THE ROSARY THROUGH WHICH WE TALK TO THE GOD WE (DON’T) SHARE, written by Alejandra Cepeda Bátiz and directed by Zoe-Isabella Arana, is a top-to-bottom beautiful production. Navigating the thorny world of faith and family, Victoria (Bethsabé Caballero) is trapped between the passionate dogmatism of her mother, Silvia (Britni Camacho), and her own gnawing sense of doubt. Aarón Mendoza pulls double duty as both Raúl, Victoria’s atheist, apathetic loving father, and the zealous pastor whose fanaticism runs headlong into full-blown bigotry.
Bátiz’s exploration of faith is deep, messy, and often contradictory. The love Victoria feels for Silvia is made complex by her closeted sexuality, and the love Silvia feels for Raúl is made complex by his own outspoken atheism. Arana’s direction makes even the smallest moments powerful, as Victoria questions her mother and her faith from the perspectives of both a young child and a young adult. Wondering aloud the necessity of a rosary to pray and interrogating the
so-called infinite love of a god that doesn’t seem to extend towards queer people both feel equally impactful as part of Victoria’s tribulations, and Caballero weaves through both liturgical quandaries with masterful precision.
Rosary is a show that taps into something deep about the religious upbringings of queer youth, focusing on the slow burn of juggling faith, family, and being truthful to oneself. Bátiz’s script is touching, and explores the intersections of culture and faith in a way that is affective even to someone far removed from Victoria’s world. THE ROSARY THROUGH WHICH WE TALK TO THE GOD WE (DON’T) SHARE is required viewing for anyone with religious trauma, but have faith that even the agnostic among us will still find it a deeply moving production.
Developed by Infinite Monkey Theater Company, THE BALLAD OF BONDER THRASHMAN
FITZQUALUDES is a laugh-a-minute satire of the New York theater scene. Written, Directed, and Starring Fletcher Michael as the titular Bonder, THE BALLAD OF BONDER THRASHMAN FITZQUALUDES mixes and remixes classic literary texts in order to skewer both “NYC theater” in general and sometimes the entire “Creative Process” more broadly.
Michael as Bonder is very much the heart of the show, and his spectacular performance as the affable yet dim Apartment Ball Champion turned MFA playwriting student immediately endears the audience to Bonder through the absurdist 60 minutes and change. The internal logic of the world operates on calvinball (more like Apartment Ball, zing) rules, shunting Bonder from A to B largely as a victim of circumstance. His Apartment Ball Championship title awards him enrollment into the Ellis Island University’s MFA Playwriting program, where his scheming professors Weird Sciences’ the brain of Christopher Marlowe into his skull. From there we’re
off to the races as the Marlowed Bonder (Or Bondered Marlowe, it’s unclear how much of Bonder is truly left after he undergoes the Get Out operation) spends the back half of the show
struggling to conceive of a new story outside of Marlowe’s original body of work, and additionally has to contend with knowing enough about his life to feel a deep sense of anxiety for the first time.
Also the devil shows up.
It’s A LOT to cover in a short amount of time, but Michael and company effortlessly stick the landing through razor sharp writing and brilliant direction. Getting caught up in the increasingly bizarre logic of the world feels like a trap, and much of the comedy works when the ensemble is
firing on all cylinders through a very fast paced script. The Ballad deliberately calls on literary references such as Frankenstein and Dr. Faustus, and by proxy many of its derivatives, but the real secret sauce comes from a second half introduction of Flowers for Algernon as a major
source text. Flowers for Charlie, if you want to get real specific.
Michael’s post-op, brooding, myopic Bonder is such a powerful character that you can almost forgive him for taking away our slackjawed buddy from the first half (almost), but Michael is
able to flawlessly maintain the momentum as the genres begin to blend into each other. Special mention must also be given to Kade Clarks as the U of Ellis Island faculty member Ferrence
Tape, whose performance as the washed up lecturer does a fabulous job of painting a crystal clear picture of the type of character that gives Michael an axe to grind. The rest of the ensemble as whole give stellar performances as a rotating case of delightfully stupid-named characters who flesh out Bonder’s ballad, and who are able to seamlessly capture Michael’s absurdist vision. THE BALLAD OF BONDER THRASHMAN FITZQUALUDES is a modern absurdist masterpiece that has every right to live up amongst the canon of Frankenstein/Faust knockoffs. Michael takes no prisoners in his top to bottom skewering of New York’s MFA Theater programs, and anyone who has even so much as glanced at a thesis showcase or a workshop reading will definitely know the kinds of people Michael takes aim at. And hopefully, you too, dear reader, have a Bonder in your life. The lovable, kind hearted, borderline illiterate people who don’t know much anything other than how to play Apartment Ball. Hold those people tight,
and if some hack weirdo with a brain in a jar offers to turn them into a playwright, DO NOT hand them over.
The Independent Artists movement 