Latin Style: Destiny of Desire (review)
Destiny of Desire is a farce that emphasizes entertainment over making a statement
A Latin-flavored farce with the fun of an old-fashioned comedy and the OTT flair of a telenovela, Karen Zacarias’ Destiny of Desire (
) is for a crowd that likes it sweet but not saccharine, cute but not sarcastic, and thoughtful but not irreverent. Put another way: Zacarias may have a little gentle fun at the expense of both sides of Hispanic-American culture, but no one is going to leave the house offended.
A tale of changelings, mothers good and bad, star-crossed lovers, honest peasants, and outraged patriarchs, Destiny runs on plot twists, one-liners, and the creatively concise choreography of Robert Barry Fleming. It all ends up right-side up, but the tumbles and near misses are thoroughly fun. Director Jose Luis Valenzuela gets the pleasure in the pacing of such a farce and does a masterful job of keeping all the puzzle-pieces moving just as they should.
That said, Zacarias does have one or two points to make — some rueful, some poignant — but they come obliquely, or with humor, or sugar-coated inside a pretty song. Put another way, she may be a little political, but she isn’t preachy and she isn’t going to let it get in the way of the entertainment. It’s a clever approach and it works.
Another interesting angle here is the way the cast of Destiny arrive and assemble before the action starts, much like players in an old-fashioned theatre troupe. It adds to the play at hand, but it also speaks to untapped potentials. Those who experienced the Clark Street days of Avant Bard will recall the extraordinary flavor a small but cohesive company can bring to a season. The Destiny actors work so well together, one can’t help but imagine a whole season of plays (hopefully edgier and more irreverent than this one) with this ensemble trading roles.
Of course, being a farce, every player has a place and purpose here, but there are a few roles that will always make or break a mood. Playing it appropriately larger-than-life, Gabriela Fernandez-Coffey nails it with her glamorously selfish step-mother Fabiola Castillo. She is hilarious for her general state of outrage and outrageous outfits, but she is also memorably fresh. No easy feat considering all the Fabiola-like characters already in the public imagination.
Another standout is Marian Licha, who gives her pious Sister Sonia, Fabiola’s moral counterpoint, a scene-stealing gravitas and displays a talent for making her one-liners zing. But Licha is also nuanced. Her Sonia serves not just as witness to the chaos of human frailty, but also a deadpan foil for much of its humor.
As the well-meaning peasant mother Hortensia del Rio, Rayanne Gonzales shows an impressive ability to move between sincerity, irony and flat-out comedy without batting an eye. She also reveals an attractive soprano in a sweetly-delivered second act song. As her husband Ernesto del Rio, Carlos Gomez is a memorable presence playing his honest farmer straight until he takes his own comical turn. Delivering the goods with plenty of verve, Castulo Guerra is convincing as the patriarch Armando Castillo and Oscar Ceville plays his soulless Dr. Jorge Ramiro Mendoza with the requisite stiffness, if not quite enough irony.
As the young people at the center of the shenanigans, there is no shortage of female leg and male torso, which brings a little pizzazz to the action — but it’s nothing a maiden aunt (or uncle) can’t handle. Elia Saldana’s Victoria del Rio is the most well-rounded, giving her sweet young woman the right mix of appeal and determination. She is a good match for Fidel Gomez’ comically lumbering, and nicely delivered, Dr. Diego Mendoza.
As the rich daughter of the casino empire, Pilar Castillo, Esperanza America is a fascinating presence in her tiny shorts and skirts and she has a keen sense of comic timing, but there is something a tad one dimensional — especially vocally — in her privileged woman. It’s not easy to make something of a rather simply-drawn character but that is the challenge. As the dashing Sebastian Jose Castillo, Nicholas Rodriguez certainly looks the part and exudes the right quotient of charisma along with the tongue-in-cheek, but he is another who does not quite revel in his character, even as he appears to enjoy himself. Perhaps playing to the audience a tad more might work? Still, when he sings, Rodriguez knows how to bring down a house.
This is also a musical work and Rosino Serrano’s score potently accompanies the interludes of song and dance and, best of all, carries the action like a witty commentator.
The parody may be mild, the plot an unapologetically silly somersault, but for a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun, Destiny has it covered.
Destiny of Desire runs to October 18 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth Street, SW, Washington, DC. Tickets are $40-$90. For more information, call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.
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