"The results are joyous. As the two friends, Marta (Edmi De Jesús) and Luisa (Edna Lee Figueroa), reveal their truest selves to one another (hence the title “Masks Off”) the by turns furious and hilarious dynamic of their lifelong bond reveals itself as well. De Jesús is picture perfect as the femme comedic foil to Figueroaʼs awkward self-actualization. The adaptation is delightful not only because of the immense talent between our leading ladies; seeing a piece involving lesbians where nobody cries is a triumph as well. Playwright Arroyoʼs dialogue quite literally does not skip a beat. All in all, Máscaras Afuera is like long conversation with your oldest friend: infuriating, but also tender."                     -Victoria Santos  

                                 (Review StageBuddy, NYC)​

​                                 Photo by Michael Palma

"Edna Lee Figueroa has been a pleasure to work with.  She is extremely professional, always eager to learn and to ask questions, and has a natural talent for acting and the stage that is at once electric, inspiring, and passionately dedicated to success." 

                                          -Andy Cofino

(Playwright & Director, OUT IN THE OPEN, NYC)   ​​

"To say this Spanish-language theatrical production by two Puerto Rican ladies from the mainland during the 2nd annual Latino LGBT FuerzaFest was BARBARO ~ would be an understatement. These two ladies, in a two-woman show, stole the hearts, minds and souls of the audience ~ and we laughed our "tooshies" off ~ they hit the ball out of the park. The best translation I can give for BARBARO ~ phenomenal is what they were. KUDOS to Mario Colón as for shepherding this production and festival in NYC this year ~ true theater & art meets social policy and its impact on our lives and humanity!"                         -Louis E. Perego Moreno                [Prime Latino Media] Photo by Michael Palma 

"Edna Lee is an excellent actress: committed, talented, and brimming with creativity. But more than anything, she's a real theatre artist who will put her all for the sake of a project. A pleasure to work with through and through." 
                                                        -Mariana Carreño King                            (Director & Playwright, FORTY-THREE, NYC) ​​

"I love having you in class and you're doing wonderful work! I also love this photo of you!"

"SO great having you in class and you're doing such great work! I've seen such brilliant transformation already which is really exciting."

              -Amy Gossels  (Casting Director, NYC) ​​

"I've been working the Fringe the past two weeks over at Fringe Central. Today I had some time off and I've been seeing your posts about JuIian & Romero so I decided I'd see your show today. You were great. The show was amazing! I'm so happy I got to see it! Such an important story to tell. I teared up during your final speech. Just lovely. Great job!"

                                                  -C.J. Bauer (Audience member & Fringe NYC staff, about Julian & Romero, NYC)     ​​

"Edna Lee is anything you can wish for in a actor and then some more: beautiful, talented, serious, always surprising, funny and touching!" 
                                                -Ana Margineanu                             (Director, PopUp Theatrics, NYC) ​​

"Edna Lee is very disciplined and hardworking. Fun to work with!"

                                              -Rosie Berrido (Director, ROSA LERMAN DE JUÁREZ, Two monologues by Nora Glickman, NY)

                                    www.rosierules.com

"Bonita Jackson and Edna Lee Figueroa give a hair raising portrayal of Latinas within the gay community."

                                       -www.Suite101.com  [About Spoken Word performance OUT IN THE OPEN] NYC

"I met Edna Lee during the first reading of "Carmen Loisaida" a couple of years ago.  She was my stage manager and read for one of the actresses that was not there.  I immediately wanted her to be IN the play.  Her presence as an actor has spontaneity, sharpness, and charm.  Years later she got to be in the play and delighted me and the audiences with her role as the "Bartender" for which she won an ACE and HOLA awards.  She is a truly gifted actor and it's a pleasure working with her."

                                                                                     -Beatriz Córdoba 

                                                              (Director, CARMEN LOISAIDA, NY)

"You were DOPE today. Pun intended. Seriously. You were today's highlight. You played it real and I loved that. Hope to work with you again."

        -Romany Malco    (Actor, MAD DOGS)

[Written exchange about my work as "Tick' in the show]

"Edna Lee Figueroa knows that real acting is manifested in the gaze and she knows how to use it like only a few know how. Through her eyes, framed by glasses, Figueroa gushingly brings out the soul and total essence of "Láyel" by Joselo Arroyo. The story, which at first glance presents the traditional story of the shy girl, "Ugly Betty" style who dreams of a platonic love, traps us going from total comedy to unexpected tense suspense in which one almost fears for the life of the protagonist despite the nervous laughter that continues to provoke in us.  As a result of a magical ritual, love takes the form of a spirit and possesses her, and Edna Lee, who directed the piece with Karina Casiano, masterfully convinces us that the spirit has really taken on a life of its own. The direction took good care of the character’s transitions, stage movements and handling of props, by the way, Figueroa reminded us of a chapter of "Respect for Acting" by Uta Hagen where it emphasizes that we have to give value to the props on stage to the point of creating a sub-plot, and the passion and enjoyment of props by Edna Lee’s Láyel, is priceless.”
                                   -Héctor Luis Rivera (hlsincensura.com) [Review of LÁYEL at Teatro Círculo’s Callback Series 2015] NYC 

"Edna Lee Figueroa in her role showed that death does not respect time, place or person. Death loves her job and is constant in it. She’s with us at all times day and night. She’s not fallacy but reality. Her transformations in the scenes were part of the surrealism in the movie. Her lascivious gaze led us to an ecstasy of no return. She convinced us that death with her would be very nice. She got into her character and lived it to the fullest."

                                                         -Premier Solís                  (La voz hispana NY) [Review of MEDARDO]

"The story is framed with narration from Julian's mother, beautifully portrayed by Edna Lee Figueroa, who also enters the story to interact with Julian and his father." 

                                   -Sarah Lang (nytheatre.com) [About the play JULIAN AND ROMERO at Theater for the New City] NYC

"Edna Lee's ability to pull from all her resources and contribute to shaping a character is quite alluring to work with and witness. She understands how to balance her roles with delicate attention and thriving passion. Ultimately culminating a truer 'self' in her process, and the stage characters she brings to life."

                                              -Alex Perez, Director & Playwright JULIAN & ROMERO, NYC

"Láyel, performed by Edna Lee Figueroa and it’s our second encounter with the work of this efficient and industrious Puerto Rican actress. Last year we admire her during the course of the Monologues Festival Monologando Ando.  Edna Lee Figueroa is a very accomplished actress, and with this new staging of Láyel, she shines greatly and owns the text from beginning to end, showing the nuances of a shy woman who presents her soul to us, dreaming of platonic love." 
               -Carlos Navedo (Impacto New York) [Review of the monologue LÁYEL at Teatro Círculo's Callback Series 2015] NYC

"Edna Lee Figueroa has worked in my productions on several occasions as an actress and as a production assistant. Her work is always far more than what she has been called for.  She is passionate about her work and brings double efforts into accomplishing it."  

                                                                   -Pedro Muñiz      (Producer & Director, Producciones Paractuar, Inc., PR)

"Edna Lee is an incredibly versatile actor.  She has mesmerized me in modern and classical roles on stage as well as in film. Her superb histrionics and beautiful voice are extremely pleasant to watch on stage.  Edna Lee is one of the best people I have ever worked with. She is extremely reliable, diligent and hard working. Of course that wouldn't mean much without her truthfulness." 

                                                   -José Cheo Oliveras

        (Artistic Executive Director, Teatro Círculo, NYC)​

"Edna Lee Figueroa worked at Burning Coal Theatre; I found her work to be positive, professional and full of good humor throughout. I enjoyed my work experiences with Edna Lee and imagine that she will have a great deal of success in this business if she persists!"

            -Jerome Davis (Artistic Director, Burning Coal Theatre Company, NC)

"It's a joy to work with Edna Lee Figueroa who is filled with talent an hard work!  With a wonderful sense of life and humor, she approached a difficult and challenging role in "The Sin Eater".  She and her partner in essentially a two hander, short rehearsal, took the process to a higher level.  What more can a director or playwright could ask!" 
      -Sue Lawless (Director, THE SIN EATER, NYC) ​​

"Edna Lee is an excellent actress and a better fellow actress.  Her commitment, dedication, talent and solidarity exceeds the limits. I feel so honored of having share the stage with her, and of having directed her on stage and on television as well."  

                                      -Joselo Arroyo (Playwright, Director & Actor, PR)​

"Participants are asked to meet at a specific spot deep in the financial district, from which they will be whisked away into one of three different storylines each representing past, present or future. One of them has a type A businesswoman running all over the neighborhood trying to set up a meeting with a potential investor... For the purpose of maintaining the element of surprise, the actors playing the characters shall remain unnamed because a simple Google search would ruin the excitement of realizing the person who casually passed you by minutes before is actually part of the performance. Needless to say so the ensemble does exemplary work, fully committing to characters that carry around endless pain and sorrow. That they are able to stay true to their parts as passers-by record them on their cell phones or stop and point is admirable and a true feat considering nobody stops for anything in New York City." -Jose Solis (Review of BROKEN CITY: WALL STREET on StageBuddy) NYC   ​​

"Edna Lee is truly one of my favorite actors to build work with.  She is a daring collaborator in the rehearsal room always inventing, proposing, leaping. Then when she arrives to the stage her presence is soul stirring.  She really knows how to balance her playfulness with incredible depth."

                                     -Tamilla Woodard    

            (Director, PopUp Theatrics &          The Internationalists, NYC) ​​

THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID...​

"To paraphrase Brecht: There are actresses who memorize the script very well and are good, there are actresses who internalize it and are even better, but there are others who tear the skin of a character apart and get inside of it, those are the indispensable ones.  Edna Lee is an indispensable actress." 

                                         -Nitsy Grau

              (Director, MEDARDO, Ecuador)​

"...and Edna Lee Figueroa form an ingenious duo which with big theatrical resources made us feel the presence of the neighbors who want to know everything and of the religious women that want to see it all, while playing around with the beads of their rosaries with no intention of using it.  ...Edna Lee Figueroa, works the gaps left by Buoninconti with marked wit, superbly engaging the duet with theatrical effectiveness. A duo that more than two, were a crowd."

                                                          -Nilda Tapia (Impacto Latin News) [Review of The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife]

"LA TERAPIA should have been called “The Use of Silences” because the trio of actors who was part of the piece schooled us in the difficult art of remaining silent on stage. The dynamics of the staging, masterfully under the baton of Gerardo Gudiño, required silence between its protagonists and Gudiño knew how to direct them so well that the silence was heard shouting in the facial gestures and body language of Figueroa, Soto and De Jesús." Photo by Michael Palma
                                                          -Héctor Luis Rivera (ArteNY)                                       [Review of LA TERAPIA, Teatro SEA, NYC] ​​

"It is worthy of mention the participation of actress Edna Lee Figueroa. The mischievous behavior of her Panchita is memorable. Those various gestures imparted to various situations makes us laugh out loud."

​                                    -Antonio Bones (La voz hispana, NY [Review of LOS TITINGÓS DE JUAN BOBO, Teatro Círculo, NYC]

"Edna Lee shows us her histrionics once more because before introducing us to her wonderful Panchita, had already made us fall in love with her other character in the story: Clorinda, one of the women of the neighborhood. Her Clorinda very well performed and physically delineated didn't reveal beforehand the almost childlike air of her youthful Panchita. It seemed that we were in front of two very different actresses, such was Figueroa's artistry with her two characters, that if we were to give awards, Edna Lee would take two, one for each character."​           -Héctor Luis Rivera (hlsincensura.com) [Review of LOS TITINGÓS DE JUAN BOBO, Teatro Círculo, NYC]      

EDNA LEE FIGUEROA

"On the Future track, as a lone spectator, I followed Valerie (fiercely and sensitively portrayed by Edna Lee Figueroa), a Latina single mother and commodities rainmaker vying for a promotion. I sat with Valerie, consulting her inundated planner, and listened as she repeatedly rescheduled her client meeting and managed her honeymooning boss’s contact attempts."

                                   -Jackie Julie (Review of BROKEN CITY: WALL STREET on greater > than)   ​​

SAG-AFTRA  ~ Bilingual ACTRESS. Se habla español.  #ActingIsMyThing              

"Edna Lee is a truly wonderful actress to work with, both in attitude and in talent. She is a great team player and her disposition on set makes a director's job much easier! She also has a great eye for detail and gives 110% while filming and rehearsing every scene. Working with her has been a pleasure and I look forward to future collaborations."

                      -Kristen Garris     (Director, Madre Maria, CA & NYC) ​​

"For an hour, secrets and “back-stabbings” erupt between these two women, but the charisma of both actors helps you receive the love and laughs between both of them. Figueroa plays Luisa with a restraint; she looks and moves like a woman BEGGING to be free, which turns her into the .......... character for De Jesús to spark her fiery jokes. "

                                               -"Diandra Reviews It All"

​                                           Photo by Gredivel Vásquez

"To whom it may concern: by means of this, I state that every time I see Puerto Rican citizen Edna Lee Figueroa on stage, I reconcile with life. Referring citizen has the dangerous habit of creating characters out of this world. Reference that extends to citizen Edmi De Jesús, her buddy. This statement is issued not by any interested party request but because I wanted to say it." Photo by Michael Palma

                      -Pablo García Gámez (Playwright, Director, NY)

    About SANTA BÁRBARA ES UNA FEMME FATALE, NYC.