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César and Ruben
By Martin Jones Westlin
If César Chavez were alive today, he would find his legacy has taken on a dimension he couldn't have foreseen. His name, of course, is synonymous with the betterment of the migrant labor climate, and those pursuits were fueled through his advocacy of nonviolence. In life, Chavez maintained that peace was the surest way to fruition; in death, he's an unlikely character for portrayal in song and dance.
Chavez's lessons aren't lost on actor-writer-director Ed Begley Jr., who's resurrected the union founder's spirit and substance in his César And Ruben, playing at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood through April 27. The musical coincides with Chavez's 76th birthday (March 31); its dramatic devicestranscend the calendar that marks the occasion.
Chavez (Roberto Alcaraz) and the late Ruben Salazar (Tony D'Arc), who covered union activities for the Los Angeles Times, are brought together in death, reminiscing on the triumphs and ills of Chavez's birthright and his natural abilities as an organizer. The irony of their reunion manifests itself in a clever plot device: neither of the two can remember much of his own life; as a consequence, one recounts the story of the other.
The action commences with Chavez's Yuma, Arizona boyhood, during which his travels through the Southwest steel him to his fate and generate his resolve. Decades of bigotry and petulance swirl about the charismatic maverick. The father of eight somehow finds time to forge what would become the United Farm Workers of America (UFW). Fair wages, health care and pension plans are the stuff of drama to a man touted by the late Sen. Robert Kennedy as "one of the heroic figures of our time."
Kennedy (a very good Shannon Stoeke) is conspicuous in this production, a rare exception to the mild rigidity in that lmost allthe Latinos are upstanding and forthright; almost all the white guys are loutish and foul-mouthed. The play thus flirts with Chavez's veneration rather than his portrayal, sometimes making somewhat out of sync with Begley's judicious choices of musical fare. Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" and Sting's "Fields of Gold" are among the 19 very worthy complements to the action.
A few characters suffer from underdevelopment, notably that Fred Ross (Charles Dennis), who in 1952 persuaded Chavez to join a prominent Latino civil rights agency. Chavez's group greets Ross with ample suspicion, yet Begley never addresses their change of heart when they learn that Ross is legit. But such transgressions are short-lived and infrequent.
Begley has drawn a magnificent Naylor (Edward Albert), a union antagonist whose deep admiration for Chavez is couched in cynicism and disgust ("You got so many goddamn boycotts there's nothin' left for you to eat!" he growls during the best scene in the show). He also pays due attention to internal strife as Chavez butts egos with the headstrong Dolores Huerta (Daneille Barbosa), UFW co-founder-those scenes punctuate the action and bridge some of the show's best dance entries.
The public fasts; the incarcerations; the embargos on products deemed unsafe or harvested at laughable wages; Kennedy's assassination; Salazar's murder during a demonstration turned violent: Begley paints them all vividly and with deep respect for one he knew intimately well. Having been a pallbearer at the 1935 funeral for which 35,000 turned out he may be aware that this number approaches many of Southern California's migrant labor populations by county at peak agricultural seasons. In any event, the object of his admiration is in reprieve. This is a good production of an equally good script, one that despite its authorial flaws is a solid tribute to a man and his mission.
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CESAR AND RUBEN Written and directed by Ed Begley Jr. Cast: Edward Albert, Roberto Alcaraz, Danielle Barbosa, Danny Bolero, Brenda Canela, Thais Carmen, Rachelle Carson, Tony D'Arc, Charles Dennis, Marta Dubois, Melodee Fernandez, Darryl Henriques, Daniel Luja, Antonio Martinez, Jeanine Pacheco, Gustavo rex, Shannon Stoeke, Brennan Saucedo, Evan Saucedo, Mary Krystle Viramontes Construction Coordinator: Roy Berman Lighting Crew Head: David Ramirez Head Property Master: Steven White Wardrobe Supervisor: Jacqueline Aronson Running time: Approximately 125 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission. The El Portal Theatre, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 508-4200. 3/14/03 through 4/27/03. Tues.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 3 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. Reviewed by Martin Jones Westlin based on the performance of 3/14/03. |
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