v5n45-cast.html

Cast provides intensity

By Wes Woods, Online Forty Niner
Tuesday, November 10, 1998

Illegal aliens are a subject that reaches deep within the American psyche. It penetrates from the realm of politics down to discussions at the dinner table. With the Cal State Long Beach play "De Donde?" it now enters the arena of theater production.


PLAY REVIEW

Directed by Andy Griggs, this intense, ethnic drama tackles its emotional subject with gripping, thought-provoking results.

The only drawback is the storyline lacks a definite center. It focuses on the aliens, the people who house them, the aliens' lawyers, even immigration services. This is nice, but instead of a cohesive unit, it is more theme oriented. The play feels like you are watching four separate plays instead of a main story with subplots. Despite this, however, the acting and well-intentioned storyline pull the play through.

"De Donde?" starts with two immigration officers looking for illegal immigrants. The lighting is eerily dimmed. They are armed with flashlights and racial epithets. It sets the tone for the entire production.

Next, a woman and her daughter Felicia, played by Marcia Lemus, enters the stage. The actors on stage take cover. Much of the play follows the same, serious vein.

Written by Mary Gallagher, the plot dives into issues such as the courtroom and police brutality.

The police brutality scenes are especially gripping. When one inmate tries to stand up for himself, he gets a beating. One of the agents grabs him by the neck and lifts him against a wall. Then the agent throws him to the ground in a very realistic fashion. The prisoner ends up getting punched and kicked.

One woman, Extrana, played by Kimberly Aguilar, is silent. She tries to find her sister throughout the play. A lawyer, Pete, tries to help her.

Another woman, Lillian, played by Amy Sebelius, is faced with the dilemma of housing illegal aliens. She knows it is against the law, but feels she must do it.

The cast more than make up for any deficiencies in the story. The actors are very convincing. The entire cast seems to stand out. The scenes involve much movement and are choreographed professionally.