Professional wrestling isn\u2019t a sport. It\u2019s entertainment, a form of theater in which each player has an assigned role, and each move and the outcome are scripted.<\/p>\n
\u00a0That\u2019s one of the messages in \u201cThe Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity\u201d by Kristoffer Diaz. Being given its Bay Area premiere by Aurora Theatre Company, this two-act work has a five-male cast, but it\u2019s essentially a monologue. The speaker is Macedonio \u201cThe Mace\u201d Guerra (Tony Sancho), a Puerto Rican professional wrestler who has loved what he calls this art form ever since he and his two brothers watched it on TV in their New York City home.<\/p>\n
Now he\u2019s employed by THE Wrestling, a promotional company run by Everett K. \u201cEKO\u201d Olson (Rod Gnapp). Mace\u2019s role calls for him to make his opponent look better than he and to allow his opponent to win. He takes on an entrepreneurial role when he encountersVigneshwar \u201cVP\u201d Paduar (Nasser Khan), an athletic Indian American man whom Mace\u2019s brothers met through impromptu basketball games.<\/p>\n
\u00a0EKO agrees to put VP in the ring, but promotes him as a potential Muslim terrorist and eventually puts him up against THE Wrestling\u2019s champion, Chad Deity (Beethovan Oden), an egotistical black man. Before going up against Chad, though, VP is matched up with The Bad Guy, Billy Heartland and Old Glory, all played by Dave Maier, who also serves as fight director. Maier also warms up the audience before the show by telling observers how to react to various characters.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Billed as a social satire, \u201cChad Deity\u201d plays on racial and ethnic stereotypes, but it doesn\u2019t work well. Except for The Mace, none of the characters is anyone the audience can care about, and the plot isn\u2019t all that interesting either, unless \u2013 perhaps \u2013 one is a fan of professional wrestling. The script is loaded with obscenities and other street language.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Jon Tracy directs the talented cast and orchestrates the action well. Nina Ball\u2019s set features a wrestling ring and two giant video screens within Aurora\u2019s intimate thrust stage. The videos are designed by Jim Gross with lighting by Kurt Landisman and costumes by Maggie Whitaker. The sound \u2013 often deafeningly loud \u2013 is by Cliff Caruthers.<\/p>\n
Aurora usually presents interesting, provocative plays, but \u201cThe Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity\u201d falls short on both accounts.<\/p>\n
\u00a0It continues through Sept. 30. For tickets and information, call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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