Teatro Experimental Blue Amigos has moved
to Prospect Heights’ Impact Theater, where it shares space with
the Impact Theater Company. The move makes Teatro Experimental
the only Latin American, experimental, bilingual theater company
in Brooklyn.
"We were performing ’Ataque de Nervios’ there as a touring
group when [Impact Theater artistic director] Tim Lewis approached
us," said Teatro Experimental executive producer Kathy Tejada.
Lewis said he was impressed with the uniqueness and industry
of the group.
"They’re always working on something. They produce a lot
of plays, like we do," he told GO Brooklyn. "They have
a whole variety of different plays. I thought we would complement
each other."
"Ataque de Nervios" ("Nervous Breakdown"),
was a series of vignettes in Spanish and English directed by
Hector Luis Rivera. With humor and reflection, these vignettes
explored the lack of communication, the loss of identity and
values, and the materialism often found in human relationships.
"We didn’t have a great crowd, but we saw the potential
for building an audience base in the community," said Tejada.
Lewis was impressed with the production, and also by the fact
that "they’re a very nice group of people."
That was back in June. Since Rivera, Carmen Maldonado and Ruben
P. Morales founded the company in 1988, Teatro Experimental (TEBA)
had "always maintained a character as a touring company,"
said Tejada. Now Lewis’ offer of an intimate and cozy alternative
space was one the company could not refuse.
TEBA’s first in-residence production was a revival in August
of "Quien Esta Loco Aqui?" ("Who’s Crazy Here?")
a play by Cuban-American playwright Tony Betancourt. It was a
comedy of errors in which a so-called detective investigates
a so-called crime.
TEBA’s next production, performed last month, was "A Solid
Home," by Elena Garro, performed in English and directed
by Rivera. "A Solid Home" explores life after death
as a family of dead people gather in their common tomb, their
memories of life growing fainter and the promise of paradise
not yet attained.
"We want to expose the public to different kinds of Hispanic
theater and to expose the Hispanic community to different literary
and cultural influences," explains Tejada.
Beginning Oct. 18, TEBA will present "Amantina," "the
story of a displaced people and their forced exodus from their
land," said Tejada.
In 1998, TEBA presented a Spanish translation of Aeschylus’ "Seven
Against Thebes" at Theater for the New City. In 1999, the
company staged Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"
in Spanish at the New York International Fringe Festival, and
last year they presented "Habladores" ("The Talkers")
an adaptation of a play by Cervantes, at the same venue.
Often TEBA presents the classics in a non-traditional way – using
slides and film in a multimedia approach.
TEBA is also committed to exploring current issues. This year
their contribution to the Fringe Festival was "Flamenco
Twist," which Tejada calls "a surrealist new version
of the Latino view of the American dream or nightmare."
Beginning Oct. 25, TEBA will bring "Flamenco Twist"
to Brooklyn’s Impact Theater.
TEBA is also dedicated to community outreach; the company has
appeared in senior and community centers, as well as public libraries
in Brooklyn. Last year, TEBA performed "La Brujita Verde"
("The Green Witch") at the Sunset Park branch of the
Brooklyn Public Library.
TEBA’s efforts have not gone unrecognized. In 1996, the company
was honored with the prestigious OBIE award for being one of
the most avant-garde Latin companies in New York City. TEBA productions,
workshops, readings, conferences and seminars have received nominations
and awards from the Hispanic Critics Association (Latin Ace Awards),
the Applause Award, the Euterpe Award, the Fontana de Trevi Award
and the International Leadership Award.
Despite having a new home in Brooklyn, Tejada says, "We’ll
still keep our touring flavor." Appearing in other venues
may well help TEBA bring more people to their Brooklyn home and
make more people aware of both TEBA and the Impact Theater at
190 Underhill Ave. Judging from the sparse audiences this reviewer
has observed at Impact Theater productions, this would be a welcome
turn of events.
Of course, simultaneous touring and in-residence programs mean
actors may sometimes perform two different shows on the same
date. It’s a daunting schedule, but, Tejada says, "We take
a lot of vitamins."
Review: ’Gypsy’
Forty-two years after "Gypsy" opened on Broadway, it’s
hard to believe that despite her tour-de-force performance as
Mama Rose, Ethel Merman never won a Tony for her starring role.
Nor did Merman’s co-star Jack Klugman, composer Jule Styne, lyricist
Stephen Sondheim or author Arthur Laurents capture the prestigious
Tony.
Ironically, both Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly won Tony Awards
for their performances as Mama Rose in 1974 and 1989 revivals.
And of course, the role has remained coveted, from film (Rosalind
Russell, 1962) to television (Bette Midler, 1993) to revivals
across the country including the Narrows Community Theatre’s
June production.
By now the story, based on the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Rose
Lee, has become a classic. It is largely a portrait of Mama Rose,
the brassy stage mother who channels her own unfulfilled ambitions
into the careers of her daughters June and Louise.
When Louise elopes with the lead dancer in Mama Rose’s troupe,
she focuses her attention on the seemingly talentless Louise
and discovers Louise does indeed have talent, although in a previously
unsuspected area.
But it is also the story of Gypsy herself, the quiet, undervalued
daughter who rises to fame, a la Cinderella, and the stalwart
Herbie, a tower of strength with a stomach ulcer.
Truth be told, "Gypsy" has something for everyone –
a touching but not schmaltzy plot, a score that captures tawdry
vaudeville, raucous burlesque and the sentimental ballad, and
corny but captivating dance numbers.
The Heights players’ production, directed by Ed Healy, stars
Helen Fein as Rose, opposite Thomas Tyler as Herbie, her manager
and wannabe husband, and Gina Wolff as her daughter Louise, who
becomes the famous stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. It’s a formidable
triumvirate.
Fein calls Mama Rose her "dream role." Indeed if the
part wasn’t made for her, she was certainly made for the part.
Mama Rose calls for a singer-actress with a strong voice and
a vibrant personality – someone who knows how to laugh, cry and
remain defiant despite defeat. Fein’s lead roles in musicals
like "Funny Girl," "Call Me Madame" and "Hello
Dolly!" have all established her as a bright star in the
Heights Players’ galaxy. As Mama Rose she is brilliant.
The versatile Wolff now proves that she is not only a fine singer
and dancer, a talented choreographer and a capable costume designer,
but also an actress of considerable substance, and incidentally,
not a bad stripper should they ever bring back burlesque.
Tyler, who for many is better known as a Heights Players director,
brings an exceptional sensitivity to the role of Herbie that
makes this reviewer want to see him on stage more often. His
quiet dignity, good humor and compassion all lead to the inevitable
question, how did Rose ever let him slip through her fingers?
Of the many supporting roles in "Gypsy," particular
note must be made of James Martinelli as Tulsa, who performs
the stop-the-show dance number "All I Need is the Girl";
Lauren Allison, Jessica Kurland and Jennifer Weisenberg as the
three strippers Tessie Tura, Mazeppa and Electra (whose "You
Gotta Have a Gimmick" brings down the house); and Ellen
Copaken who makes her Heights Players and New York debuts as
the adorably awkward and funny Agnes, one of the girls in Mama
Rose’s ensemble.
Albert Walsh has designed some snappy costumes, and musical director
Steve Velardi and choreographer Eileen Delgado have collaborated
to provide memorable vaudeville numbers such as "Baby June
and Her Newsboys," "Dainty June and Her Farmhands"
and Gypsy’s various strips.
Although it might be thought that with such foolproof material
as "Gypsy" a director can’t go wrong, Healy deserves
credit for successfully bringing a musical of such extravagant
proportions to the small, intimate stage of the Heights Players.
He manages to tighten up the play without toning it down.
When Baby June (Elexis Goldberg) and Baby Louise (Katy McQuillan)
open the show with "May We Entertain You," it’s a pretty
good clue of what’s in store. Gypsy is pure entertainment.
Teatro Experimental Blue Amigos (TEBA)
will perform a Spanish language production "Amantina"
Oct. 18 28. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays
at 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets are $10. TEBA@Impact Theater
is located at 190 Underhill Ave. For reservations, call (718)
848-9697 or (917) 750-5684.
"Gypsy" plays though Oct. 21, Fridays and Saturdays
at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets are $15, seniors and students
$13. The Heights Players theater is located at 26 Willow Place.
For reservations, call (718) 237-2752.
