Emotions Course Through Bilingual’s ‘Blood Wedding’

From a newspaper account of a woman who ran away with her former lover on her wedding day, Federico Garcia Lorca fashioned the crimson emotional tide known as “Bodas de Sangre” (Blood Wedding).

Its central triangle is guided toward death and grief--two die, many others grieve--by onstage characters no less symbolically freighted than the Moon and Death, disguised as a beggar. It is therefore not a play for timid theater-makers.

Good news. Continuing throughout October, in alternating Spanish- and English-language performances, the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts production heightens the rich musical and choreographic possibilities inherent in Lorca’s 1932 tragedy.

It’s an attractively designed production that comes alive especially when two performers get the elbow room they deserve. L.A.-bred mezzo Suzanna Guzman embodies Death, and she’s a true singing actress, bringing out the ache and atmosphere of Ian Krouse’s fine original score. Maria “Chacha” Bermudez, as the Moon, lets her flamenco skills do the talking, and it’s eloquent footwork indeed.

Director Margarita Galban plays up these two looming figures right from the start. Near the end, this “Blood Wedding” brings onstage the climactic knife fight (off-stage in the script) between cuckolded groom (John Paul) and Leonardo (Jesus Nebot), the rival for his intended (Denise Blasor).

The key men aren’t up to the dramatic level of the key women, and Blasor’s bride is a tad mature for the role. She’s good, though, as are Margarita Lamas as the obsessive mother of the groom, and Flavia Saravalli as the philandered-upon wife of Leonardo.

Lorca’s major works, such as his “Gypsy Ballads” poetry collection, revel in what Lorca’s sometime friend, filmmaker Luis Bunuel, characterized as a “sort of flamenco dramatism.” (In fact, “Blood Wedding” was made into a flamenco-soaked film in 1981.) At its best the Bilingual staging dives straight into that world. Director Galban doesn’t energize the later, mournful scenes as effectively as the earlier ones. Even so, this “Blood Wedding” has real performance blood in its veins.

BE THERE

“Blood Wedding,” Bilingual Foundation of the Arts, Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., downtown. In English: Oct. 14, 11 a.m.; Oct. 15-16, 8 p.m.; Oct. 17, 3 p.m.; Oct. 29-30, 8 p.m.

In Spanish: Today-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.; Oct. 21-23, 8 p.m.; Oct. 24, 3 p.m.; Oct. 28, 8 p.m.; Oct. 31, 3 p.m. Ends Oct. 31. $16-$20. (323) 225-4044. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Suzanna Guzman: Death

Maria “Chacha” Bermudez: The Moon

John Paul: The Bridegroom

Margarita Lamas: The Mother

Tina D’Marco: The Neighbor

Patricia Delaunay: The Mother-in-Law

Flavia Saravalli: Leonardo’s Wife

Jesus Nebot: Leonardo

Alejandra Flores: The Maid

Ciro Suarez: The Father

Denise Blasor: The Bride

Written by Federico Garcia Lorca. Translated by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata. Directed by Margarita Galban. Choreographed by Mari Sandoval. Set by Estela Scarlata. Costumes by Carlos Brown. Lighting by Robert Fromer. Music by Ian Krouse. Musical director Roger Cantrell. Stage manager Edward Motts.