By Anahy J. Gutierrez
Carlos Morton’s comedy “Miser of Mexico” swept the audience off its feet right from the start.
Literally.
Laughter broke out before the play even started as one of the characters, La Maruja (Julietta Ceballos) make a haughty presentation of the theatre rules to the audience as she made them lift her feet so she could sweep.
“Miser of Mexico” features a greedy old man, Don Profundo Quequemafer, who obsesses over his money and love interest, Marianna, who also happens to be the lover of his own son, Clemente (Julian Ortega Flores). Valentin (Jesus Eduardo) and Elisa (Diana Gomez) are hiding their relationship from Elisa’s father due to his disapproval of Valentin’s low social status. Hijinks ensues and the laughter rolls like thunder in a Yucatan rain forest.
Meanwhile Filero (Andree Reynoso), la Maruja’s lover, wants to steal Don Profundo’s money in order to give his lover a better life. Filero hides Don Profundo’s money inside a piñata. (What could possibly go wrong, verdad?)
Little did Don Profundo know that the loss of his money would be the least of his problems that day. Morality trumps mirth, Chekov checkmates Moliere.
Though the play has a tragic ending, the cast helped the audience cry with laughter before they cried with sadness. It was a French farce mixed with broad Mexican comedy like Parisian demi-glace on enchiladas.
An ongoing joke that kept the audience roaring was the constant mispronunciation of Don Profundo Quequemafer’s name as the scatological “Cacamafer.” His anger was palpable, though his completely unsympathetic character had the audience cheering for more disses.
Morton, a college professor and playwright, is a SoCal gift to modern Mexican-inspired comedy. Director Sandra Cortez once again displayed her steady hand with Latino-flavored material, deftly leading her talented cast of comedians through their well-timed paces. Comedy is as difficult to make as good mole’ and Cortez mixed the ingredients like a master chef.
A lovely, authentically Mexican set featured a light brown, coarse-textured wall defined by a round gable peak complimented by a floral-shaped gable at the center. Lively green vines with hot pink roses adorned the borders of the portico, which embossed the pine green door to the family’s home. Cacti punctuating the garden’s tawny stencil concrete perfectly depicted its Mexican heritage.
“Miser of Mexico” was generous with laughs and a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of greed and the foolishness of underestimating the pointed power of cacti. It was cactus, as much as the cast, that put an exclamation point on a solid year of theater at Southwestern College. Delicious salsa ladled over a diverse and tasteful banquet that left the audience hungry for more.
Photos Courtesy of Daren Scott
