By Joe Straw
Pedro Linares Lopez was an artisan and a skilled maker of cartonería,
or papier-mâché sculptures.
At the age of thirty, in bed and deathly ill, Linares fevered a vision,
and in that vision he saw vibrant mutated animals shouting the words
“Alebrijes! Alebrijes! Alebrijes!”
And in the manner of dreams, the sounds from those animals became horrifying
causing Linares to run before the screams pulled him asunder. He ran down a narrow stone passageway to find
a way out and as he looked back, he saw traces of paste and papier-mâché trailing
him before he found an escape through a narrow window.
The fever broke.
Linares recovered from his illness and subsequently started creating sculptured
animals from his dreams. He created figurines for Frida Kahlo and her husband,
Diego Rivera. And one can surmise that Linares created a Judas figure for Kahlo
at one time or another.
And now, as Frida lays ill, it is Judas in this play, a live figurine, that
plays an important part, to let her know, there is a way out. - Narrator
Macha Theatre/Films presents Frida Stoke of Passion, written, directed and produced by Odalys
Nanin, at the Macha Theatre in West Hollywood and has been extended through October 21, 2017.
Frida Stroke of
Passion is a delightful night of theatre, color, tempestuous music, and flamboyant
characters; some of these are real and some imagined in the mind of a woman seeking
justice for her life.
The incomparable Odalys Nanin brings a different kind
of natural spirit to the Los Angeles theatre scene, and writes about famous libidinous
characters that held more than just hands. This is a play of natural spirits
that embrace life without bordered walls all reaching for unquestionable destinations. Nanin brings that spirit to this play. She is a grand fixture and an amazing Los Angeles
playwright.
The play takes place on July 7th 1954, a day
after Frida Kahlo’s 47th birthday. Sickened and in bed, she hears voices
sing Las Mañanitas. One is not completely sure whether it is real or imagined
but the songbirds are friends and lovers from a meaningful part of her life.
In Frida’s life, friends come and go, through the imaginary revolving
door just inside her bedroom. And
whether it was just a vision, these friends suddenly fade into the background, one
wisp away into nothingness, and without closure or an insincere farewell.
Frida prepares as though she knows her death is just days
away. She sits, like a still painting, on her bed, holding a diary. The smallest movement gives her excruciating
pain. Still, the pain is not so insurmountable
that she cannot reach for her lipstick and apply a beautification, a generous dose
of bright red paint to coat her pale-dry lips.
These small painful movements remind her of her day-to-day physical travails.
She laments losing her right leg below
the knee to gangrene, while she lights a medicinal cigarette to sooth the pain,
and awaits the shot from her nurse, Judith (Tricia Cruz).
Nurse Judith finally shuffles in with her basket, giving
Frida the shot. This sends Judas (Daniel Lavid) up from a trap door and into
her bedroom. Judas is the explanation, the creature that allows all that come
after to be a part of the here and now. And so they come, one last time, some
with answers, others to play.
Frida Stroke of
Passion is another fine work written by Odalys Nanin, which goes down
smooth, but possibly not as smooth as the liquor in Frida’s bottle. The play is different than other plays she
has written. And, while there are bumps
in the road, Frida is an exceptional play that gives flavor to a host of fascinating
characters in this theatrical bibliography.
The one sheet on the play says: “The story that peels away
the secret cover up and reveals what or who killed Frida Kahlo.” It’s not really a mystery or a cover up. But
one really sees the play as a character living life and giving life to the
fullest while revealing the incremental steps that leads to her death.
While the director Odalys Nanin and Co-Director Nancy De Los
Santos-Reza may not have used this as their viable through line, it is worth
the suggestion. More could be made of
the Judas character that seems to quickly come and go without making his mark; he
is the bridge between life and death, the here and nether, and the alpha and
omega.
Here are a few thoughts about the exceptional
actors.
 |
| Ebony Perry and Odalys Nanin |
Odalys Nanin has
a very powerful presence as Frida Kahlo.
She is fluid and unafraid of the movements of this three dimensional
character, throwing her hands up into the air, grabbing a brush, and embracing
her friends all for the sake of her art. But the movements on stage must be incremental
and leading us in the direction of her final end. And it is the manipulation of the characters running
into her bedroom that emotionally moves her in that direction. Frida’s life absorbs the lives of all that
touch her and has meaning that reaches for the end in her last few hours. At
the end, Nanin’s performance leaves us warm and wanting more.
Campbell De Silva
does not resemble Diego Rivera or bring Diego’s fiery political character to the
table, but he does present a refined persona with his own interesting
history. Throw out the differences, add the similarities, and watch how natural
he is on stage. With that said, the
character Diego needs a metaphorical pallet, to be entranced by the paint, and
while searching for refinements in all things he deals with his wife’s
predicament. De Silva’s vocal patterns are precise, unwavering and manages to
get what he wants. Still, De Silva can add and not take anything away from his
marvelous performance. De Silva also serves as the Associate Producer.
Paul Cascante is
Leon Trotsky. Trotsky has been dead for
many years and yet appears as a vision, or a ghost. Trostsky has a purpose but it is not clear
what effects this has on Kahlo and how that moves Kahlo along to her final
destination. Cascante is amusing in the
role. One wishes to see how this
character moves Frida to her final destination.
 |
| Campbell De Silva and Tricia Cruz |
Tricia Cruz is Nurse
Judith, a woman who takes her job very seriously. Her job is to administer Frida’s pain medications,
which means that she constantly battles Frida about who is in control. We lose sight of Cruz and her facial
expressions under the wide rimmed glasses but she manages to present a very
nice character on stage that gets her into a lot of trouble. And yet, Judith’s relationship to Diego
should be more refined given Diego’s proclivities so that when the end is near,
the end of their relationship is more painful.
Daniel Lavid is
impressive as Judas, a figurine (alebrijes) possibly made by Pedro Linares
Lopez for Frida. Judas reminds Frida of her pain, her body parts, and the
strains of living everyday life. Lavid
presents a very physical character on stage and is very articulate in speech
and manner. It is rare when you see an
actor present the complete package on stage but Lavid is successful on all
fronts.
 |
| Marisa Lopez, Odalys Nanin and Francisco Medina |
Marisa Lopez
plays Chavela Vargas a singer who enchants Frida. Lopez has a wonderful and feisty voice. And in character, she manages to sooth Frida,
to love her, and as suddenly as she is there, she is gone. (In real life, Vargas
had major drug problem of her own but we see little of that in this characterization.)
Lopez does all the right things but there must be a way to strengthen the
character that moves Frida at specific points in her journey. Lopez also plays
Maria Felix, an angular actress and singer; we see little difference in those
characters in what they need, want, and behave.
It is said that Felix fell madly in love with Frida but Lopez could add more.
Francisco Medina
brings in the instrumentation, a guitar, to fill the stage with song. Those songs are wonderfully performed. Medina also brings an extra something to
Manalo, Frida’s mentally incapacitated farm-worker that hits all the right notes
(no pun intended). Medina is a wonderful actor and musician.
Ebony Perry is successful
as Josephine Baker. Actually, you can’t
go wrong, coming on stage dressed in bananas. There is a lot of humor in her
limited time on stage but the interesting part of her performance is that she
brings the time and place with her as she maneuvers on stage. It is a delightful performance.
Marilyn Sanabria
comes in like gangbusters as Tina Modotti, an Italian revolutionary political activist
and artist. Sanabria brings a grand physical life as Modotti and fills the
stage with her levity and brings a special nuance to the role. A grander Italian accent would be nice. Modotti
died in 1942 and may have been a remembrance. Also, Sanabria plays Teresa
Proenza, a Cuban Revolutionary and spy for Fidel Castro. Although Proenza was a
low-keyed version of Modotti, the two characters became a little mixed in their
execution on stage.
Joseph Bixler is a
cute Little Diego and does extremely well in the role.
There is an alternate cast who did not perform the night I
was there. They are as follows: Christie Black as Josephine Baker, Kesia Elwin as Judas, Diana Lado as Tina Modotti/Teresa
Proenza, Lupita Ortis as Chavela
Vargas, and Jesus “Chuy” Perez as
Manalo/Musician.
Marco de Leon the
Scenic Designer has created an unusual set of columns that are broken and
patched together, see through walls of string and canvas, and windows that
allow those who want to come in, in.
Carey Dunn was
the Lighting Designer of this delightful production.
Campbell de Silva
is the Associate Producer.
Other members of the crew are as follows:
Adrian Tafoya – Production Assistant
Anielka Gallo – Graphic Designer
Antje Dohrn – Photographer
Monica Orozco – Tango Choreographer (Did I mention the
lively dancing?)
Chris Hume – Editor & Web Design
Run! Run! Run! And take someone who loves a historical work
of art and color, lots and lots of color.
Macha Theatre/Films
1107 N. Kings Road
West Hollywood, CA
90069
Tickets: www.machatheatre.org
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