“Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy” with Teatro Vista

Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy, by Evelina Fernadez, tells the story of the Morales family living in the United States during the 1960s. This production has opened Teatro Vista’s 2019-20 season and was co-directed by Ricardo Gutiérrez and Cheryl Lynn Bruce. Don’t let the “Part II” of the title dissuade you from attending a performance. Even without a viewing of Part I, you will be entranced and invested in the plight of this Mexican-American family navigating life during the era of the Civil Rights movement and the sexual revolution. An all-star cast and beautiful costume and set design will keep you entranced through the many cliches present in the script and the distracting, unnecessary songs. 

Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel was heartbreakingly subtle as the matriarch of the Morales family, Elena, long suffering from her husband’s repeated infidelities. A standout performance is Ayssette Muñoz as the cantankerous youngest daughter, Gina. She carried the bulk of the vocal performance and showcased the most dramatic character growth. Tommy Rivera-Vega was positively adorable as Gina’s boyfriend (for two weeks) Rudy and also had a fine singing voice. Janyce Caraballo charmed the audience as the eldest daughter, Betty, while holding make-believe phone calls with President John F. Kennedy and supplying much of the evening’s comedy. Rounding out the immediate family were Joaquin Rodarte (Bobby) and Nick Mayes (Johnny) as the two sons, and Eddie Martinez as the cheating husband, Charlie. The extended family included Victor Maraña and Andrea Cañizares-Fernandez as husband and wife Enrique and Mari. All were strong vocalists and even stronger actors, leaving the audience hungry for more backstory and details instead of 1960s pop songs that added nothing to the plot. 

This production wasn’t a musical per se, but rather a play with songs from the time era sung at inopportune moments. Whenever a scene was gearing up for a deeper dive into a relationship dynamic or a monologue, the course would be diverted by a song. This is what happens in musicals but to the betterment of the plot or to further elaborate on an emotion through lyrics and melody. The intrusive songs in this production had trite lyrics and only slightly relevant themes such as “Shout” and “Love Hurts.” They took up space that could have been devoted to digging deeper into the family dynamics and character arcs. 

The script featured some poetic monologues used to drop exposition by basically saying, “Do you remember this memory? You do? Well, I’m still going to talk about it.”  The performers and directors tried their best to weave them into the reality and dialogue of the scene. But we had already suspended our disbelief so much with the jukebox songs that a performative nature for the whimsical and fantastical verbiage could have been more embraced and sold even more directly to the audience.

 Hung above José Manuel Díaz-Soto’s realistic stage were projections created by Joe Burke to supply historical images from the 60s. Sanja Manakoski’s costume design was thankfully bereft of the cliches (clashing patterns or hippie clothes) of the 1960s. All three of these aspects combined to make a nostalgic, dish-towel-and-kitchen-sink aesthetic indicative of the time. 

Set in a decade usually devoted to the suppression of African Americans by the racist white society, it is intriguing to investigate the Hispanic culture of that time. Despite being set during this tumultuous time, the plot line and the character arcs were pretty tame and wholesome. Everyone who was in the wrong got their comeuppance, and our protagonists used their moral backbones to keep their heads held high. It is a true testament to the central themes of family, tradition, and culture and the prowess of the ensemble of actors that despite the cliches and the superfluous songs, you will leave the theatre as invested in the Morales family as your own. 

Performances are at the Den Theatre in Wicker Park (1331 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL). The schedule is as follows: Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm. The show lasts for a little over two hours with one ten minute intermission. Closing performance is October 27th. Tickets range from $25 to $35 and are available at thedentheatre.com or at the box office (773) 697-3830. Teatro Vista’s Midwest premiere of Hope: Part II of A Mexican Trilogy is presented as part of DESTINOS – 3rd Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, September 19-October 27, 2019.

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Sophie Vitello