PicksInSix Review: American Mariachi
The Magic Of Music Is Healing.
Guest Contributor | Scott Gryder
The fiesta of the “American Mariachi” audience experience began as we approached the Goodman Theatre. There, entertaining beneath the glowing-red marquee, was Chicago’s all-female mariachi band, Mariachi Sirenas! Once inside, as the lights dimmed, the members of Mariachi Sirenas took their seats in the masked, full house. The bilingual curtain speech, first in Spanish, then in English, set the tone for the night: a multicultural fusion of reality, memory, and music.
The heartbeat of the show started powerfully, with the thrilling sounds of Sones de México Ensemble (Juan Díes, Giovanni García, Víctor Pichardo, Zacbé Pichardo, Rodolfo "Rudy" Piñón), but playwright José Cruz González immediately established the tensions of a Chicago-based family dealing with disconnect and dementia. Could the gift of remembered music awaken a family member who was once thought lost?
There is exuberance in director Henry Godinez work, a montage style of quick-cutting juxtapositioned scenes, establishing emotion with ease and energy. Fueled by ‘70s era feminism and love for family, the youthful strength of familia shines bright between Lucha (Tiffany Solano) and Boli (Lucy Godínez). Their shared dream to start an all-women mariachi band evolves around the ailing Amalia (Gigi Cervantes), who masterfully shows us the ebb and flow of the lucidity of one living with dementia. Along the way to playing their first quinceañera, the band, spontaneously named Las Coronelas, grows to include the tenderness and hidden confidence of Isabel (Molly Hernández), the vivacious and bold Soyla (Gloria Vivica Benavides), and the quirky Gabby (Amanda Raquel Martinez), who stops the show with unrestrained outbursts of wide-eyed innocence. Federico (Ricardo Gutiérrez) fully embodies the machismo pride of the Latin familial patriarchy, while Tía Carmen (Eréndira Izguerra) haunts, not only with dazzling Día do los Muertos makeup, but with a violin skill that would tempt any soul to leave this earthly plane. Rounding out the cast with a variety of appearances, balancing realism and the over-the-top comedic stylings of Chespirito (El Chavo del Ocho) are Mino (Bobby Plasencia) and Mateo (Christopher Llewyn Ramirez).
Personally, I connected to the theme of the healing power of music. Over the last few years, when I visited my Abuelita, who also suffered from dementia, each holiday season in Texas my partner and I entertained at the piano in the lobby of her senior home. Once the music started, she would spring to life; engaging in clapping and singing along. The magic of remembered music was healing. And music director Víctor Pichardo truly created memorable musical moments as well, poignantly emphasizing scenes of heightened emotion and allowing us to watch the cast grow as musicians before our very eyes. Even more remarkable is the fact that the cast had absorbed the ability to play these intricate musical instruments within the course of the rehearsal process!
The creative team further celebrates the recognizable traditions of Mexican culture with their designs. The towering set by Linda Buchanan, first appears as brightly colored silhouettes, mirroring Chicago’s amalgam of architectural styles. But it is soon transformed by the scattered gaping window lighting of Maria-Cristina Fusté into the colorful, punched-paper banners of Mexico folk art known as papel picado. And as the scenes cut quickly throughout the play, interweaving reality with flashbacks and leaps of time, their teamwork only helps to guide the audience clearly through the character’s journeys. And one can’t help but grito when they see the girls transform from their everyday wear of the 70’s, bell bottoms and all, into the stunning mariachi suits by Danielle Nieves!
By the end of the play, we share a sense of pride with the women of the mariachi band, tying in the reality of how this co-production with Dallas Theater Center was once shut down, but persevered to fulfill its dream of performance. Like Las Coronelas, these artists faced insurmountable challenges in order to restore life to their theatrical family. Just as the waves of the river changed Amalia’s life forever, washing away a loved one from her life, so too do the waves of mariachi music restore and refresh not only that of Amalia’s memories but the hearts of the audiences of Goodman Theatre’s “American Mariachi.”
GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | SCOTT GRYDER received a Non-Equity Jeff Award for his performance in the one-man show BUYER & CELLAR. www.thescottgryder.com
PHOTO | Liz Lauren
Goodman Theatre
AMERICAN MARIACHI
A Co-Production with Dallas Theater Center
through October 24
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