THEATER REVIEW: Comedy, drama collide in ‘Alexandros’

Whether your taste runs to comedy bordering on farce or insightful drama that brings a lump to the throat, you’ll be thoroughly satiated with the Laguna Playhouse’s second consecutive world premiere.

Melinda Lopez’s “Alexandros” turns back the clock to 1974, as President Richard Nixon was resigning, and focuses on a Miami family that has escaped Cuba and — judging by their surroundings — has done all right for themselves since. The mother and son who reside there are hosting her daughter and granddaughter, who live in Texas and whom they haven’t seen in a decade, for the grandmother’s 75th birthday party. These are the four familial characters — the fifth is an Anglo gardener who, it appears, does a bit more than trim the bushes.

None of these is the title character. That honor goes to a snappish dog who nips both the visiting mother and daughter, and who spends most of the first act growling and yapping. The second act? Well, that would be spoiling a pivotal plot element, one of several Lopez has packed into her busy little story.

The comedy prevails in the first act, setting up the audience for a number of oh-my-gosh moments in the second. Secrets not only are revealed, they come gushing out like water from a broken faucet. The early hilarity paves the way for some throat-catching sequences later on.

Director David Ellenstein keeps the action humming and the industrious cast bustling around various areas of Marty Burnett’s sprawling interior setting, a few areas of which are lit only when necessary. The bravura performance of the evening is delivered by Saundra Santiago as Maritza, the transplanted Texan whose marriage is crumbling and who anguishes over being mistaken for Mexican as she strives to assimilate herself into the American scene. Santiago tackles both the comedic and dramatic aspects of her character splendidly.

Maria Cellario as the grand dame of the estate is a throwback to the old country whose liberal use of Spanish may confuse playgoers unfamiliar with the language. Her devotion to her family — and to the devilish canine title character — are conveyed with fervent anxiety.

Another superior performance is rendered by Chaz Mena as the old lady’s son, an entertainer on cruise ships whose job description has drastically changed. Mena explodes with stereotypical Cuban passion while attempting to keep the lid on a critical factor of his life.

Katherine Luckinbill (granddaughter of Lucille Ball) as Maritza’s piano-prodigy daughter feigns subservience and an introverted attitude through the play’s early segments before tearing off these trappings midway through the second act. She conveys both of these character traits beautifully.

The affable young gardener, who’s particularly devoted to one family member, is skillfully interpreted by playhouse veteran Kevin Symons, in his sixth appearance on the Laguna stage. Symons’ earnest efforts to be of assistance are a neat counterpoint to all the familial machinations around him.

“Alexandros” may be a bit overladen with plot for maximum character effect — and the language barrier presents another issue — but the Laguna cast underscores its individualities in a production rich in energy and ethnicity in this production.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Alexandros”

WHERE: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. matinees Saturdays, Sundays and June 12; and 7 p.m. June 22, closing June 29

COST: $25 - $65

CALL: (949) 497-2787

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Coastline Pilot.