Review: THE MELODRAMA at Santa Fe Playhouse

Santa Fe Playhouse Melodrama

Santa Fe Playhouse, August 31 – September 14

The history of the Santa Fe Melodrama is a long and storied one, dating back almost the full century that the Playhouse has been around. Over that time, audiences have come to expect the usual stock characters – villains, damsels in distress, local politicians and figures to be parodied and vilified.  The playwrights have always remained anonymous, or face the wrath of any angered by their words.

This year, which marks 100th burning of Zozobra, the Santa Fe Playhouse takes the melodrama and turns it upside down. There is still commentary on government officials, local attractions and events, but the playwrights are taking ownership of their words, in four short form pieces and several interstitials connecting them.  Directed by Stephanie Grilo, six actors take on a variety of roles, both comic and dramatic, as they weave an interesting progression through the heart of Santa Fe.

The pieces start off light with Fireblown Beasts by Titiana Isabel Gil, who takes on the serious topics of housing shortages, greedy landlords and, for some reason, hot air balloons. The action is both funny and shines a light on some of our more loathed locals – the greedy landlords kicking out Santa Fe workers to make more profit with short term rentals.  The action is driven with comic antics by two bees, assistants to the greedy pig landlord (bees are played with panache by Danielle Louise Reddick and Mo Beatty, Sunglass Pig by Melanie O’Neill).

The second piece continues as funny but scathing comedy surrounding Cowhoof, an artist collective that features day-glo paint and other special effects (Meow Wolf, anyone?). This piece by Leonard Madrid brings to light the exploitation of artists, who work for the currency or recognition – something almost every artist in Santa Fe can relate to.

Turquoise Lotus by Maggie Fine takes on the colonization of Santa Fe and the glorification of it on display during Santa Fe’s Fiesta. The requisite roasting of tourists from our state to the east were cheered by the audience.

Finally, the evening wraps with The Last Days of Old Man Gloom, featuring a trial that will determine whether or not we should continue to burn Zozobra each year. This piece, by Dillon Christopher Chitto, was the most dramatic of all with an excellent performance by Montana Miller as the defender of Zozobra.

Funny anecdotal interstitials were a lighthearted touch, courtesy of Kevin Fairchild.

More acting kudos to Cee Fields-Haley and Ariana Roybal, who both bring excellent comic timing and many fully realized characters to life throughout all the scenes.

Props as well to the entire technical staff – staging a night with four very different settings inhabiting one set is not an easy task; the use of levels/platforms gave each piece its own feel and even its own look, with minimal changes.  (scenic design James W. Johnson, costume design Lila Martinez, lighting design Zac Goin, props design Emily Rankin, music director Evan Aguilar, stage manager Cynthia Thompson and assistant stage manager, Alex Kutsko.

While the entire evening had moments for the audience to boo, cheer and laugh, the final piece brought a bit of solemnity and time for reflection on the traditions surrounding Fiestas and whether or not they are still relevant today. The progression of pieces from light and fluffy to heavier and more ponderous was very smart – the audience definitely left with something to talk about and expand on over the next few hours (or days).

Is the melodrama relevant? It can be; hopefully the Playhouse will use this year as a springboard to go deeper and explore more of the deeper topics that divide our city. More biting satire is welcome  - anything that gets people talking and thinking is really what theater is meant to do. Let’s hope that more productions and melodramas in the future take this model and grows it. Theater at its heart should move us to act  - or at least start a dialogue.