MOXIE Theatre Endures Repertory Venture with a Musical and a Play. Different Formats with Contrasting Plots, One Sweet, One Not,

Showcasing the Cast's Versatility

A Blog View by Alejandra Enciso-Dardashti

“Little Women: The Broadway Musical,” Photo Desireé Clarke Miller
It is great to see theatre companies stepping up with defying challenges during these questioning times when uncertainty takes over. Continuing its 20th anniversary season celebration, MOXIE is doing repertory for the first time, presenting Little Women, The Musical with book by Allan Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, and music by Jason Howland, based on Louisa May Alcott's late 1800s novel, about the four March sisters. The sisters then morph into high school students obsessed with bringing Colombian drug leader and narcoterrorist Pablo Escobar, in Our Dear Dead Drug Lord by Alexis Scheer.

Opening "day" last Saturday, November 16 was an exciting one. An audience member gasped "This feels so Manhattan". And yes, the thrill of seeing practically five hours of theatre in one day is not for the weak, so it makes it much more special.

Mikaela Macias leads Little Women as the outspoken, independent Jo March. Nio Russell is sweet Beth, Becca Myers is the oldest sister, boy crazy Meg, and the youngest, therefore spoiled Amy, is Lena Ceja. The plot centers on the four sisters' family life with their mother, Marmee (Constance Jewell Lopez), and their longings while their father is at war. Mr. Laurence (Will Doyle) is the March's wealthy neighbor and guardian of his grandson Laurie (Tanner Vydos) who is being tutored by John Brooke (Ryan Hadley). Aunt March (Michelle Caravia) has big plans for Jo to thrive in society but a disagreement changes the setting and Jo moves to New York to become a famous writer where she meets Professor Bhaer (DeAndre Simmons). Laurie is practically a part of the family and when the sisters' father becomes ill, Marmee goes to him leaving Amy in Aunt March's care. Things shift and the sisters are faced with life-changing decisions and a devastating loss. 

Leigh Scarritt led the musical with a mindful direction that displayed the artist's vocal abilities. Because the music is recorded, some of the notes were at a higher volume in search of the tone as well as some of the dialogues. This could also be attributed to opening jitters although it does get complicated to sing live to/with recorded music. Cynthia Bloodgood's sound design aimed to align all these elements with the space and have it all go through.

Mikaela definitely gives it her all with high-paced energy and potent vocals. It was my first time seeing Becca Myers outside of a reading, and the multiple-threat performance carried original nuances, nice melodies, and good stage camaraderie, especially with Ryan Hadley who gave comedy, drama, and musicality. It has been great to see Lena Ceja's stage journey from Addams Family, to 'Comet and now Little Women as she is great with harmonies and interpretation. I missed the opportunity to see The Color Purple, so I was not familiar with Nio Russell's work. What a treat, as they have a sweet pace and a beautiful voice. In her MOXIE debut, Constance Jewell Lopez was charming as Marmee and displayed wonderful harmonies with the sisters. Tanner Vydos and DeAndre Simmons, who play the story's love interests, showed their singing chops, dominating each note with a captivating and intense delivery. Will Doyle is lovely as Mr. Laurence, carrying a wonderful interpretation with poise and good timing. Even though Michelle Caravia has brief interventions as Aunt March, she squeezes all the juice out of those lines poignantly and with great flair. 

Xavier J. Bush's choreography shines in both pieces, bringing balance, relief, and a good time.

Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” Photo Desireé Clarke Miller
I thought I was going to see the full cast of Little Women in 'Drug Lord but no, the core cast for the two pieces in repertory are Nio, Mikaela, Lena, and Becca. This piece is a total 180, or 360 even, because although landing on the same spot when doing a 360, after that turn, things change...In Alexis Scheer's play, the time is 2008 during the electoral campaigns in Miami. Four high school girls are members of the "Dead Leaders Club," dabbling in séance, obsessed with bringing back Pablo Escobar to life in exchange for a "do-over." The 90-minute piece with no intermission goes by fast with funny moments and lines that take jabs at political parties, immigration, and overall teenage life. Funny moments until they are not. 

The histrionic contrast is palpable and impressive with the four actresses who leave their wholesome March persona behind to leap into 2008 Miami before Obama's triumph. Lena is fierce as Pipe, Nio is raw as Squeeze, Becca is hilarious as the naive Zoom, and Mikaela is strong as Kit. MOXIE´s Executive artistic director, Desireé Clarke Miller, directed this piece, highlighting the contrast in the repertory while having the actresses thrive by playing in this theatrical yin-yang dynamic. In a strong, hard effort to not reveal any spoilers, *sigh*, there are two Séances, and what seems to be a serious but playful ritual between the friends shifts quick. One of the Séances is majestically lit by Colby Freel and Joshua Heming with intense reds and marrons, intensified by Megan Aguilar-Ame's sound design in Atria Pirouzmand and Ali Roustaei's iteration of an abandoned treehouse that had all the realistic touches including a couple of posters where the movie Thirteen peeks from stage left. 

Alexis Scheer incorporates bilingual dialogue that is as intense as it is beautiful, with a matching scene that focuses on the play's heart. Within all the confusion and commotion of what is happening, that dialogue is pure gold. However, non-Spanish speakers can get lost, and that could be a disservice by not fully grasping the feeling and meaning of it all. It is not about the Spanish; it is about the length of the dialogue.

I understand Scheer's intentions with the play but I felt it not to be fully landed, aside from the glorification of a murderer and terrorist. But, to each their own.

There is a trigger warning in the program and on the website, but it definitely should be communicated more with signage and a verbal warning before curtain. As mentioned in the program, each person is different and with different sensitivities; consideration is needed as these triggers can flare up not only because of one's self and character but also because of traumatic experiences. 

These two pieces show the patriarchy and what women have been subjected to for centuries. 

Only a couple of theatres in San Diego have ventured into this stage pilgrimage, and I am definitely here for it as it adds special value. Credit where credit is due to the MOXIEs and these impressive actresses, who not only demonstrated skill, ability, and amazing memory but also showed what badass performance looks like.

Little Women, The Musical, and Our Dear Dead Druglord are currently playing -and now extended-  until Sunday, December 22. One performance on Thursday and one on Friday, two performances on Saturday and Sunday. For more information click HERE

No comments:

Post a Comment