A big-hearted “American Mariachi” has its world premiere
“American Mariachi” by José Cruz González is a big-hearted musical play, gorgeously executed in its world premiere at the Denver Center’s Stage Theatre. It’s a tight 90-minute tug at the heartstrings that will echo for days. The production is already slated to transfer to San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre after closing here. ★★★¼
Excavating layers of feeling on the themes of love, memory and trust, the story is at once personal and universal: a Chicano family, a mother with Alzheimers disease.
While some of the dialog is in Spanish, the meaning is usually clear enough from context for non-Spanish-speakers. (A few laughs were lost, but what’s lost in literal words is gained in authenticity.)
While delving into Latino culture, in a specific time and place, (mid-’70s, the western United States), the story asks what was then a boldly feminist question: Why can’t a girl be in a mariachi band? Outrageous! the traditionalists scoff.
Lucha (Jennifer Paredes) is launched on her journey to learn
about mariachi because it seems to be the one way to connect with her mother through the fog of dementia.
Amalia (Doreen Montalvo) is stirred by a certain ballad that momentarily brings her back to reality or takes her back to happier times.
Lucha and her cousin/best friend Boli (Heather Velazquez in a hilarious turn) decide to pursue an all-girl mariachi troupe, and set about collecting band members. Never mind that none can play an instrument ... they’re determined.
Crissy Guerrero plays sexpot hairstylist Soyla, Natalie Camunas plays painfully shy Gabby, Amanda Robles is the unfulfilled Isabel, shuttered by an overbearing husband.
Bobby Plasencia as Amalia’s rigid husband Federico and Rodney Lizcano as the caring instrument-maker Mino are distinctive, sympathetic types. They are former friends with a complicated history. Luis Quintero wins laughs in multiple roles, both slick and slimy, macho and fey.
Paredes manages to evolve in front of our eyes, creating in daughter Lucha a stirring and strong character.
Clever direction by James Vásquez and lovely set design reflect the passion of the music onstage.
“American Mariachi” was first unveiled here as a featured reading at the DCPA’s 2016 Colorado New Play Summit. Playwright Gonzalez (whose previous plays “Sunsets and Margaritas” and “September Shoes” were well received in Denver) manages to wrap a lesson in mariachi music inside a warm family saga.
The role of each instrument, the precision of the sound and the collective effort required becomes clear as musicians fill the theater. Five experienced mariachi musicians form the orchestra but all nine actors play a musical instrument in the course of the show.
As the young women in the band each find their way to an individual style, an authentic voice and a collaborative sound, the spirit is contagious.