Review: Transcendent ‘The Storyteller of East LA’ at Latino Theater Company
- Anita W. Harris
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
Latino Theater Company’s world premiere of “The Storyteller of East LA” offers the best kind of theatrical experience — an intimate, beautifully produced and directed story that will make you laugh even as it moves you to tears.
The production is infused with the talents of Latino Theater Company members, many of whom are founding members and associate artistic directors, including playwright Evelina Fernández. Her lilting script is honestly real, telling the story of Mercy (Lucy Rodriguez) — a 90-year-old woman with dementia and the effects of that disease on her grown daughters and granddaughter.
But we also get Mercy’s own story as she privately grapples with her mortality, seeking forgiveness from a smoking and sassy guardian angel (Sal Lopez) in a flowing white dress and feathered wings that others can’t see. Forgiveness for what, and from whom, are revealed as the story unfolds, painting a vibrant picture of Mercy’s life.
Prairie T. Trivuth’s multilevel scenic design features a lot of lace, with dynamic lighting by Josh Epstein and projections by Yee Eun Nam that evoke Mercy’s fragmented memory. Her bed is expansive enough for all the characters to walk on because she and her condition touch them all.
Daughter Grace (Zilah Mendoza), her mother’s primary caretaker, is tired — so tired she’s open to considering placing Mercy in a nursing home. Helping her is hired caregiver Josefa (Ruth Livier), facing her own challenges when ICE (immigration and customs enforcement) takes away her husband, leaving her to fend for herself and her American-born daughter.
When Grace’s more flamboyant sister Mary (Brenda Banda) finally visits after six months — wearing a low-cut cheetah-print jumpsuit and large hoop earrings (costumes by Naila Aladdin Sanders) — sibling rivalry explodes in fits over who is their mother’s favorite and who will take care of her now.
Meanwhile, Grace’s daughter Lulu (Blanca Isabella Pallini), an aspiring young writer, tries to keep the peace but also remember her grandmother’s life stories that she has told them over and over again, including a delightful one about a pig that we get to hear from Mercy in flashback.
While on the surface the play may sound like a typical eldercare story, it is anything but, thanks to elegant and fluid staging by artistic director José Luis Valenzuela, with movement and choreography by Urbanie Lucero, that allows this specific family’s story to transcend into grace and universality.
Lyrical and melancholic Mexican ballads permeate the production (sound design by John Zalewski), and the play’s mix of Spanish and English is instantly translated in supertitles so speakers of both languages can follow every bit of dialogue.
With an excellent cast, a vivacious yet efficient script and tour-de-force direction, “The Storyteller of East LA” is a play not to be missed. Whether you have a parent or grandparent in need of care, or just have a family, this story’s portrayal will touch your heart as you laugh and cry at the same time.
“The Storyteller of East LA” continues through May 17 at the Latino Theater Company in the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles, with shows Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. For tickets and information, call the box office at 213-489-0994 or visit LatinoTheaterCo.org. Run time is 95 minutes with no intermission.