Wasn’t obsessed with ‘Enfrascada’: Review

UTRGV Theatre held its free preview for “Enfrascada” on Oct. 7, seeing just about half the Albert L. Jeffers Theaters’ seats full. Awaiting the audience was a beautifully dressed stage, complete with a decorated altar for brujería, a central device in the play, and a Chicago-style backdrop that changed with each scene.

“Enfrascada,” penned by actress and playwright Tanya Saracho, is a dark comedy featuring an all-women cast of characters navigating the central character Alicia’s breakup with her long-term partner. Her method for getting her man back? Visiting three señoras, all practitioners of folk magic who provide advice and guidance for our lost Alicia, who becomes increasingly obsessed — hence the title. The play explored themes of heartbreak, friendship and spirituality.

Set in Chicago, the cast is primarily Mexican American, as reflected in the Latin American folk magic and Spanglish used throughout the play. While the Rio Grande Valley doesn’t house many city natives, the cast’s portrayal more than made up for it with their proficient Spanish accents we’ve come to expect from bilingual diaspora.

A particular standout came in the form of costuming. Set in 2011, the cast wore period-appropriate attire, courtesy of director and costume designer Jennifer Saxton-Rodriguez. Each costume represented the characters well, conveying the environment if the stage were to fall short.

The Albert L. Jeffers Theater is home to a thrust stage, where the audience surrounds the performance on three sides, drawing viewers into the world of the play.

The Rider had the pleasure of sitting front and center, where the actors were attentive to every section of the audience during their monologues. While a few scenes hugged the back of the stage, something even the closest seat in house had to squint to see, a majority of the play engrossed the audience into the world of the all-women’s cast through clever blocking and set design.

The play’s primary objective correlative was the jar, with multiple jars placed atop the altar on stage right. Throughout the two-hour play, we watch Alicia collect jars that grow in size, directly correlating with her emotional suppression. Her friends remind her that it’s OK to cry, a message she heeds only at the very end. This moment marks the climax of her journey as a vulnerable sister to these friends who initially sent her along the path of brujeria.

Where “Enfrascada” falls short is in convincing the audience of the deep friendship between the women. While the triumph of an all-women’s cast is nothing to sneeze at, something between Saracho’s writing and the chemistry on stage was lost along the way, delivering an oddly paced emotional journey for Alicia that doesn’t quite land.

What’s missing are believable moments where the audience gets to breathe in the friendship between these women in the first place. They’re able to converse about the men in their lives, the breakups, the ups-and-downs of their romance, but not much outside of that. What we’re left with is a question: Why else do these girls hang out outside of making some jokes for the audience (some awkward, some funny)? Their interactions vary from unconditional support to sudden conflict borne of Alicia’s obsession, without giving the audience enough insight into why they became friends in the first place.

The big climax where Alicia finally let out all her emotions pent up inside of her, as noted by a couple of the señoras as necessary, ultimately fell flat as a dramatic and comedic experience. The play earns an overall rating of three out of five stars.