Haitian American Star Gabriyèl Barlatier Brings Fire and Soul to the Stage

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey – Gabriyèl Barlatier is a rare talent—an accomplished Haitian American filmmaker and performance artist who moves effortlessly between stage and screen. While she’s trained at the world-renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London and has been part of projects streaming on Netflix, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime, her core passion lies in telling important stories.

Barlatier doesn’t just wait for roles to come to her; she’s actively shaping the landscape of storytelling. She produced the short film “When They’re Gone,” and worked on a film about a Haitian superhero. 

Her mission, she said, is to “foster new narratives around her people and culture” through every medium.

For Barlatier, being a Haitian-American artist is a profound honor. She sees creativity as inseparable from her heritage.

“All of the Haitians that I know are artists in some way, whether it’s culinary, anything,” she said.

The values of “integrity, and also just trust and respect” instilled by her family remain central to her work ethic. In her culture, she added, people value hard work: “you just get the job done.”

Beyond her own community, Barlatier wants the world to see a fuller picture of Haiti, one that recognizes “the vastness of the Haitian experience.” She hopes to challenge misconceptions and stereotypes and showcase the diversity of Haitian identity.

“Being a Haitian actress just means that I get to represent not just my experience being Haitian, but also the many lives in the world that connect us,” she said.

The Vision Behind Crumbs from the Table of Joy

Barlatier currently stars in Crumbs from the Table of Joy, a compelling play by Lynn Nottage, directed by Nataki Garrett for Crossroads Theatre Company. The story follows the Crump family’s move from the American South to Brooklyn during the Great Migration. The production was staged Oct. 29 at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Playwright and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage explained her inspiration for the story: “I wanted to tell the story of the Great Migration and to tell the story of black families’ movement from the south to the north.” She was focused on capturing the complex emotions of starting over:

“I also wanted to tell a story that sort of sustained the complexity of what it means to enter a new space when you’re encountering all of these new textures and entering a world which is so different from the one that you left.”

Director Nataki Garrett emphasized that the production focused heavily on historical detail and lineage. “The main message for me is, lineage,” she stated. “We all come from somewhere. We’re all moving through histories and ancestors.”

Bringing “Fiery” Ermina Crump to Life

Barlatier plays Ermina Crump, the younger sister coping with profound grief, new city life, and the sudden changes in her family. Barlatier characterizes Ermina as a force of nature: “fiery, impassioned. She is fierce, sassy and straightforward. Very direct and also very caring and loving.”

Barlatier sees a powerful link between the Crump family’s migration story and her own heritage:

“She reminded me a lot of my mom, who came from Haiti in the 1980s,” she said. “That same story of migration… of not knowing what to do when an adult is making decisions for you, and you don’t know why, that’s a variation story as well.”

Both Nottage and Garrett praised Barlatier’s performance. Nottage said she “did a wonderful job” and was “very well cast.”

The core message Barlatier hopes the audience takes away is a validation of the human experience of loss: “The main message I would say to take away from the play is that your humanity is valid,” she said. “And sometimes you don’t know what to do with your grief, and that is the right choice.”

Whether she’s creating new stories as a writer or director, or bringing a powerful character like Ermina Crump to life, Barlatier’s work is a celebration of shared humanity, rooted deeply in her proud Haitian American identity.

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