BWW Reviews: GHETTO BABYLON Hits It Out Of The Park

Baseball, girls, high school, and getting out: of course, these are the normal pressures of every fourteen-year-old boy. But when Charlie Rosa receives a special letter that makes him question everything and starts interacting with his favorite fictional character all of those pressures intensify creating more questions Rosa must struggle with and one of the more dynamic plays to open this summer.

GHETTO BABYLON, which opened Wednesday at 59E59, places the audience in 1982 Bronx and into the life of Rosa. Rosa is your typical protagonist, one with a dilemma and hard choices to make, a young character that whose story and situation are not quite ones that seems new and unexpected. But what makes it such an energetic release of adrenaline are the persuasive performances that genuinely force you to deeply care, understand, and connect with each character. Alejandro Rodriguez who, in the fifty-seat theater, instantly creates a one-on-one bond with each audience member as soon as the show begins brings Rosa, the driving force of the play, to life. Effortlessly switching back and forth between narrating the plot, placing his character in the action, and also playing the umpire, he sets the tone of the show while winning you over and holding you in his grasp way beyond the ending of the play.

Rosa doesn't leave the stage for the entirety of the 140-minute play as the action shifts between the two places he considers home, the baseball field and the roof of his apartment where he shared many special memories with his mother. Rodriguez delivers the intensity and humor that drive him on the field and when hanging out with his best friend Spec (Sean Carvajal) and his cousin Felix (Malik Ali), the emotion when struggling with his imaginary friend TheCatcher (Andrew Schoomaker), and the humorous yet touching moments of discovering first love with his downstairs neighbor Sarafina (Talia Marrero).

The entire cast is at Rodriguez's level. Each character is necessary to his development and the development of the story and each of the brilliant cast members individualize their parts and make their characters ones remember. To be particular, though, another thrilling turn is that of Marrero. If there is an actress to watch out for, it's her. Her performance is of the nature that you walk out convinced Sarafina and Marrero are one in the same. She's quick in delivering her one-liners and heartbreaking towards the end.

The performances delivered by Ali and Carvajal are also stellar. They both portray the young boys whose desires, although just simple jackets and the bragging rights of a win, do not seem small; the play takes you away from the big problems of the outside world and make you think that all that matters is what's happening on the stage.

The minor supporting roles of TheCatcher and TheBobby (Rodney Roldan), Sarafina's ex-boyfriend and neighborhood bully, deliver edge to the story. Schoomaker's TheCatcher, Rosa's release, and Roldan's TheBobby, Rosa's struggle, vividly represent in moments away from the friends and the girl the two world's Rosa finds himself in. Each of the two are captivating and challenge the audience as much as they do Rosa.

Writer Michael Mejias has presented a play that, as mentioned above, isn't too new of a story or surprising in the grand scheme of plays, novels, films, and the like. However, the dialogue is crafted in a beautiful fashion and director Gregory Simmons has not just brought Mejias' words to life but made the play and performances an experience rather than just a play. Though it is playing a small room at 59E59, this is by no means a small play and with any hope it will find a larger home for a longer run soon with this cast and, with all hope, not lose any of its immersive feel.

Before the performance I overheard Mejias mention to a few women that GHETTO BABYLON started as his sixth play and ended up being his twenty-sixth. He explained that it was always one that was stuck close to his heart and it never left him. Obviously time has done this play well and Mejias' pride and passion oozes freshness and realness with each syllable uttered on the stage.

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