AS IF TELENOVELAS
WEREN’T MELODRAMATIC ENOUGH FOR YA’…
As someone who blew off after-school activities because he just couldn’t miss General Hospital (in the grand days of Luke and Laura vs. Elizabeth Taylor), I’m not in a position to cast stones at the many flaws of telenovelas. Quality or not, the format is opium to many. In fact, during Destiny of Desire, which opened at The Old Globe this week, it is announced — with data to back it up — that telenovelas are the most-watched format in the world. Dubbing, subtitling, and remakes have taken this story form far beyond the Spanish speaking world. What is it about the over-the-top dramas that makes them so irresistible that even critics get addicted to them? The bottom line is that juicy is exciting, and playwright Karen ZacarÃas ’” whose 2015 play premiered at Arena Stage in D.C. ’” gets this in spades.
Yesenia Ayala and James Olivas
She also gets that a move to the stage, where we can’t be drawn in week after week, requires something more: humor. And this we get non-stop. Sometimes, it’s just funny lines, but other times it’s simply in the delight of director Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s cast milking things, even beyond (I pray) what would sail in a true telenovela.
Yesenia Ayala, James Olivas, Christopher M. Ramirez, Nancy Ticotin, Al Rodrigo
We open with grand dame Fabiola Castillo (Bianca MarroquÃn), wife of wealthy casino tycoon Armando Castillo (Al Rodrigo) being rushed to the hospital to deliver her baby daughter, expecting the small hospital staff to jump because of her celebrity status. At almost the same time, peasants Hortensia and Ernesto Del Rio (Mandy Gonzelez and Carlos Gomez) enter the understaffed hospital to deliver their baby daughter. In the chaos, you just KNOW that there’s going to be a baby switch, but the twist is that Fabiola and the doctor (Julio Agustin) do it on purpose, because the poor family’s baby is far healthier and Fabiola can’t bear to bring a sickly child home to Armando. Jump 18 years and let the insanity begin. Keep a scorecard ready because it gets thick.
The cast of Destiny of Desire
Lighting (Jane Cox), Sound Design (Robert Kaplowitz), and Projection Design (Hana S. Kim) deserve a shout-out for creating the illusion of beautiful opening credits, as if we we’re watching it on TV, though it’s all projected onto Rachel Hauck’s simplistic set design that works beautifully as a backdrop for the projection AND as an easy stage to manipulate for multiple locations.
Christopher M. Ramirez, Bianca MarroquÃn, Tito Livas
Every soap, it seems, has its one primary diva. For instance, there was plenty to say about Dynasty in its heyday, but 90% of the attention was on Joan Collins. While everyone in Destiny has their moments, Fabiola is the one you’ll love to hate. Since MarroquÃn can’t mug for the camera on stage, she more than compensates by rushing toward the audience to do so, throwing herself on furniture, scenery, and people, and boldly declaring feelings that no one in their right mind would say aloud. Delicious.
Nancy Ticotin and Al Rodrigo
Beyond the norm of telenovelas, Destiny is loaded with good singing, especially by Armando’s son Sebastian (James Olivas) who roused cheers from the audience with some crazy long-held note in Act II. Lorna Ventura’s choreography, including Argentinian tango, is delightful, bordering on acrobatic at times for the very flexible MarroquÃn and others.
Yesenia Ayala and James Olivas
A real flaw came early-on with some confusion that bears mentioning because it changed the entire understanding of the storyline for some. It might have been a misstep by an actress solely on our night, or it could be an error in blocking: In the aforementioned hospital scene, it appeared that a nurse takes Hortensia’s baby and mistakenly hands it to Fabiola. Many in the audience let out an audible, “ooooohhh,” thinking that the babies had just been switched. Then, when Fabiola pulls her evil switcharoo, we think (for the entire play) that everyone had actually gotten the right baby because of the double switch. Not so. By the end of the play, it’s clear that the girls were indeed switched just once, such that Hortensia has raised the wrong girl. Something was amiss in that blocking there that led this critic (and a few others spoken to afterward) to be left scratching their heads.
Yesenia Ayala, James Olivas, and Bianca MarroquÃn
The show is a long one, ending 2 hours and 40 minutes after start time, but it really flies by. The humor never fails to delight and the storyline is actually interesting enough to pull us in, even while lovingly parodying the easily mocked telenovela.
The cast of Destiny of Desire
photos by Jim Cox
Destiny of Desire
Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage
The Old Globe
1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park
Tues & Wed at 7; Thurs & Fri at 8; Sat at 2 & 8; Sun at 2 & 7
ends on June 25, 2023
for tickets, call 619.234-5623 or visit The Old Globe