THEATER REVIEW : ‘A Touch of the Poet’ in Latino Adaptation

Boozing, abusive patriarchs aren’t high on anybody’s list of Wonderful Things Cultures Have in Common. But they come in handy when you want to snazz up a dramatic chestnut for today’s California theatergoers.

The Latino Classical Repertory’s debut outing--a respectable “A Touch of the Poet” at Cal State L.A.--has some shortcomings all right, but they’re not the fault of the play’s smart transposition from 1827 Irish-American to 1872 Mexican-American. And although this is the first production in Cal State L.A.’s Theatre for the 21st Century series, it’s actually archly traditional Eugene O’Neill, even with the trendy patina.

The malevolent macho machine at the center of the drama is Cornelius Melody, or Cornelio Melendes (Robert Beltran) in director Ruben Sierra’s adaptation. An immigrant who runs an inn, Cornelio keeps himself stoked with liquor and memories of past war glories, while loathing the Yankees and bullying his servile wife, Nora, (Bertila Damas) and daughter Sara (Maria Canals).

More so than most of O’Neill’s major works, “A Touch of the Poet” flies or falls on the caliber of its central performance. Fortunately for this production, Beltran’s Cornelio is nearly all the role demands. And Damas--who has shades of the round-eyed but tough femininity of the original Nora, Helen Hayes--is just as stellar, although her character gets much less attention than Cornelio.

Beltran’s volatile sensuality and magnetism go a long way toward explaining why Nora, Sara and a pack of cronies continue to hang around Cornelio, despite his abuse. He is never merely angry, but pathetic too--a combination that seems to draw women to O’Neill like pigs to slop.

Nora is wrung out from years of waiting hand and foot on the big lug, but Damas plays her as though she’s still got some passion left. Her dignity may be gone, but her pride isn’t. And there’s palpable chemistry between Damas and Beltran.

The seriously weak link in the Melendes clan is the shrill Canals, who fusses and fumes through the entire four acts with little variance in either tone or temper. There are also problems with the supporting ensemble, many of whom play their parts like caricatures. Their stiffness creates an annoying gap between the veracity of the Cornelio-Nora relationship and the rest of the play’s world.

Problems notwithstanding though, this production is a good example of what conceptual adaptations can achieve. What the staging may lose in O’Neillian nuance, it gains in relevance. And as the inaugural production of the promising LCR, it should be chalked up to more than the luck of the Irish.

* “A Touch of the Poet,” Arena Theatre, Cal State L.A., 151 State University Drive, L.A., Fridays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends Aug. 29. $12. (213) 466-1767. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.