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During the 36th Miami International Hispanic Theater Festival, the world premiere of the play I’d better shut up was held, authored by Abel González Melo, by TEATRO AVANTE, directed by Mario Ernesto Sánchez, at the Carnival Studio of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
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Abel González Melo
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This is the seventh staging I see and review of the prolific Cuban playwright Abel González Melo, preceded by Chamaco, Nevada, Talco, Bayamesa, Nowhere in the World, and Ubú Pandemic, and the first thing that comes to my mind is what the unforgettable Rosita Fornés said in the documentary My Three Lives: "One is as good as the last thing oneself did," but to contradict her in this case, although I’d better shut up does not do true justice to its author – without considering it a failure, I clarify – all those that precede it are enough to ratify him as our most talented playwright.
It has not been easy for me to write this review – which I confess had me in the dilemma of following the title verbatim – but I weighed that my silence could be interpreted precisely as not liking anything, which is not true, because all the performances seemed very successful, as well as the direction of Mario Ernesto and the set design and costumes of the exquisite duo of Jorge Noa and Pedro Balmaseda.
It is not the first time that I praise the performances but feel disappointed by its text, as it is in this case, which, paradoxically, has interesting and even sharp parliaments in the middle of such a puerile story, apparently as a nod to Moliere to the four centuries of his birth, but without his elevation.
"Making people laugh is much more difficult than making them cry,” as it is known, and it is not enough to lighten in a farcical tone a conflict as serious and painful as that of the obfuscated Gonzalo with opportunistic Anastasio, or the hidden lesbian relationship of his daughter Marta with the secretary Cristina, to get laughter from the spectators, who the night I attended I did not hear many, and I personally did not laugh either.
"Maybe, in the midst of everything happening in this company, all the madness that there is here, and the thousands of problems to solve every day, in the middle of a world that falls apart between epidemics and wars, I always think of you," says the lover Cristina to Marta.
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Yani Martín as Marta
and Ysmercy Salomón as Cristina
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I continue to quote other parliaments that contrast with the lightness given to the plot:
"Do you really need shaves and slaps with which to pretend to be others before the world?"
"From living among cosmetics so much, makeup has become our first face."
"Makeup does not cover up seriousness. It powers a nuance, adjust a detail. It accompanies us in the perplexity of life's journey. But there is no virtue or derision, no matter how much makeup they put, that can hide from the sagacity of the human eye."
Regarding these "sharp" parliaments, it is admirable how all the actors were able to memorize them and act without any failure the night I attended, so it would not have been fair to remain silent in I’d better shut up, for considering its argument badly treated – and mistreated – because of the dichotomy between the seriousness of the conflicts and the puerility with which these arguments were treated by the author.
And since Anastasio's humorously approached to the dispossession of the family that owns Cosméticos París was the goal of Abel's celebration for Moliere's happy birthday, I'm going to pause my "grinding" to at least taste the tasty serve of the party: the excellent performances.
The cake: Andy Barbosa as Anastasio, nothing cloying.
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Andy Barbosa as Anastasio
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The “croqueticas”: Yani Martín as Marta and Ysmercy Salomón as Cristina, neither "sticky" nor "expired.”
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Yani Martín as Marta
and Ysmercy Salomón as Cristina
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The salad: Alina Interián, as Elsa, with all the ingredients of haute cuisine as for a great wedding; this can be read as class, moderation and elegance.
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Alina Interián as Elsa
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The bread with pasta (money): Julio Rodríguez, like the ineffable Gonzalo, in the center of the serve, with the right pasta(money) as always.
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Julio Rodríguez as Gonzalo
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The serve: Maité Abreu, as Mrs. Peral, Gonzalo's mother, looking real, nothing "rigid."
Similar to what he already did in Bayamesa, Abel used the resource of "breaking up" for the actors to comment on the play, but from his own characters, without leaving them, something different that seemed to me quite justified, emphasizing the need to include topics little mentioned before such as the loving relationship between two women.
To end this difficult review, I must not fail to mention the adequate lighting from the master hand of Ernesto Padilla, and the luxury soundtrack – as we are used to – by Mike Porcel.
Baltasar Santiago Martín
Public Relations and Press ACPM
Photos: Julio de la Nuez.
Translation: Baltasar Santiago Martín / Roberto Bauta.
Hialeah, August 5, 2022.
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Versión en Español
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