LYDIA by Octavio Solis at Marin Theatre Company

From L to R: Gloria Garayua as Ceci, Adriana Gaviria as Lydia, David Pintado as Misha and Elias Escobedo as Alvaro in Lydia at Marin Theatre Center.


LYDIA by Octavio Solis, directed by Jasson Minadakis at the Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave, Mill Valley. 94941. 415.388.5208 or www.marintheatre.org.
Through April 12, 2009.

A GRITTY, HEARTWRENCHING LYDIA BY OCTVAIO SOLIS AT M.T.C.

Local playwright Octavio Solis is renowned for his gritty, dark, yet mystical and poetic plays that have earned him the reputation of being a brilliant chronicler of Hispanic life and ethos of those who have crossed the Mexican border to seek the better life in America. Dysfunctional families are another trademark of Solis’s writing and he makes every effort to impress in this play. He not only lives up to his reputation, but also exceeds it in Marin Theatre Company’s (M.T.C.) brilliantly staged and acted performance of Lydia which was commissioned by, and having its world premiere, at the Denver Center Theatre Company in 2008. It is a finalist for the 2009 Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association new play award to be announced April 4 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival of New American Plays.

The time is early 1970’s and the place is the living room of the Flores family home in the border town of El Paso. Scenic designer Robert Mack Morgan has created a surrealistic set of flowing translucent skims reminiscent of a Dali painting. It is a perfect choice since the play is non-linear with flashbacks and many of the scenes projecting the intricate thoughts whirling in the mind of a brain damaged teenaged girl who writhes on a mattress on center stage.

That teenaged girl, Ceci (a heart wrenching performance by Gloria Garayua), the youngest of the Flores siblings, injured in an auto accident, has been reduced to a bed-ridden child-like state requiring constant care from her overly religious mother Rosa (Wilma Bonet), truculent oldest brother René (Lakin Valdez), and younger poetic brother Misha (David Pintado). The pain of the tragic accident is buried deep in the father Claudio (Luis Saguar), a short order cook who has struggled to provide the American dream for his family only to see his beautiful daughter reduced to a vegetative state on the eve of her quinceañera (a dressy ritual for Mexican girls reaching age 16) two years earlier. The question of how could, and how did this tragedy happen perverts his mind to the point of withdrawing from family interaction but maintaining a silent, scary demeanor. The question of how it happened lurks over the entire family,including cousin Alvaro (Elias Escobedo), Rene’s best friend, recently receiving a hero’s welcome on returning from Vietnam. His decision to join the border patrol further disrupts family relationships.

Into this seething environment of discontent comes Lydia, an illegal immigrant with a dark secret, hired to take care of Ceci. She instantly and magically bonds with Ceci, claiming to understand her grunts and desires to the point of becoming invaluable to the family but at the same time becomes the catalyst that divides the family as each becomes attached to her for different reasons. She is also the one that divulges the devastating mystery surrounding the tragic auto accident triggering a cataclysmic response affecting all.

Within the framework of the play, Solis adeptly introduces the problems of Hispanic assimilation into American life, the overpowering effect of religion, and the personal demons that invade the soul. Each actor displays consummate attention to his or her character’s inner turmoil.

Garayua’s multiple shifts from grunting invalid to articulate narrator between scenes are perfectly executed. Wilma Bonet move from docile mother keeping the combatants in check to a wronged and vindictive woman in charge is stunning. Luis Suguar’s role as the father is masterful as his moods change from being resigned at his plight, affable with Lydia and violent with his sons. Where Lakin Valdez makes the most of his unenviable role as the truculent Rene, David Pintado elicits true empathy with his touching performance as Misha, the poet in love. Although Adriana Gaviria handles the title role adequately, she doe not convey the mysticism written into the part and is overshadowed by Garayua’s Ceci.

If there is a criticism, although the tension builds to a volcanic crescendo, the play seems a too long. With the caveat it is not for the faint of heart, I highly recommended it as a must see production. Act 1 one hour and 18 minutes and Act 2 one hour and eight minutes.
Kedar K. Adour (ATCA, SFBACC)
Courtesy of TheatreWorld Internet Magazine