Empowered Latinas go to new ‘Heights’

Tucked away amid the faded splendor of Boyle Heights, you’ll find Casa 0101. Inside that new pocket-size theatrical venue, something very special is going on.

That special something is “Confessions of Women From Boyle Heights,” a funny, moving evening of monologues written and directed by Josefina Lopez. A dynamo author, actor and activist, Lopez is also the screenwriter of “Real Women Have Curves,” a critically acclaimed independent film based on her play of the same name.

Both plays were inspired by Lopez’s experiences growing up in Boyle Heights, a heavily Latino community just outside downtown L.A. Like “Curves,” “Confessions” is told from the perspective of spunky, full-fleshed Latina characters, fighting to redefine themselves in a macho culture. And, like “Curves,” “Confessions” delivers a whopping dose of feminism, couched in humor so bawdy and irreverent that the medium becomes the message.

Don’t look for subtlety in this mix. Lopez, who also delivers the final monologue, has assembled a high-energy cast that goes for the laughs at every turn -- and gets them.

Do look for an underlying message. Lopez’s purpose, manifest in every monologue, is Latina empowerment, delivered in a pointedly comic vein. Stridency, that bane of feminist ideology, is neatly averted at every turn.

Not so neat is the production itself, which bristles with raw edges and uneven performances. The actors, who range from the exuberant to the downright hammy, suffer frequent line lapses, and certain monologues are eccentric to the point of silliness. Yet beneath all the laughs and ribaldry, there’s an undercurrent of poignancy, the awareness that these women are braving steep odds with courage and vivacity. Lopez delights in imploding the cultural stereotypes and taking her characters in radical new directions. For us as well, it’s a fascinating excursion.

F. Kathleen Foley

*

“Confessions of Women from Boyle Heights,” Casa 0101 Theater Art Space, 2009 E. 1st St., Boyle Heights. Friday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. Ends Sunday. $10. (323) 263-7684. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Indian stereotypes happily punctured

Playwright Drew Hayden Taylor has been referred to as “the Native American Neil Simon.” In “The Buz’Gem Blues,” part of the Autry’s “Native Voices” series at the Wells Fargo Theatre, it’s easy to see why. Set at a Canadian tribal council, “Buz’Gem,” an Indian term for “girlfriend,” has plenty of laughs and a fair amount of pithy cultural commentary. It’s not an Indian play, exactly. It’s a play whose central characters just happen to be Indian.

That’s all part of Taylor’s richly inclusive style. An Ojibway Indian and a Canadian, Taylor gleefully inverts tired Indian stereotypes, punching holes in the tintype and allowing a little more light and air to filter through.

To the uninitiated, an Indian elders conference summons up images of sweat lodges, traditional dances and venison cooked over an open fire. For Taylor, it’s an opportunity for light comedy. In the play, earthy widow Martha (Arigon Starr) attends the conference with her recently divorced daughter, Marianne (Sandra Horse). Martha, who is receiving a stipend to teach a class in the Ojibway language, is quite taken with Amos (Michael Horse), a sixtysomething widower and the tribal cook. But there’s a problem, namely Amos’ 25-year-old girlfriend, Summer (Rebecca Spear), a dizzy blond with a tiny smidgen of Indian blood who has gone gaga over Indian culture. So has the Warrior Who Never Sleeps (Robert Vestal), a hyper-stoic guy who spouts Indian platitudes to conceal his essential nerdiness. Of course, Martha is destined to get together with Amos, and Warrior with the more age-appropriate Summer. As for Marianne? Well, she has her eye on that cute cultural anthropologist (Timothy Glenn) who is at the conference researching aboriginal mating habits.

Taylor occasionally tosses in a cheap joke, and Randy Reinholz directs the play so broadly it sometimes bursts a rawhide seam. No matter. It’s all in good fun and all richly entertaining. Upbeat blues music, performed live by guitarist-singer Nicholas Spear, underscores the festivities, and the actors hunt and gather laughs with native skill.

F.K.F.

*

“The Buz’Gem Blues,” Autry Museum of Western Heritage’s Wells Fargo Theatre, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Sunday. $15. (323) 655-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

*

A lightweight ‘Never on Sunday’

Fans who flocked to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” might enjoy “Illya Darling,” the inaugural production of the Greek-American Theater Company. The rarely seen 1967 stage adaptation of the 1960 film “Never on Sunday” is a testimonial to ouzo and Hellenic abandon.

It sports a genuine find in Christina Concetta’s title heroine, the free-spirited Piraeus whore originated by Melina Mercouri. The patrician-featured Concetta inhabits the part, with her dissection of “Medea” and throaty Greek-language delivery of the movie’s title song especially notable.

Other standouts include Anna Giannotis’ veteran tart, George Christopoulos’ taverna owner and Theo Pagones’ Greek Italian hunk. They and their colleagues gracefully embrace Athan Karras’ fascinating authentic choreography. Director Angeliki Giannakopoulos maneuvers all around Paul Manchester’s skeletal settings with determined sincerity.

However, the property is unprepossessing, to put it charitably. “Sunday” director Jules Dassin essentially posits his screenplay as the libretto, which concerns a philosophical American tourist (the swamped Richard Courtney) who attempts to raise Illya’s intellect. Think “Born Yesterday,” with bouzouki accompaniment.

“Illya” lacks dramatic impetus, and its score consists of scattered songs by the film’s composer, Manos Hadjidakis, and “Man of La Mancha” lyricist Joe Darion. Barring Giannotis’ ribald “I’ll Never Lay Down Anymore,” these are pedestrian, clarifying why critic Walter Kerr accused the Broadway production of leaving the show out of town and putting the publicity photos on stage.

Despite the curiosity and cultural-interest factors, one would rather see this talented crew tackle “Antigone,” or at least “Zorba.”

-- David C. Nichols

*

“Illya Darling,” 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St., L.A. Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends May 4. Brief nudity. $20. (310) 839-5266. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.