Embodies the Meaning of the True American Dream
Lucha Libre in Mexico is a total and absolute staple. Not only with fantastic promotional posters, action figures, and matches, but also in movies. Like the “incunable”: Santo vs. las mujeres vampiro. In Tijuana, growing up, being a border town, kids would also watch the WWF (now WWE). I remember I loved watching the matches on channel six as a kid lol.
When I was in college, majoring in Communications, our school was very much on the Humanities side, with Literature and Philosophy; all the subjects were on that note (hence my critical thinking). For my Semiotics class, our professor, who was very kooky but also very smart, sent the class on a field trip to “las luchas” on Friday night. The purpose of that trip was to analyze the matches and write a report with our observations. In the following class, everyone shared their findings, and we discussed how Lucha Libre is so ingrained in the Mexican idiosyncrasy because it is an escape from the day-to-day, the stress, the boss, work, spouse, etc. People yell at the Luchadores, curse at them, and practically get it all out while eating chicharrones and drinking caguamas. The spectacle is not only distracting but healing.
Oceanside Theatre’s latest production, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, a 2009 piece written by Kristoffer Díaz, I believe, encompasses much of what I mention above authentically, in the American setting of the wrestling world. Macedonio Guerra (Fredy Gomez Cruz) comes from a Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn. As a kid him and his two brothers watched wrestling on TV while mimicking the moves and playing with their action figures. He grows up to do the real thing as “The Mace”. The thing is, “Eko,” the promoter (Dallas McLaughlin), is a super white guy who only cares about money and winning money. Mace not only understands the business side of wrestling, but the art itself. Still, he is there to make the star Chad Deity (Wrekless Watson) continue to shine (and make that money). One day, while seeing his brother’s friend, VP (Seth Gunawardena), play basketball and be smooth with the ladies, et all, Macedonio has an epiphany and invites VP to the ring. What starts as a rookie brainstorm materializes into a very messy –and racist– wrestling dynamic. Eko loves it and wants more. Chad Deity is on board. Once it all scales to avalanche proportions, Macedonio needs to go back to the root: The heart and meaning of wrestling.
The performance brought all the mixed feelings when watching shows like The Book of Mormon or Avenue Q, but on steroids. It’s wrong, it’s messy, but you laugh anyway because it is mirroring reality. I, along with Macedonio had an epiphany: the world of wrestling is super racist. Lol. And I blame Kristoffer Díaz, whose writing is on point. Clear and flowy. Estefania Ricalde’s projections also helped with the epiphany, as the narration, parallel with the photos, worked well for the frame and the theatre experience.
The play takes place in a ring, with an onstage audience courtesy of Geronimo Omabtang’s design. The wrestling splats are loud and real, as the actors had their pertinent training with pro wrestlers Gnarly Charli,Mathias, and Tortuga. The co-directional dynamic between Kevin “Blax” Burroughs and Durwood Murray Jr. worked well as all the actors bring it and then some. I loved the pauses between each interaction and the space for the audience to participate.
Fredy Gomez Cruz, as Macedonio and the story’s narrator, did a wonderful job portraying the underappreciated wrestler along with all the dreams, hopes, and drive. Great interaction with the audience, strong projection, and a lot of heart. Reckless Watson as Chad Deity, well, with grand entrances and chants to match (Chad, Chad, Chad!), brought the swag, sensual pauses, and mad intention. He also delivers some of the gut-punching dialogue of the piece, and he does so with a great rapport with Gomez Cruz and Gunawardena.
I would have had him enter on each side of the house (personally) for more impact, but that is just me.
Seth Gunawardena brought all the spunk and smoothness literally described in his character, along with mad rap skills. Also, by combining comedy with feeling, which I believe the playwright invites us to, the introspection lands.
Dallas McLaughlin embodied the wrestling empresario to the core with a clueless, fun persona that pushed all the right (wrong) buttons, for sure.
Ryan Dylan Wargnier as different wrestlers: The Bad Guy, Billy Heartland, and Old Glory. Gave amazing physicality while delivering the traits of each wrestler accordingly. From classic old school, to mean, and bully.
Zoe Trautmann’s costumes were colorful and fun, from Deity’s golden tights and furry white jacket to Eko’s pristine suit, meshing great with Kevin “Blax” Burroughs lighting that contoured the wrestlers and popped the on-stage colors beautifully.
Even though this play brought all the feels and was interactive and fun, I do think it could benefit from being shorter. That could also be just me… But I do encourage you to see it as the work and the production are original and very inviting.
Only a few performances to go: Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 8 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM.
The Stage Manager for this production is Tori Jones.
