audiences that sustain and challenge our work. That commitment remains unchanged. Pregones/PRTT does not simply produce theater. It nurtures long-term inquiry, artistic risk and radical imagination. Without this company, projects like Parrots at the Pagoda would likely remain unwritten, unstaged and unheard. What this company does is nothing short of essential. It continues to make what once felt impossible not only possible, but necessary.
What’s the plan for the show after the NYC run?
Parrots at the Pagoda will become part of Pregones/PRTT’s repertory, like other works that have grown and transformed over time. Our productions often continue to evolve across multiple years and stagings. This first run is just the beginning. We’ll revisit the piece, refine it and invite new audiences to experience it. The goal is not to freeze the show, but to let it breathe and deepen.
What’s it like to direct your own work?
I began my career as an actor in an ensemble that deeply values collective creation. That kind of work does not thrive on ego or individual protagonism. It taught me to listen closely, and to trust that meaning often emerges from questions, not certainty, especially when one follows the pulse of the room and the team. As a director, I see myself as a facilitator rather than an authority. With Parrots at the Pagoda, I brought a raw script and a general sense of the structure I wanted to explore, but the ensemble’s instincts revealed paths I could not have imagined alone. Especially in shaping The Parrots as a kind of flock of muses, each guarding a different aspect of Johnny’s legacy and life. Their generosity and rigor shaped the process. I aimed to listen, invite inquiry and create a space where every voice truly matters — sort of like the way I feel the world should be.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Parrots at the Pagoda, written and directed by Jorge B. Merced, continues through Sunday, May 25, at Pregones / PRTT in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
