GALA’s Aguardiente Spins in Too Many Directions
A bilingual musical about art, identity, and immigration delivers passionate performances but struggles to unify its sprawling storylines.
Art imitates life making art in GALA Hispanic Theatre’s disappointing world-premiere musical Aguardiente: Where Magic Transcends Borders. Presenting a show within the show, Aguardiente burrows into the creative process of friends and collaborators Alberto (Samuel Garnica) and Alejandro (Sebastián Treviño), struggling to create a musical that draws from and celebrates their Latino roots and culture.
Their struggle to define what they want to say is perhaps too aptly reflected in the scattered script and production of this show, directed and choreographed by Luis Salgado (GALA’s Helen Hayes Award-winning In the Heights).
Like the writing team depicted onstage, Salgado, who’s from Puerto Rico, teamed with Colombian composer and musician Daniel A. Gutiérrez to conceive the bilingual Spanish-English musical, with a book by Salgado, music by Gutiérrez, and lyrics by both.
Also like their stage counterparts, Salgado and Gutiérrez worked under the gun of a hard deadline, commissioned to complete their new musical in time for GALA’s 50th anniversary this season. They made their deadline, obviously, but may not have resolved what they wanted to say.
As we watch Alberto and Alejandro brainstorming their show, agreeing on or tossing out ideas, racing against the pressure of a looming deadline, it feels we’re inside the creation of the very show we’re watching, but mostly seeing the writers’ block. They spend a precious amount of time and dialogue stressing about whether they’ll finish in time.
Repetitively adding to that stress is their flamboyantly foppish producer Eve (danced well and voiced thinly by Eric González), regularly phoning in to light a fire under them, though really just more of a nuisance. Their creative process is also constantly disrupted by outside concerns, like Alberto’s money gig on a show in London and Alejandro’s ongoing tribulations with his U.S. immigration status.
Between the delays and setbacks, the fruits of their inspiration emerge as scenes from the musical they’re writing, about young lovers Azuquita (Vin Ramos), a strong-willed dreamer, and Anís (Ana Luis Martínez), charming, beautiful, and also ambitious. The picturesque vistas of the couple’s Colombian fishing village are visible in the background, as painted images projected onto Clifton Chadick’s rather flat set, composed of three large screens.
Through a lively score fusing Latino and Afro-Caribbean musical influences, Aguardiente portrays in parallel the love story of Azuquita and Anís, who bravely set out from their village to the U.S., and Alberto and Alejandro, juggling their art and busy lives. Over the course of two loosely structured acts, each of the four is spun off into their own mini-drama, and the show, in turn, starts spinning off in several directions at once.
Salgado’s script doesn’t satisfyingly fit the disparate storylines into a cohesive whole, a shortfall compounded by the uneven efforts of the cast. On the plus side, Treviño and Garnica deliver impassioned lead performances, with Treviño especially touching as immigrant Alejandro, an artist ever ready to pour his heart into the work.
Portraying that work come to life, Ramos’ Azuquita leads a compelling quest for his destiny, and, in Azuquita and Anís’ duet “Aquí nací,” he and Martínez blend their voices beautifully evoking the warmth and history of home.
Anís later sings another duet with a different love interest, Beta (Emy Ramos), in a lesbian subplot that feels less like a twist and more simply tacked-on to add another complication to the sprawling plot. Between the very reticent stage blocking and performances, the ladies register little romantic chemistry.
But even more tacked-on might be the subplot of a show producer, Pepe (Machiran), who insists the team add circus elements to their stage musical. Perhaps again a nod to art imitating life, and creators managing questionable requests and outlandish expectations from their investors, the ensuing cirque-style performance has nothing to do with anything, really.
For all of that underwhelming circus commotion, the show’s most impactful musical numbers are two tender moments: Alberto’s Abuelo (Álvaro Medina Molina) singing beloved Spanish-language standard “En mi viejo San Juan,” an ode to Puerto Rico, and Alberto’s Mamá (Leanna “Leah” Finol) offering loving guidance in “Sofrito,” a mid-tempo salsa also honoring Puerto Rico.
The show’s best song, performed by the show’s strongest singer, “Sofrito” encourages Alberto to wave away the worries and distractions clouding his creativity. Instead, “Speak with your heart,” the song implores. Ignore the circus and just write what you know is not the most groundbreaking epiphany, but in Alberto and Alejandro’s case, and where this show is concerned, it counts as shrewd advice.
Aguardiente (★★☆☆☆) runs through May 24 at GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. This is a bilingual production with surtitles in English and Spanish. Tickets are $35 to $60, with discounts for Seniors, Military, Groups 10+, and Patrons Under 25. Call 202-234-7174 or visit galatheatre.org.
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.