‘A PEASANT’S’ PLOT STIRS A FEW HACKLES

George Sanchez can recount many vivid moments tied to “A Peasant of El Salvador,” but few rival the angry eruption that halted a performance at a church in Harlingen, a rural town rooted in Bible Belt Texas.

Sanchez and co-star David Perrigo, during a stop in the national tour of Peter Gould’s sociopolitical drama about revolutionary El Salvador, were deep into the reading when a man jumped from his pew and screamed at the actors as if they were messengers sent by Lucifer.

“He was pretty violent, yelling that we were communists and how ashamed he was that they’d let a communist play be shown in Harlingen. It took some time before he calmed down,” recalled Sanchez, a former Cypress resident now living in New York. “That was the worst response we’ve ever had, but it also showed that it really affects people. He obviously didn’t like the message, but it’s something that has to be told.”

The man’s reaction may have been uncommon, but it wasn’t totally unexpected. Sanchez, 33, is the first to admit that there is little equivocating over the play’s point of view and that not everyone will find it palatable.

“A Peasant”--with performances scheduled Tuesday at the Cypress College campus theater and March 10 at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo--is staunchly critical of the current Salvadoran regime that, the play contends, is supported with disastrous results by the U.S. government.

The rebels, fighting a guerrilla war from the jungles, and the dissidents, calling for a new order, are portrayed as the country’s salvation. Slain Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who preached insurrection as well as Catholicism, is offered as a martyr.

“This is our way of informing people what’s going on there, and, of course, we have certain feelings,” Sanchez said. “We’re saying, ‘This is what your government is doing, this is how perverse El Salvador has become.’ You may not agree, but we want you to at least think about it.”

As a political work, “A Peasant” tries to convince not so much by rhetoric as by dramatic storytelling.

Sanchez plays Jesus, a farmer without political interests. But when the Salvadoran government takes his land under the guise of agrarian reform, Jesus begins to see how repressive and exploitative his world has become. His son and daughter leave their primitive village to join the rebels, and Jesus is left to consider his fate.

The play attempts to create an air of historical authenticity by reciting lines from Archbishop Romero’s controversial sermons, including a tape recording of his famous 1980 homily advising peasants to bear arms if the government persisted with its policies.

It is a story that provokes some strong responses, both from liberals and conservatives. Although the Harlingen man may have been more vociferous than most, he is one of many who have questioned the play as it has traveled from the smallest southern towns to major cities such as San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and New York during the last year, Sanchez said.

“Conservatives frequently walk out, both in the little towns and elsewhere. Many of them won’t even dispute what it’s saying. But others argue with us afterward. That’s fine, because we want to get people to think, above all.”

Those favoring the play usually far outnumber those against it. But Sanchez acknowledged that “A Peasant” is usually booked at colleges, churches or other centers where support is expected. The play is performed occasionally in places like Harlingen, but not often enough for Sanchez.

“We often end up a little too much addressing the converted because they already have a (liberal) view about Central America,” he said. “But we’d really like to reach more conservative groups. We’d love to do a show for (Jerry) Falwell’s (Moral Majority) group, but they haven’t asked us.”

What started as just an acting job for Sanchez has become something of a mission. His own conversion came from firsthand experience in El Salvador during a visit in July prior to starting the tour.

By joining a group of American priests on a fact-finding trip, Sanchez was able to meet government leaders, military officials, U.S embassy personnel, Salvadoran priests and human rights activists. Sanchez also spent time with rebel groups.

“My eyes opened up tremendously to the problems. I tried to have an objective view, and I let the events affect me,” he said.

Sanchez’s arrival in Orange County is something of a homecoming. A county resident for several years during the 1960s and early ‘70s, he attended John F. Kennedy High School in Cypress and took courses at Cypress College from 1971-73.

Since leaving the area, he has had some success in both films and the theater. He performed in “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” at the Modern Times Theater and in Frank Loessor’s “Senor Discretion” at the Musical Theater Work, both in New York. Sanchez also had a small part in Jonathan Demme’s “Something Wild.”

But “A Peasant of El Salvador,” despite its non-stop touring schedule and bookings outside the country’s more established theaters, is still his most satisfying accomplishment.

“This is a way I can be an actor and do something I really believe in,” he said. “It’s the best thing I can do, by far.”