There's always the fear that a one-man show synonymously linked to a certain performer will not be successfully translated to another actor. John Leguizamo, a Hispanic dynamo whose irrepressible energy can light up whole sections of town, has been creating one-man shows since the beginning of the 1990s. Leguizamo's scripts highlight Hispanic culture and feature a look into a segment of the population that few plays do. His 1992 script Spic-O-Rama offers an incisive, sometimes favorable, sometimes brutal glance into a culture that struggles to retain the positives while dealing with negative stereotyping and misunderstandings. In choosing this script for Phoenix audiences, Actors Theatre of Phoenix recognized the challenge of placing another performer into the six roles that comprise the family, but also saw the potential and generally untapped audience that would enjoy this glimpse into the Hispanic way of life in Queens, New York, and decided to take the chance. Fortunately, with the strength of Phoenix native Richard Trujillo and the guidance of Director Diane Rodriguez, the show proves able to transcend its creator as Trujillo makes this maniacal family his own.
On the day of his older brothers wedding, youngest son Miggy gives a class report on his family. Trujillo then performs each of his family members at various points during the day. There's eldest brother Krazy, a Gulf War vet and drifter who tries to undo the damage of a simple suggestion to his fiancée. Rafael is a homosexual actor desperately trying to escape his Hispanic roots. Javier is a survivor whose keen insights and ascorbic wit counterbalance his physical infirmities. Their mother is a staunch Puerto Rican woman who deals with her husband's infidelities and carrying the mantle of the family bedrock. Their father is a Columbian whose drinking and philandering leads to the type of violence and tenderness that serves to split the family, and yet strangely keep it together.
There are very few actors in town who are up to the challenge of this script. Trujillo is a natural choice. He wholeheartedly thrusts himself into the sternums of each of his characters, offering audiences a look at the beating hearts of these sad, defiant people. There is more than mimicking here, as he helps us to feel their pain at living within and outside of a society all at once. The struggles of this family unit are symptomatic of the Latino society, and Trujillo expresses both the micro and the macro all at once. Trujillo's gifts are plentiful, and watching him as he's grown from A.S.U. through Childsplay and into his broader professional career has been a treat. Here, he has all of his acting tools honed sharply, and whether he's screaming at the top of his lungs as an in-the-hood version of Stanley Kowalski, a deeply conflicted father berating and ultimately loving his scattered family, or a mother gossiping at her laundry, he makes us believe in the characters whose marrow he inhabits.
By allowing us to see Trujillo's character transformations onstage, Rodriguez keeps the audience aware of their theatrical roots, which only adds to the power of the emotions through which she has guided her performer. Working with Christopher Acebo and Paul A. Black, she transforms Stage West into a rave, an alley, a Laundromat, and a wedding hall, while she has utilized Anthony Runfola's projections to maximum effect.
It's this type of fare at which Actors Theatre of Phoenix excels. This great production resides in the realms of the cutting edge - the quirky, the multicultural, and the hard-hitting. It's great to see the second largest theatre company in Phoenix give a voice to its Latino population. Finally, it is a showcase for Trujillo, a product of Arizona that consistently does his state proud.
Production Details:
Spic-O-Rama by John Leguizamo
Actors Theatre of Phoenix
The Herberger Theatre Center Stage West, Phoenix (For a map to location, click this
link)
(602) 252-8497
January 25th - February 10th, 2002