photo credit: Paul Lester/SCR
Written by Daniella Litvak
It is hard to believe Outside SCR is a fairly new addition to the Orange County theater scene. The idea of South Coast Repertory producing plays at a historic venue such as Mission San Juan Capistrano to create an outdoor theater experience for the summer is a great one. It feels like a concept that should have been realized long ago. Hopefully, SCR Outside will be a mainstay for many more years to come.[1]
Story:
For its third annual production, SCR Outside offers La Havana Madrid. The title refers to the Chicago nightclub that serves as a haven for Cuban, Colombian, and Puerto Rican[2] immigrants during the 1960s. The play is told as a series of vignettes that were inspired by real people. We see teenagers Maria (Maria Jimena Gastelum) and Carlos (Luis Herrera), lovebirds Henry (Eduardo Enrikez) and Maruja (Marlene Martinez), nightclub owner Tony (Roberto Antonio Martin), beauty queen/hairdresser Myrna (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel), and musician Carpacho (Tristan Turner) experience racism, isolation, love, and the saving grace of music.
For the most part, the characters’ stories are unconnected. The drawback is that just as we’re getting invested in one person’s story. The focus switches to someone else. The play prefers to tell instead of show. This leads to long stretches of monologues and losing the feeling of immediacy in the events being depicted.
However, the play is well-ordered. Maria’s story makes for a good entry point into the world of La Havana Madrid. It’s followed up with a romantic comedy about Henry and Maruja. Then things become progressively more serious with Carlos, Tony, and Myrna’s tales. Then Carpacho’s story ensures the night won’t end too bitterly. The audience participation portions – especially the dance party at the end – were fun.
Acting:
Cruz Gonzales-Cadel as Myrna and Tristan Turner as Carpacho gave the night’s standout performances. La Havana Madrid’s climax hinges on Myna, and Gonzales-Cadel nails it. Turner gets some of the night’s biggest laughs as Carpacho. Fun fact: Music Director Roberto “Carpacho” Marin is the inspiration for Carpacho the character.
It takes surprisingly little to transform Mission San Juan Capistrano into a Chicago nightclub. Having the salsa band onstage for the entirety of the show is what sells the nightclub atmosphere. The musicians are terrific: Music Director Roberto Marin (bass), Nestor Gonzales (percussion), Carol Macpherson (trombone), Carlos Ordiano (keyboard), and Jorge Ordiano (percussion). Macpherson stole the show with her trombone solo.
Set:
Due to Mission San Juan Capistrano serving as the theater, we don’t get the elaborate sets that are a hallmark of most South Coast Repertory production. (Also, from where I was seated, it wasn’t easy to see the whole stage). The tradeoff is Mother Nature getting to step in as a co-lighting designer. The more lighthearted stories of Maria, Henry, and Maruja were performed while the sun was still out. The turning point where the show became more serious coincided with sunset. Then the most somber and harrowing of the tales were performed when it was fully dark. Nature complementing what was happening onstage enhanced the experience.
La Havana Madrid tells familiar stories about the plight of immigrants. How it chooses to tell those stories isn’t always the most effective. But there’s singing; there’s dancing, and we need to hear these stories.
July 15 – Aug 4, 2023.
Review
8
Overall
10
Users
(1 vote)
Story7.5Acting8.5Set & Design7.5Costumes8Entertainment8.5
What people say...
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Roberto
Music director
July 26, 2023, 2:57 pm
Good Show! OCR Recommended!
Roberto
[1] If you plan on going, it’s recommended you come early. Parking can be difficult to find.
[2] Puerto Ricans had had U.S. citizenship status since 1917 when Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory, but Puerto Ricans were treated like immigrants in the continental U.S.
Thank you for the wonderful piece on Grace McLean by Zack Johnston!!