he Mace (back, Tony Sancho*) watches the elaborate entrance of fellow THE wrestler Chad Deity (c, Beethovan Oden*) in the Bay Area Premiere of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity: Comedy. By Kristoffer Diaz. Directed by Jon Tracy. Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. 510-843-4822 or www.auroratheatre.org. Through September 30, 2012.
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a slam bang show at Aurora
When you enter the small three sided Aurora Theatre to see their first offering of the 2012-13 season be prepared for a shock. An almost full sized boxing/wrestling ring fills three quarters of the acting area with just enough room at its periphery for the feet of the first row of patrons who swiftly learn they must share that space with one or more combatants who will cavort in and out of that ring. Set design by Nina Ball.
The adjective ‘cavort’ is apt since the play’s central theme is professional wrestling, and those in the know, know that pro wrestling is unreal physical acting to earn a buck. But do not tell that to the aficionados of the ‘sport’ who refuse to accept it as only theatre for profit. From the reaction of the few pro wrestling matches I have seen on TV the audience reaction seems authentic, spontaneous and hysterical. Surprisingly the women are the most vocal since many of the wrestlers are muscle-bound hulks exuding sex. It certainly was that way with the two women seated in back of us who were the most vocal with hysterical exhortations as the menacing characters make their entrances dressed in sparse, very revealing spandex and hardly anything more (Costumes by Maggie Whitaker). Their exhortations really were not spontaneous since the muscular Dave Maier instructed us how to respond as each actor with names like “The Bad Guy”, “Billy Heartland”, “Old Glory”, “The Mace”, and lastly “Chad Diety” when theymake their entrances. Maier is not only an actor(s) in the play but is the fight director.
This satirical put down of the duplicity of wrestling mixes in more than a dollop of social injustice inflicted upon racial minorities and ethnic stereotyping. Elaborate entrances, hence the title, are de rigor. The most elaborate is reserved for an African-American that has been given the name of Chad Diety (Beethoven Oden) whose appearance in the arena with his huge gold “World Champion” belt around his midriff elicits a cacophony of cheers as he throws dollar bills in the air.
But there is no true champion since the matches are arranged as to who will be the good guy and win the match and who will be the bad guy to lose. The fights are finely choreographed to make body slams, camel humps, Korean kicks etc. all seem real without inflicting physical harm to both participants. To stimulate fan interest the promoters devise fake enmity often based on class hatred or perceived malfeasance. Author Kristopher Diaz has created Macedonio “The Mace” Guerra (Tony Sancho), a barrio born Puerto Rican as his protagonist giving him reams of line to explain to the uninitiated the ins and outs of the game.
After Dave Maier has whipped up the audience and taught them how to respond, “The Mace” spouts in non-stop fashion his background, his role as a perpetual loser, his ability to make the other guy look good and his desires for something better. It really is an incessant monolog that Sancho sinks his teeth into as he bounces in and out of the ring or straddles the ropes. He is a marvel, extremely likeable and adept at physical maneuvers. “The Mace’s” opinion of the Chad Diety’s ability doesn’t amount to a hill of beans compared to him but he knows his role, plays it to the hilt and gets paid.
Not only does he know his role, he is constantly reminded by “EKO” Olson (Rod Gnapp) the sleazy promoter who fosters class and individual hatred to stimulate more attendance thus increasing the profitable bottom line. When “The Mace” develops a friendship with a first generation Indian American named Vigneshwar “VP” Paduar (Nasser Khan) an idea for a new act germinates and that will give “The Mace” more control over his destiny.
Their act will be a match between VP as a Muslim terrorist given a name of “The Fundamentalist” complete with a turban and fake beard resembling Osama Ben Laden. “The Mace” is cast as Che Chavez Castro a Mexican guerrilla complete with bandolier and garish sombrero. But alas, Mace is assigned the role of introducer and VP is pitted against Chad Diety. From this point the play tackles the crime of ethnic stereotyping and racial hatred detracting from the fun of wrestling mania.
VP (l, Nasser Khan) and Mace (r, Tony Sancho*), dressed as their wrestling alter egos, shoot a promo directed at champion Chad Deity in the Bay Area Premiere of The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
The staging and acting are marvels. But even with the top-notch acting of Tony Sancho, Rod Gnapp, Dave Maier, Nasser Khan and Beethovan Oden the staging under Jon Tracy’s direction, steals the show. Tracy is known for his physical directing style and is perfect for this play. He makes full use of two screens placed high on the rear wall to project stock video clips and live projections of the action in the ring. (Congratulations to Jim Gross). Curt Landisman’s red white and blue (after all wrestling is an American sport) lighting is enhanced by Cliff Caruthers’ evocative sound design. Running time about two hours including intermission.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.
