GUNNING FOR PUERTO RICO

Stephen Sondheim chose an unlikely topic for his 1990 Assassins, a musical that portrays assassinating or attempting to assassinate a president is as American as popular music. I can’t say whether or not playwright Matthew Barbot was inspired by Sondheim’s musical, but Barbot certainly fills a hole in Sondheim’s line-up of assassins and wannabe assassins. the beautiful land i seek gives us two men who had President Harry Truman in their sights but who didn’t make it into Assassins: Griselio (Gris) Torresola and Oscar Collazo.

Ashley L. Aldarondo as John Wilkes Booth

the beautiful land i seek is not a musical, but the title comes from the anthem of Puerto Rico. According to the lyrics of that song, Christopher Columbus described Puerto Rico as “the beautiful land I seek” when he first saw the island. Barbot’s play, which had its world premiere in New York less than a year ago at the Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, is a fast-paced and witty portrayal of the imagined 1950 train journey of Gris and Oscar from New York City to Washington, D.C. with assassination on their minds. Nathaniel Justiniano is especially strong as an enraged Gris. He seems very much a man of 1950 down to every anxious twitch and tic. Part of the credit for this certainly goes to Kiara Escalera’s excellent costume design. Carlos Zalduondo Riestra plays the more introspective Oscar. Both men know their intentions are likely to result in their deaths, but Oscar is given some inside information about the outcome that affects his perspective, well portrayed by Riestra.

Nathaniel Justiniano (Gris) and Carlos Zalduondo Riestra (Oscar)

As Gris and Oscar discuss their plans, however, they realize that something is amiss. The journey is taking longer than they expected, and the stops are unfamiliar. Even odder, other people keep entering their compartment—people who represent the past, present, and future of Puerto Rico. These interludes, handled with rollicking virtuosity by Ashley L. Aldarondo and Alexander Crespo-Rosario II, lift this crisply directed production (Elliot Norton award-winner Armando Rivera) into the truly excellent. They are hilarious and informative, and Justiniano and Riestra roll with the punches, reacting as any of us would react if suddenly confronted with a Christopher Columbus drooling over our gold watch or (speaking of Sondheim) a Maria from West Side Story in brown face.

Alexander Crespo-Rosario II as Columbus

My only complaint about this superb production is Peyton Tavares‘ set design, as it simply doesn’t read as a train compartment. The facing seats are too far apart. James Cannon could have clarified the setting as well with his sound design. While the abrupt sound of a compartment door opening helps to alert us to each new character’s arrival, it might also have been used to convey the sense of a moving train—even if where that train is headed is into a surreal and yet thought-provoking examination of the history of Puerto Rican nationalism.

photos by Elainy Mata

the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que Busco yo)
Teatro Chelsea
Chelsea Theatre Works Blackbox, 181 Winnisimmet Street in Chelsea, MA
105 minutes, no intermission
Fri & Sat at 7:30; Sun at 3
ends on November 16, 2025
for tickets (from $17.85), visit Apollinaire Theatre Company

for more shows, visit Theatre in Boston