Review: OUR ORANGE SKY at Profile Theatre

Orlando leads an enviable life. He’s an Emmy-winning writer with plenty of money (which he mentions at every available opportunity), he has a sweet and caring boyfriend, and he’s his parents’ favorite son. But still, he’s unfulfilled.

christopher oscar peña’s OUR ORANGE SKY, now in its world premiere at Profile Theatre, is a sequel to last season’s HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN SON. I didn’t get a chance to see that one, but from what I’ve read, it is a blistering dramedy about race, class, and the American Dream, centered on Orlando, the teenage children of Honduran immigrants, whose dad worked his way up to found a successful janitorial company.

If the earlier play was about the complex challenges of achieving the American Dream, OUR ORANGE SKY is about the subsequent discovery that money can’t buy happiness.

Set years later, the play begins with Orlando and his boyfriend, Wes, driving to Orlando’s childhood home to celebrate his mom’s 60th birthday. Orlando doesn’t get along with his brothers, and he hasn’t been home to visit his family in a while. He says he wants this time to be different and asks Wes to help him not be a jerk, but as soon as they walk in the door, it’s evident that he has no intention of following through on that plan, especially once he learns that he isn’t the only one with a life-changing announcement.

With their children grown and plenty of money, Orlando’s parents, Mando and Marisol, are contemplating next chapters that look completely different from their current lives. Of the sons, Orlando is the only one who pushed himself to achieve financial success. Junior, the eldest, is satisfied with a modest job that provides a modest living, while Mario, the youngest, has traveled the world, practicing yoga and working the land, but never held what Orlando considers a “real” job. Though he rails against them and their choices (largely, it seems, to justify his own), it’s hard to imagine that Orlando isn’t just a little bit jealous that his brothers have found a peace that he has not. I wouldn’t say that Orlando makes any major breakthroughs, but I hope that his eyes are opened to how he constantly gets in own way.

The whole cast – Patricia Alvitez, Anthony Green Caloca, Jonathan Hernandez, David Remple, Matt Sepeda, and Skyler Verity – executes their roles well. Sepeda, who also played Orlando in the previous show, was an excellent choice. Even when he’s sucking all of the air out of the room, you can see that Orlando is just a wounded boy who hasn’t yet figured out how to take up space in the world without taking it from someone else. My favorite performance was by Hernandez as Junior. This is the third time I’ve seen Hernandez perform, and I’m always struck by his ability to imbue tough-on-the-outside characters with heartbreaking vulnerability.

Finally, the scenic elements of this production are stunning. The set is a room in the house with a huge window overlooking rolling hills. Through this window, magic happens as scenic designer Frank Oliva and lighting designer Blanca Forzan bring the orange sky of the title to life. It’s gorgeous.

Overall, OUR ORANGE SKY weaves personal struggles and societal issues into a family reunion where no one escapes unscathed. The play runs through June 16. Details and tickets here.

Photo credit: David Kinder

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