REVIEW: Speakeasy Stage delivers crackling chemistry and lots of ‘Laughs in Spanish’
Down in Wynwood, Miami, Florida, Mari is in a panic.
On the eve of one of the most important events of her art career, Mari’s gallery Studio 6 has been robbed.
However, those surrounding Mari are not reacting in quite the same way. Uptight, stressed and just about at her wit’s end, Rebekah Rae Robles as Mari is determined to get to the bottom of it and somehow salvage the event. In braids and silky loungewear, Luz Lopez as intern Caro and Daniel Rios, Jr. as Caro’s boyfriend Officer Jaun take note of what is happening, but seem a little more interested in each other.
Directed exuberantly by Mariela Lopez-Ponce and in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, SpeakEasy Stage Company opened its 34th season with Alexis Scheer’s lively comedy Laughs in Spanish continuing live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, October 12. This quick witted production has strong language and is 90 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
Rebecca Glick’s stylish costumes feature bold colors and vibrant patterns indicative of each character’s personality and especially prevalent of Robles as Mari in a serious gray suit. Alexis Scheer boasts a refreshing script with good pacing, surprising revelations, and a wild dose of complicated family dynamics as well as a comical cast with crackling chemistry. Robles as Mari seems as wound about as tightly as her celebrity, model, and movie star mother Estella is vivacious and carefree. Making quite the grand and unconventional entrance, dramatic, spectacular, and self-centered Paola Ferrer as Estella appears to revel in her role as the adventurous life of the party. Quick thinking, reposed and resourceful, there is much more to Ferrer’s Estella who delivers a standout performance embellished by a poignant and heartfelt monologue later on in the production. Robles and Ferrer share a natural, relatable and yet complicated mother and daughter dynamic as these seeming opposites humorously searching for common ground. Lopez as intern Carol and Rios Jr. as Officer Juan are adorable and genuinely funny as they bicker and flirt attempting to help Mari, but finding themselves in complications of their own.
With an uplifting Latin-inspired dance soundtrack, Laughs in Spanish boasts a multipurpose split set by Erik D. Diaz featuring an array of tropical greenery with wicker-infused furniture adorned with twinkling lights on one side and a pristine white and mustard colored studio with missing canvases, modern furniture and soft lighting on the other setting a sophisticated yet festive city tone. This split set doubles the laughs as action often occurs simultaneously on both sides, especially in a notable performance by Brogan Nelson as Estella’s giddy and awkward assistant Jenny in a memorable solo piece of silent, physical humor as cast members converse in the other room.
If you are looking for an upbeat, playful, and lighthearted piece of theatre with some interesting twists, modern pop references and a bit of mystery and family dysfunction with Latino flair, SpeakEasy Stage delivers plenty of Laughs in Spanish.
Directed exuberantly by Mariela Lopez-Ponce and in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, SpeakEasy Stage Company continues Alexis Scheer’s lively comedy Laughs in Spanish continuing live and in person at Calderwood Pavilion in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, October 12. This quick witted production has strong language and is 90 minutes with no intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.
