Review: SANDRA'S SON: A LIFE SKETCHED OUT WITH CBABI BAYOC at Greenfinch Theater And Dive Bar

SANDRA’S SON: A LIFE SKETCHED OUT premiered at Greenfinch Theater and Dive Bar on Thursday evening as a collaboration between the internationally renowned painter and illustrator Cbabi Bayoc and Greenfinch owners Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf. SANDRA’S SON is a one-man staged monologue, billed by Healy as a “theatrical memoir.”

Bayoc shares in the opening phrases of his story that “keeping your brush wet” allows the painter to approach a blank canvas and create. He jokes, using a tested-and-true dad joke, that the art the work on the easel could become an elephant or a rhino, but that without starting an artist will never create. His wet brush is analogous to Bayoc’s path in life as a son, student, husband, and father.

He didn’t find art as a career, art found him. Bayoc tells a very personal story about his youth, his mother, losing his father at a young age, and discovering his talent. He has a strong sense of humility and shares raw stories about successes and failures. He is not an actor, and his oration isn’t completely polished, but those moments of complete vulnerability make him interesting, human and relatable, and that’s what makes SANDRA’S SON work.

Colin Healy, credited with direction and stageplay, crafted an engaging script that walks the audience through Bayoc’s life. Healy’s script includes Bayoc’s education at an HBCU, his work as a caricature artist at an amusement park, and his sale of three paintings to Prince. Yes, THAT Prince, and now one of Bayoc’s paintings adorns the wall above the white piano in Prince’s home at Paisley Park. It is the same painting that Prince selected as album cover artwork for his jazz album “The Rainbow Children.”

Healy’s directorial vision, and his collaboration with Bradley Rohlf created a slick theatrical event. Rohlf’s technical elements included engaging sound and video design that creates a layered palette for emotional storytelling. His lighting design sets mood, and his single spot on a phone answering machine to open and close the show gives SANDRA’S SON real heart as a theatrical performance piece.

Bayoc, like the rest of us is just an everyday person finding his way in this world. He is talented, has enjoyed success in the art world, learned from his mistakes, and understands the importance of personal accountability. Bayoc shares many sensitive moments. None more exposing than the story of the painting of himself, his father, and his sister that was included in his “365 Days with Dad” series.

SANDRA’S SON: A LIFE SKETCHED OUT continues at Greenfinch Theater and Dive Bar with performances through Sunday, April 21st. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 PM, with a Sunday matinee at 2:00 PM. Bayoc is managed by Amber Bayoc, and the performance is also supported by Laura Bethany Strong as Theatrical Consultant.  Click the link below to purchase tickets.

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