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Christopher Rivas in "The Real James Bond... Was Dominican"
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City Theatre explores the origins of 007 in 'The Real James Bond... Was Dominican'

Laura Bustillos Jaquez

City Theatre explores the origins of 007 in 'The Real James Bond... Was Dominican'

Since Daniel Craig left the role of James Bond, the world has speculated often about who will become the next 007.

There’s less conjecture about who originally inspired Ian Fleming’s dashing spy, but it’s never quite been definitively settled. The writer, who created the character in the early 1950s, has described Bond as an amalgamation of various real-life military operatives and spies that he knew, as Fleming himself served in the British naval intelligence.

But there’s another real and larger-than-life historical figure in the mix: the Dominican diplomat and serial philanderer Porfirio Rubirosa, who Fleming likely met in the casinos of Monte Carlo in Monaco and certainly would have been aware of with all the press attention Rubirosa received for his exploits.

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Rubirosa also ordered his martinis shaken, not stirred. Both men wore tailored English suits. Both spent their childhoods in Paris. Both had exceptional talent wooing women.

More recently, Rubirosa’s exploits have inspired the author, performer and podcast host Christopher Rivas, whose father was Dominican, to write “The Real James Bond... Was Dominican,” a two-hander play with Rivas and an onstage percussionist. The resulting play is a 70-minute work in which Rivas explores the impact of learning that he, in fact, could — and might even one day — play James Bond.

Pittsburgh’s City Theatre will present the play with Rivas and percussionist Jonathan Gomez from Jan. 18-Feb. 16 at their South Side theatre. General admission tickets are $35. Tickets are available at citytheatrecompany.com.

Rivas developed the play with the company DNAWORKS, a self-described “arts and service organization” that is based in New York City, Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, Texas.

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The City Theatre-presented performances will be the DNAWORKS’ first Pittsburgh shows.

Daniel Banks, one of DNAWORKS founders, is directing.

“In the reflection of Rubirosa's life and experience, Chris learns something about himself and is able to make some life changes, and some heart moves,” Banks said. “It is 100% auto-biographical — it literally starts with [Chris] as a child.”

The play tells two stories simultaneously: Rivas’ life story growing up in Queens, N.Y. and Rubirosa’s own journey. And it explores points of connection and divergence in their lives.

“Our work focuses on identity, heritage, culture, class, gender, sexuality,” Banks said, explaining that Rivas discovered Rubirosa through a lengthy 2009 Vanity Fair article.

The play premiered in 2018 in New York City, and Rivas has since reprised it around the country at different cultural centers and theaters.

At the end of each performance, the company hosts a community story circle and encourages audience members to share with each other in what Banks described as “a communal act of witnessing.”

“The reason for this is we want to first of all, balance out the artist voices with the audience voices, and [we want to] actually have the audience voices be the last voices that we hear,” Banks said.

He continued: “The other reason is because we understand the power of arts to open people's hearts and minds and create relationships and understanding among people in the audience.”

Jeremy Reynolds: jreynolds@post-gazette.com. His work at the Post-Gazette is supported in part by a grant from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Getty Foundation and Rubin Institute.

First Published: January 16, 2025, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: January 17, 2025, 7:00 p.m.

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Christopher Rivas in "The Real James Bond... Was Dominican"  (Laura Bustillos Jaquez)
Christopher Rivas in "The Real James Bond... Was Dominican"  (Daniel Banks)
Christopher Rivas in "The Real James Bond... Was Dominican"  (Andres Tagliaferro)
Laura Bustillos Jaquez
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