CheekyChicago

Don’t get confused: both plays currently on stage at the Goodman depict Puerto Rican characters in the States, and both have Spanish words in the title. But that’s essentially where the similarities end between José Rivera’s Boleros for the Disenchanted and Migdalia Cruz’s El Grito del Bronx, which opened Friday. The two productions run in tandem this month but use vastly different stories and styles to address the immigrant experience.

Chicago theater companies Collaboraction, noted for its experimentation, and Teatro Vista, which focuses on Latino culture, have teamed up to present a bold staging of Cruz’s play about estranged Puerto Rican siblings from the Bronx, New York. The sister, Lulu, is about to marry a white, Jewish journalist in the sterile Connecticut suburbs; the brother, Papo, is a serial killer dying of AIDS on death row.

As the show begins, Lulu (played with conviction by Collaboraction ensemble member Sandra Delgado) stands in front of the mirror on her wedding day in a state of panic. Her speech suggests she feels undeserving of the happy occasion, and from there we delve into her family’s bloody history and her brother’s life in prison. Teatro Vista company member Juan Villa shines in a subtle, powerful performance as Papo, a character who has killed eighteen people yet retains our sympathy.

The story jumps around in time, place and style, with scenes played in various sections of the split-level set. We see the teenaged Lulu and Papo, born Magdalena and José, dealing with their father’s brutal abuse despite the best efforts of their frightened mother, Maria. We visit Papo’s cell in an Ohio federal prison, and we witness flashbacks to his murders of racist gas station attendants. In addition, much of the play takes place in the living room of Lulu and her fiancé-to-be, Ed, who struggles to gain Lulu’s commitment despite a complicated relationship.

Amidst these central, realistic scenes the play branches out into abstract and surreal vignettes. An ensemble of men with zombie-like head wounds play Papo’s murder victims, convening in their killer’s cell. One victim’s mother meets Maria, and they’re joined by the mother of a boy killed in an accident that Ed reports in the local newspaper. Papo’s cell neighbor tells a story about dinosaurs, as the young Magdalena and José act it out. Recurring themes, such as blood, motherhood, racism and the legendary, blood-sucking Chupacabra, appear throughout the various story lines.

Often the more experimental portions of the play prove the most effective. Anthony Moseley’s staging creates well-choreographed, dreamlike sequences that bring us into the character’s memories and, no doubt, nightmares. Unfortunately, some of the realistic scenes become less believable by comparison. Cruz’s script often injects heavy exposition and symbolism into supposedly everyday dialogue, which grew distracting. The timeline leaps sometimes place high-drama moments out of context, with no build-up to make them cathartic. The actors rise to these challenges, however, and the show reaches a rewarding conclusion.

El Grito del Bronx plays Thursday – Sunday at the Goodman Theatre through August 2nd.