In Outside SCR’s past summer outdoor productions, daylight starts with negligible lighting for energetic, mainstream musicals “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and “Million Dollar Quartet,” were a minor distraction. The experience in San Juan Capistrano suffers from the environmental consequence of beginning at 7:30 p.m., the first act playing entirely in broad daylight. While these first-person descriptions of their struggles are heartfelt - if inconsistently compelling - the actors have few interactions with one another, mostly as occasional backing dance partners during brief musical accompaniments or songs.Īs a result, fundamental building blocks of impactful narrative - drama and comedy, which require dialogue and create emotional conflict - are largely absent.ĭelgado describes the work not as a play or a musical but as an “immersive documentary theatre experience.” The story is told through a series of monologues, some of these remembrances delivered almost as veritable lectures, actors addressing the audience directly rather than inhabiting and developing characters. The biggest problem is “La Havana Madrid’s” storytelling structure. This production reveals - and is limited by - a couple of major challenges. Outside SCR’s production is the first time “La Havana Madrid” has been presented elsewhere. First seen in an 80-seat theater, it transferred twice to larger houses as generations of Chicagoans flocked to see it. The show, which debuted in 2017, was a grassroots hit in Chicago. It features an extremely talented live five-piece band and eight actors, including Delgado in the highlighted titular role as “La Havana Madrid,” a singer and somewhat mystical emcee. “La Havana Madrid” is the resulting creation. While research in legacy media turned up virtually nothing, Delgado - who credits Facebook in the program as a helpful source - was able to connect with and learn from those who happily recalled the club’s past. Sandra Delgado, a vital acting and vocalizing presence in the contemporary Chicago theater scene, heard about the club from her Colombian-born immigrant parents.
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