White Tie Ball
Written by Martin Zimmerman
Directed by Edward Torres
VG Studio, 2433 N. Lincoln (map)
thru Oct 13 | tickets: $25-$30 | more info
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Writing the future with every choice we make
Teatro Vista presents
White Tie Ball
Review by Lawrence Bommer
In this world premiere from Teatro Vista there’s a sardonic twist of fortune that frustrates and reverses audience’s expectations: Martin Zimmerman’s 90-minute one-act world premiere focuses on two mixed-race Arizona brothers named Moreno but also Robinson: The younger Beto can pass for white (like their father); the elder Edward looks Latino. But it’s the former who went to jail at 19 for armed robbery (with the play curiously implying this was his overcompensating way to prove he’s Mexican-American despite his blonde hair and blue eyes). At the same time, the more “ethnic” sibling went to Yale and has become one of the few Chicano county attorneys in a hate-ridden state where minority prisoners sweat in tents. Edward has tried to be a father to Beto: Their connection has never been tighter as the play begins–and events conspire against them.
The guys represent two different ways to be (or not) second generation Americans. An up-and-coming liberal Democrat, Edward is being groomed by his mentor and second mother, Congresswoman Margaret Spencer, to run for Attorney General–which would be a Latino first if he can overcome a red state’s prejudice. One way is to achieve a successful and controversial prosecution involving a Tucson gang banger. Drug-dealing Alberto Jimenez faces the death penalty for gunning down an off-duty Latina police officer. The partisans of law and order are out to hang him fast and good.
 
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But—and here the play becomes a moral dilemma replete with situational ethics—it turns out that Beto, newly paroled from prison and still coping with abandonment issues, was a witness to the crime: According to him, it’s not as cut-and-dried as it seems to the ravenous media. What seemed a cold-blooded execution by Beto’s former gang member could well be a case of self-defense, hardly justifying an indictment for “murder one.” Alas, it’s too late for Edward to recuse himself from this blatant conflict-of-interest case, an indictment whose trial may well decide his political future.
So will Edward choose the trial (and his career) over justice? It’s here that a family drama skirts perilously on the verge of melodrama, its ending perhaps as pre-determined as its set-up.
But Edward Torres does a fine job of making the play’s confrontations over law and loyalty crackle like a good TV thriller. Gabe Ruiz’ measured and ambitious Edward sharply contrasts with Nate Santana’s wiry and hungry Beto, a conscience who’s also a criminal. Jan Radcliff efficiently suggests the larger Democractic organization that has possibly artificially high hopes for Edward. As Jimenez, Marvin Quijada conveys all the hard-boiled hate that Edward has tried to save Beto from becoming. But, as this familiar but forceful drama proves, we write the future with every choice we make—and for each other as much as for ourselves.
Rating: ★★★
White Tie Ball continues through October 13th at Victory Gardens’ Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln (map), with performances Thursdays-Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 3pm. Tickets are $25-$30, and are available by phone (773-871-3000) or online through VictoryGardens.org (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More info at TeatroVista.org. (Running time: 90 minutes, NO intermission)
Photos by Charles Osgood
artists
cast
Marvin Quijada (Alberto Jimenez), Gabriel Ruiz (Edward Moreno), Jan Radcliff (Spencer), Nate Santana (Beto Moreno)
behind the scenes
Edward Torres (director), Collette Pollard (set), Christine Pascual (costumes) and Jesse Klug (lights), Mikhail Fiksel, Mikey Moran (sound design), Jamie Mermelstein (props master), Corrie Besse (production manager), Razor Wintercastle (stage manager), Kristin Leahey (dramaturg, asst. director), Jacob Padron (dramaturg, asst. director), Nicole Cobb Oliver (asst. stage manager), Devonte Washington (intern), Charles Osgood (photos)
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