In the new play Giant, actor John Lithgow will star as children’s author Roald Dahl. The production intends to explore the antisemitism that has been associated with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda. For more information, click the article below for further details.
It has been exactly four-hundred years since William Shakespeare’s first folio was printed. In celebration of this anniversary numerous artists and art lovers alike have been celebrating the event. Below, are a few of the top stories in relation to this historic landmark jubilee.
The immersive F. Scott Fitzgerald “Gatsby” experience has finally made its way across the pond to us Yanks. Debuting seven years ago as a popular musical in the United Kingdom, this rendition of the 1920’s tragedy has also found great success in three other continents. It is currently playing in New York at (to no one’s surprise) Gatsby Mansion at the Park Central Hotel New York. For tickets click below. For more information about the musical itself, click here.
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La Gringa by Carmen Rivera is centered on three primary themes: personal identity, environmental awareness and nationalism. The event which propels the play forward is an American visiting relatives in Puerto Rico. María Elena Garcia (the protagonist) longs to find belonging in her native land, however, she is met with opposition. Her cousin, Iris Burgos, even belittles María for her enthusiasm. Iris discusses how embarrassing María’s tourist like behavior is to her mother Norma (María’s aunt). Venting, Iris says, “Your niece, Ms. Puerto Rico, is here. Today was the most embarrassing day of my life! Mami she took pictures of everything. She took a picture of the guy who picked up her bags. And then she made me take a picture of her kissing the ground, oh no, the sacred Puerto Rican ground!”
Essentially, Iris’s piece of introductory dialogue is used to establish underlying hostility between the two cousins. On the one hand, we have a young lady excited about her heritage to an almost fanatical extent. It is María’s wish to find herself in her parents’ homeland, so she can find her purpose in life. In comparison, Iris feels María is acting childish for participating in cliché tourist (or gringo) activities. To Iris, María is an interloper pretending to be Puerto Rican.
As Robert Cohen writes about plot, “To satisfy the demands for logic, the actions portrayed must be plausible, and events must follow one upon another in an organic rather than arbitrary fashion (31).” Playwright Carmen Rivera (within the first few minutes of her first act) manages this feat effortlessly. Already the audience can logically deduce the tension between the visitor and the natives (as well as María’s longing of identity) by one character’s expressed frustrations. As La Gringa progresses María Elena Garcia experiences numerous hardships in trying to find herself. Her Aunt Norma, for instance, carries resentment towards María due to the strained relationship Norma has with María’s mother.
In Act 1 scene 2 Norma is overly cold as well as territorial to María for using her kitchen. She chastises her niece, saying, “I don’t like people cooking in my kitchen. María, this morning you took too long in the shower. I know people in New York are used to wasting everything, but water costs money here … and I don’t want to hear music in this house.” Not only is Norma upset over the girl making use of her home, but Norma also feels threatened by her presence. Jealousy, fear, and selfishness are all profoundly human emotions that Rivera pens beautifully. Just as the audience becomes captivated by María’s “joie de vivre,” so too are they captivated by the antagonism of the cousin and aunt.
Such characterization is crucial in a play because it sells believability. Without actors embodying real humanity on stage, the play itself will lose its meaning and impact (Cohen 31). It is thanks to Iris and Norma’s hostilities that cause María to eventually doubt herself. In Act 2 Scene 2 she laments, “So I’m a Puerto Rican tourist in Puerto Rico…. All I wanted to do was touch my land, be a part of Puerto Rico. It’s not that much to ask for. I’m more confused now than when I’m in New York, I used to feel Puerto Rican. Now I realize I am nobody wherever I go.”
María, however, is not without friends. Rivera crafted three other characters to even out the conflict in the play. Two are family members: Victor Burgos (Norma’s husband) and Manolo Corfesí (Norma and María’s mother’s brother). Both uncles remain encouraging towards María’s desire to immerse herself in their culture. Victor, for instance, stands up to Norma on his niece’s behalf throughout La Gringa. In comparison, Manolo, though sickly, ventures out of bed to travel with María and provide counsel in times of doubt. The last character is a friend of the family. His name is Ramón “Monchi” Reyes. He not only acts as a romantic love interest, but represents the growing industrialization of Puerto Rico.
Monchi is a farmer. In La Gringa Monchi vents about how Puerto Rico is losing its natural beauty thanks to urbanized cities. Pollution as well as Westernized ideals (such as Manifest Destiny) are destroying the ecosystem. Progress is also causing its population to perceive working with the earth as burdensome and uncouth. People no longer see the honor in labor nor in the old traditions of their country. As Monchi vents to María, “I can’t even get people to pick up vegetables for free. They could be starving and they’d rather buy two plátanos for a dollar in the supermarket … Unbelievable!”
It is thanks to characters like Monchi that the audience is exposed to the playwright. Truly, the heart of La Gringa is Carmen Rivera herself. She is María Elena Garcia: lost among two cultures and worlds. She is Iris Burgos: tired of Puerto Rican stereotypes and gimmicks. She is Norma Burgos: bitter and unhappy over missed opportunities. She is Victor Burgos: ever optimistic for the future. She is Ramón “Monchi” Reyes: fearful over Puerto Rico losing itself in the name of modernization. And she is Manolo Corfesí: the dreamer who never ceases to dream.
As Rivera’s play unfolds, the audience witnesses the various facets of the author. Her values, humanity, and social consciousness take center stage. La Gringa succeeds by shining a spotlight on its social themes as much as it shines a spotlight on the personal struggles of Rivera. La Gringa is a prime example of how life can imitate art. As the old adage goes, “Write what you know,” and Rivera has achieved this mindset in spades. Carmen Rivera composes verse from the heart, which impact the audience profoundly. One is left questioning what it means to belong; one is left pondering the price of growth.
Every detail of María Elena Garcia’s journey engages the spectator. Undoubtedly, the artistry of La Gringa lies in its realism. It is a play of ordinary people in everyday circumstances that challenge audiences by their actions, choices, and reactions on stage (Cohen 282). Rivera entertains simply by writing an honest story. Her production utilizes an indirect performance approach. This allows for the family of actors to appear even more realistic to the observer. By allowing their interactions to feel organic or unrehearsed, it fools the onlooker into believing what they are seeing is authentic (Cohen 16). The audience is only referenced when actors gesture beyond the stage itself. For example, in Act 1 scene 2 María gazes outward at the audience, almost as if she’s peering out a window. The actor is not seeing the seated individuals before them, but rather what the character would see. In María’s case, it is the backyard of her aunt’s house.
To fully mesmerize onlookers, an arena style stage would work best for La Gringa. Having minimal set decoration to begin with also makes such seating preferable. An arena configuration enables an audience to surround the actors on all sides. It is an intimate setting, one which compliments the intimacy of family drama (Cohen 104). The modern realistic scenery of Rivera’s play, though sensible, could be further enriched by mixing technological tricks (like screen projection) with traditional illusionism (Cohen 107). One such instance could be when Manolo, Monchi and María visit the rainforest towards La Gringa’s end. By combining a painted canvas scene with hanging stage props (such as vines and flowers), one creates the illusion of depth. Add a projection of falling rain and a smoke machine to simulate fog, and, suddenly, audiences feel they are transported to South America.
Overall, La Gringa charms thanks to its protagonist’s zeal and zest for life. Because of María’s optimism, those around her are reinvigorated. Sometimes, all one needs is a fresh perspective to wake one up. Much like her leading lady, Carmen Rivera wishes to rouse audiences to appreciate the world in which they live. Hers is a timeless play: an ageless look on heritage, happiness and hope. In today’s bustling society, hope is needed now more than ever. Indeed, escape to Puerto Rico today! Join María and, perhaps, by doing so, find oneself as much as María ends up finding herself too.
Cohen, Robert. THEATRE, Brief Version, Second Ed. Mayfield Publishing Company, California.
1988.
Rivera, Carmen. La Gringa. English Version. New York: Samuel French, 2017. Print.
That’s awesome! I’ll have to check out Sagrario’s Room, it sounds fun and engaging. If you like room escape games,…
Exactly! Dungeons and Dragons is such a fun creative experience to share with friends.
What an awesome list, I absolutely love these; going to share here the one that started my interest in Escaping…
Ah, the good ol’ days! Theater of the mind!
[…] Alternate Reality Games (ARG) continue to mount in popularity. These lush world building narratives seamlessly reel audiences in with…
Watch one of these films over the weekend for bookish fulfillment. Click the link for documentary now for documentary euphoria. Enjoy!
Read Part III: https://calliopeespeaks88.com/2022/09/12/shakespearean-theatre-a-retrospective-analysis-part-iii/
In the year 1600 William Shakespeare returned to his dramatic roots with Hamlet. A play about revenge as much as it is about Hamlet (the protagonist’s) slow derail into madness it is a permanent fixture in theatre. In the words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “… Hamlet may be traced to Shakespeare’s deep and accurate science in mental philosophy. Indeed, that this character must have some connection with the common fundamental laws of our nature may be assumed from the fact, that Hamlet has been the darling of every country in which the literature of England has been fostered (299).” One of the key moments of Hamlet further exemplifies Shakespeare’s keen understanding of the human mind. The scene in question is set during the moody hours of evening when the ghost of Hamlet’s father visits Hamlet. This specter, which the audience can interpret as either real or a hallucination, warns his son of the uncle’s villainy. According to the deceased king, the uncle had murdered him to acquire his wife and assets (King 55).
As the story unfolds, so too does Hamlet’s grasp on reality. The character continually questions if he was truly visited by his dead father or if his paranoia stems from grief. Throughout the course of the play Hamlet tries to prove his uncle’s guilt. In the words of historian Jacqueline Morley, “Hamlet puts off action because he is unsure of himself and unsure of the truth. Nothing is as it seems; nothing can be trusted (83).” Within the intrigue of Hamlet it is the audience that must decide for themselves whether the hero is depraved or righteous.
Continue readingRead Part II Here: https://calliopeespeaks88.com/2022/09/05/shakespearean-theatre-a-retrospective-analysis-part-ii/
The Taming of the Shrew premiered in c. 1590 and would be the first of many theatrical successes for Shakespeare (Morley 28). An adaptation of an earlier play entitled The Taming of a Shrew (written by an unknown pupil of playwright Christopher Marlowe), Shakespeare’s version maintained the original plot, only adding rival suitors for Katherine’s sister (Durham, et al. 164). The theme of this particular work revolves around the trope of making an independent woman submissive to a male lover. Written as a comedy, Taming of the Shrew was composed in the vein of a Punch and Judy show. Like the classic puppet performances, the actors themselves simulated the two bickering lovers (a.k.a. Male puppet “Punch” and female puppet “Judy). Lecturers W.H. Durham, F.E. Pierce, and H.N. MacCracken note, “Stories concerning the taming of a shrewish woman are both ancient and common…. (165).” In sum, William Shakespeare cashed in on a popular gag of the age when he envisioned his version of the shrew play.
