DUENDE DE LORCA?

the first time i saw "cabaret" on stage was at the river theater in astoria, oregon in 2005. the production was well cast, and the intimacy of the small theater was fitly evocative of the experience of the kit kat club and the parlor scenes of interwar berlin. sadly, but not surprising for a regional act, the river theater was gone from astoria the next time i visited. even with a schedule of well known or well liked shows, a small theater has its work cut out for it in keeping the show going. small shows still cost money, and the people aren't many who will regularly pay to go to the theater without the guarantee of the grand spectacle that often only larger theaters can provide.

the stated mission of the miracle theater in portland is to present "quality hispanic theater, arts and cultural experiences for the northwest's urban and rural communities." it's teatro milagro tours the country with original bilingual theater productions, one of which, "duende de lorca," a play in one act about its titular character the spanish poet and dramatist federico garcía lorca, began its debut run at the miracle this weekend. although the official world premiere was scheduled for tonight, the company did a preview of the show on thursday, january 13. i'd had lorca on my mind for a few days since reading a mention of his assassination during the spanish civil war in a novel, and so, after finding out that a couple of friends were planning to attend the preview for credit in a spanish class, i decided to give the miracle theater my fifteen dollars.

"duende de lorca" begins in the late 1920s after the production of lorca's first commercially successful play and follows the poet from spain to new york to cuba, ending with lorca's dismissal from that country following his public recital of an incendiary ode to walt whitman. the play focuses keenly on lorca's frustrated homosexuality and evokes his desire for its sincere expression and his passion for the avant garde through the weaving of his verse into the script. lorca was significantly influenced by the culture of andalusia in southern spain, and the spirit of evocation intrinsic to el duende is closely tied to the performing arts of that region, specifically flamenco.

in lorca's own words (included in the playbill): "the duende...is a power, not a work. it is a struggle, not a thought...it is not a question of ability, but of true, living style, of blood, of the most ancient culture, of spontaneous creation." surely, then, a play called "duende de lorca" would aspire to affect that struggle and spontaneity? apparently not.

although the "duende de lorca" does an acceptable job of showing the poet as a man, very much moved by the force of his living blood, it is constantly weighed down by traditional theatrical style. even during a scene depicting the conflict between two cockroaches and a butterfly (an allusion to the failure of lorca's first play, "the butterfly's evil spell"), the entire script is obsessively acted. the actors on thursday performed unfeelingly, their movements static between rigid blocking. in addition to lorca, who remains on stage for the entirety of the production, the characters are played by only three other performers, two men and one woman. masks and costume changes are incorporated into different scenes to assist the dialogue in indicating an actor's role changes, but the actors' performances themselves seemed hardly to change. (that was supposed to be dalí?) the bilingual dialogue is impressively written, but its rapid fire delivery doesn't help the confusion. as for lorca himself, he was an ugly caricature of the young, neurotic, homosexual artist. his obsessive limp wristed hand wringing and lip quivering, if not downright offensive, were persistently distracting.

the show also -- as if that weren't enough -- disappoints in its two musical numbers. lorca was a passionate devotee of cante jondo, the powerful "deep song" of flamenco, and was instrumental in the opening of a festival dedicated to it at granada in 1922. the two songs sung in "duende de lorca" could have been an opportunity for the play to showcase that style as it pertained to the life and work of the artist. instead, the male lead sang them effetely under the spotlight in a style that bore no distinction from what you'd hear in a show like, say, "cabaret." the miracle theater has presented flamenco music in the past, surely they could have consulted a local cante artist.

the miracle theater's effort in staging a production like "duende de lorca" is commendable. if nothing else, it demonstrates the important place of small scale theaters in the avante garde and the introduction of new works. but however much the script of "duende de lorca" may be challenging and innovative, its performance by teatro milagro is stale and uninspired. there is no duende in "duende de lorca." my urge is to call the effort herculean, but thursday night's show had more in common with the myth of sisyphus.

so after all of it i was excited to throw up my hands and rejoin my friends for a bit of revelry -- and the miracle theater had one last chance at redemption. technically, thursday's performance was a final dress rehearsal, but it was, also technically (there was an audience, after all), the world premiere. and in the lobby after the show? not a drop of champagne.