Theatrical ambition is a dangerous thing. The desire to take major risks and create great things can have extraordinary results when the play works. When it falls flat, as in the unfortunate case of Octavio Solis' "Dreamlandia," it is frustrating to see ambition and talent fail to coalesce into a workable play.
Loosely based on Pedro Calderon de la Barca's classic Spanish play "Life is a Dream," "Dreamlandia" is set around the US-Mexico border, in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. The convoluted plot centers on factory owner Celestino (the reliably excellent Craig Spidle), who, after his wife dies in childbirth, consigns their son (Tony Sancho, feral and frightening) to be chained inside a cave on the river between El Paso and Juarez. He also sends the midwife who he blames for his wife's death (Charin Alvarez) back to Mexico with her two children (Jessica Camacho and Marcus Castillo). The midwife's death sends her children back to El Paso and convinces Celestino to remove his son from chains, to be his true heir.
The plot twists strain credulity, and the play is an odd mixture of the realistic and the unrealistic that somehow fails to gel as magical realism. Strained humor (such as a stereotypical pair of hick cops) coexists uneasily with incidents of nasty violence (an emergency C-section at the beginning of the play is just a start). Worse, the political satire often feels juvenile, and the more serious explorations of the issues preachy.
This is particularly unfortunate given the undeniable moments of power in the play, which is generally well-acted and staged. Occasionally an exchange or image will connect, and it is spine-tingling. There is a wonderful play set on the border between the US and Mexico, and I hope that Solis will continue exploring it, because, despite the strong elements of "Dreamlandia," he has yet to write it.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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