Review: FRIDA-STROKE OF PASSION: THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE at Casa 0101

Billing itself as an "immersive experience,"  Odalys Nanin's production of Frida—Stroke of Passion doesn't disappoint when you arrive at Casa 0101 and must enter through a tunnel that projects animated Frida-esque-painted roses all around you. 

Nor does it let you down you when walk into the theater, where the infamous Frida Kahlo (played brilliantly by Nanin, who also wrote and produced the show) lays on a twin bed smugly smoking a cigarette, her tomato-red skirt splayed around her to hide the leg Kahlo had to have amputated a year before her death. 

As you wait for the show to start, the chirping of birds rings across the room as projected flowers bloom and crumple on the walls beneath a cinematic spread of mottled clouds. It's an effect that creates a hauntingly surreal aura of both nature and dreams, much like Kahlo's art. 

But that's where the "immersive" nature of the show ends. Ticket holders expecting the sprawling 360-degree LED screens of viral exhibitions like the Van Gogh or Monet "Immersive Experiences" should know: This is not that. 

What it is, however, is a gorgeously produced play that fans of Frida Kahlo—the Mexican painter known for her brilliantly colored self-portraits and tumultuous relationship with muralist Diego Rivera—will appreciate. That's despite the overall production playing more like a visually stunning encyclopedia entry rather than a riveting story with a beginning, middle, and end.

 

Directed by Corky Dominguez, Stroke of Passion follows Kahlo during the last week of her life, beginning with her 47th birthday.  We watch as the Kahlo, mostly bedridden, drifts in and out of dreams with the help of pain injections and frequent swigs of alcohol. Occasionally, she leaves the bed to paint, wheeling herself in a rickety wheelchair to her easel.  

For those who are unfamiliar with the life of the famed painter, Kahlo suffered from terrible and chronic pain that began when she contracted polio as a child and got worse after a bus accident broke her spine in three places at the age of 18. When she was 46, she had to have her right leg amputated, an operation that led to a rapid decline in both her health and, arguably, her sanity. 

"I'm not sick, I'm broken," Nanin says before begging her nurse (played by Tricia Cruz) to fill up her flask. It's a historical quote that reflects Kahlo's fervent attitude toward her "broken" body, a perception frequently the subject of her deeply personal self-portraits. 

The entire play is, first and foremost, a star vehicle for Nanin's talent. Not only did she write, create, and produce the show, but she plays the painter with a nuanced blend of dignity and sadness that makes you feel like you're watching the actual Frida come to life on stage. 

Nanin is the kind of actress who doesn't need to speak to express—the emotions move her face, giving her character the duel vulnerability and strength that made Kahlo so enigmatic. That said, I would have liked to see a bit more ferocity in certain moments; when Kahlo hits her breaking point, I expected more rage, more raw anger.

But perhaps that wasn't Kahlo's nature, so it isn't Nanin's either.

It should be noted that Nanin originally produced Stroke of Passion in 2017. This current version is a "reimagining" of the production to include immersive elements.

As for the plot, the play is more about telling the facts than giving a traditional "hero's journey" story arc.  With a cast of 9 (a lot, considering the whole play takes place in Kahlo's bedroom), characters traipse on and off stage, each one of them drawn to Kahlo like moths to a flame.

There is famous Mexican singer Chavela Vargas (played by Gabriella Ortiz, whose solid voice lends the play a musical flare); Parisian dancer Josephine Baker (the adorable Mair Flores); Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky (played via a creepy on-screen projection and the voice of Paul Cascante); and Cuban spy Teresa Proenza (Corina Vela, who does a good job jumping between roles and disguises). 

There are other characters in the periphery: FRANCISCO Medina plays the somewhat random guitar strumming accompaniment as well as Kahlo's servant, who may or may not have helped Frida overdose on pills in the end (this is one place where the show takes some storytelling liberties); and Alex Honorato plays a bizarre half-naked deer, representative of Kahlo's "Wounded Deer" painting in which she portrayed herself as a deer shot by many arrows.

Watching the characters come and go, we begin to understand how Kahlo's passion led her various escapades, especially when it came to her lovers, women included. She was a feminist of her time, vehemently dedicated to her ideals and poetically proclaiming her love for love, regardless of gender. We also learn that passion was her guiding principle, especially with her husband, with whom she waivers between love and hate as much as you'd expect from an artist with such a tendency toward tumult. 

"There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst." 

Actor Oscar Basulto looks the part of Diego Rivera, though his performance paled beside Nanin's and led me wondering if the famous womanizer’s personality was truly as mild-mannered as it appeared on stage. It reminded me a little of Chicago's Amos Hart, a wilted man in the face of his wife's stubborn determination. 

As for the others, who flit on and off the stage while Kahlo stays firmly in the spotlight, they seem like fragments of a dream. Pieces of people. And, given that Kahlo was either drinking or on heavy painkillers during those last few days, maybe they are. 

It is this fragmented storytelling that is Stroke of Passion's biggest obstacle. The play spends all of its time telling elements of Frida's story—whom she loved, how she suffered, what she believed, and what inspired her—without building its own story. While the 80-minute show is an interesting way to brush up on Frida Kahlo know-how, it's not a show that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. It is information. Beautifully-told information, sure, but not quite a story.

That said, it's far from boring. The performances—especially Nanin's—are solid, and the visuals are dreamy. Kudos to set designer Marco de Leon, lighting designer Alejandro Parra, and Immersive Designer Anthony Storniolo for creating a stage that puts the audience into Kahlo's world, from the flowers wound around all the set pieces to the projected art that fills the walls during moments when her life reflected her art.  

In the end, Frida-Stroke of Passion may not attract people who aren't already fans of Kahlo's art, but it certainly does justice to the woman who inspired it.  

Performance Details: 

WHAT: Frida- Stroke of Passion: The Immersive Experience.  
WHO: Written and produced by Odalys Nanin. Directed by Corky Dominguez. Presented by Macha Theatre/ Films.

WHERE: Casa 0101 Theater, 2102 East First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033.
WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 5 p.m. through June 9
ADMISSION: $40.
ONLINE TICKETING: http://machatheatre.org

ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME: 80 minutes.

FREE PARKING: In lot located at 2130 E. 1st St. (behind Boyle Heights City Hall).

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