ELECTRICO – CASA 0101
Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
Casa 0101, in eastern part of Los Angeles, truly became a beacon of inspiration, the voice for the community, enriching the Boyle Heights community and beyond, by producing plays and exhibits. As a non-profit organization it provides vital arts, cultural and educational programs – in theatre, digital filmmaking, art and dance; thereby nurturing the future storytellers. It consistently presents at least five mainstage productions, offers over twenty ten-week classes in acting, playwriting, singing, and dancing for youth and adults, and curates three art exhibits each year, for over 25 years now.
Before the play began, a clip of 2 min was shown from the major documentary film that is being made about this part of our town, which was a nice segway into this production. As the play opens, we see people around the fire pit in Villa Lobo, which is located five miles from Mexican border, and consists of vibrant Mexican community, full of pride and inspiration. But in the next town Villa Borrego the Texas rangers reside. Being the Law, the Sherif exercises full power. Lots of lynching and violence is experienced across the land. They want everyone to obey their law, or they will die. Mexicans are tired of Texas rangers and living under constant fear. This is their land; all their ancestors are being buried here. But Gringos are taking it, by lying, cheating, and then blaming them for it. They say, ‘The only good Mexican is a dead Mexican.’
One day the electricity went out, because the Mexican man was hanging from the electricity wire. By trying to speak up, he disobeyed the law and was hanged. But without electricity the Gringos cannot operate their businesses. So, the electrician is called in to fix the problem, who was called Electrico by Mexican people.
A playwright Josefina Lopez mentions how it all began. ‘I was sitting at a dinner with my friend David in Tucson that looked like it was stuck in time in the early 1900s. I love writing in diners and cafes and was enjoying the décor and atmosphere, drinking my coffee. I commented to my friend that I felt like I was back in 1900’s. As Mexican-Americans we realized that one hundred years ago we would not have been allowed to sit at this diner and if fought back we could have ended up on a tree or on an electrical post. At that moment I had a vision of a corpse hanging from an electrical post and the difficult duty of an electrician to take it down. I was so saddened by this vision. I knew I had to pose the question., ‘What if that corpse was supposed to stay up there to intimidate other Mexicans from fighting back and what would he do? Why would he risk his life to take it down? Many more questions came to me and as I answered them the story of Electrico came to me.’
Produced by Emmanuel Deleage Corky Dominguez directs the play. The storytellers are Robert Moris Castillo (Raymond Brown), Corina Calderon (Adela Borrego), Dustin Loomis (Sherif Andrew Stevens), Andrew Laughery (Gerald Painter), Timothy Willard (Jack Powers), Sierra Perez-Gelbman (Maria Teresa Borrego), Ryan Padilla (Bernardo Borego/Mexican Cowboy Pablo) Casara Clark (Darlene Tracy/Eliza Brown, Alessandro Mendoza (Justino Borrego), Sonia Aquirre (Luz), Francisco Rivas Medina (Juan Carlos/Corridos Composer and Jeremiah Ocanas (Don Miguel).
Some actors stand out with their acting craftsmanship like the widows, Calderon and Aguirre. They let their emotions be felt. Clark as a prostitute did a fantastic job. Loomis as Sheriff, Laugherty as Gerald Painter and Ocanas as Don Miguel. The whole cast gave us the feeling of what being a Mexican felt like at that time.
The costumes were authentic and beautiful, the little fire and the effect from it was highly creative and enjoyable. The SFX and the visuals were great. And the set design was crafty and very effective. Even though the story was very predictable, I enjoyed watching the originality of it.
CASA 0101 Theater will present DreamWorks THE PRINCE OF EGYPT: THE MUSICAL to close out their current 25th Anniversary Season. The musical will be directed by Rigo Tejeda, produced by Emmanuel Deleague and Abel Alvarado and stars Diego Huerta-Gutierrez* as Moses and Christopher J Thumé as Ramses leading a cast of twenty-two actors. The show will be presented on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., and on Sundays at 3:00 p.m. for a Five-Week run, November 22 – December 21in the Gloria Molina Auditorium at CASA 0101 Theater, 2102 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033.
THE PRINCE OF EYGPT: THE MUSICAL is based on the Book of Exodus, with songs from the 1998 DreamWorks Animation film of the same name. As the story unfolds audience members will journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as two young men, Moses and Ramses, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past. One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever.
Stephen Schwartz currently has a show on Broadway called The Queen of Versailles starring Kristen Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham.
The movie, Wicked: Part II opens nationwide on November 21st, and a new production of Stephen Schwartz’s DreamWorks The Prince of Egypt: The Musical – will open at CASA 0101 on November 22nd. Come and see the musical that will close our 25th Anniversary Season.
Learn more at www.casa0101.org