"El Rayo; Or Self-Deportation Nation," show #944

Playhouse Fresno, for its debut production, premieres Rodolfo Robles Cruz’s El Rayo; Or Self-Deportation Nation, a play that harnesses the human condition when it comes to acknowledging those who are alien. Whether it’s by self-identification or labeled by others, the term alien carries significant weight, and this play puts it on display through the most compelling way: relationships. Directed by Claudio Laso, this play relies heavily on human-to-human relationships, which may be counterintuitive to a play whose plot is about an alien invasion, but not when the text is rich with tension, familial closeness, and media-based rivalry. Cruz’s text is in sturdy hands with Laso’s direction and the cast’s abilities, making for a top-notch debut for Fresno’s newest theatre company.

Aleah Rashel Micu’s leading performance as Karina, the sister to characters Lalo and Jason, is an emotional rollercoaster of a role that is delivered with flawless balance of maternal authority and youthful camaraderie. Micu’s ability to give such natural chemistry in the scenes with Toph Ortiz’s earnest, loving Lalo and Mason Beltran’s gruff, striking Jason takes the audience into a beautifully crafted family dynamic where their vulnerability, anger, and love for one another are true and raw. Cruz’s play begins in 2010 and traverses years 2009 thru 2017 and Today with ease, but starting with a game between Karina and Lalo in the first scene, where we don’t know the rules, is creatively affective and serves as the engine which drives the text. There’s always a game being played with the characters, with a winner and a loser; there’s always a struggle to be content with current circumstances vs. fear of being stuck.

Elena Navarrette delivers a superbly composed-with-an-opinion reporter Gayle, handling the monologues of context and updates with anchor-like timbre, and being a great referee to Jessica and Mark, played with excellent rivalrous chemistry by Bri Villanueva Hardcastle and Alexander Prado, respectively. These three roles handle the bulk of the time-jump context and exposition regarding the alien invasion leading up to the several abductions that transpire. Laso's staging gives way for their brash and poignant speech to sync up by the simple-yet-steady complexity of how their dialogue fits into the social commentary on how aliens–whether actually an Extra-Terrestrial being or simply an immigrant who’s been deemed as such in the derogatory manner–fit in. Cruz’s script is intentional in utilizing these three talking heads to represent what our modern-day media does to either report honestly or skew advantageously based on political agenda, and Laso’s direction gives attention and time for this dynamic to settle for the audiences as consumers of news, while affectively juxtaposing those scenes with the intimacy of the family-based plot.

Rounding out the cast is Wade Pierson, who delivers a strong performance as Lance, a character who has an opinion of why the aliens, based on the monolith constructions spread across the globe, should be attacked and treated as antagonistically foreign. In a scene, which is expertly crafted to serve the play as a whole in terms of theme, dialogue, and exposition for both sides of the political spectrum, Pierson and Hardcastle share a fun game of pillow-talk, beer-induced honesty when it comes to their perspective on the alien issue. Both drive this scene with a cadence that is so well rehearsed and honed that it comes across as impulsive and vulnerable, a triumph of when the work is done so well it appears effortless. 

Complemented well by Austin Dozier’s contextual lighting, Hazel Tabor’s excellent special effects when handling the sci-fi aspects of the play, and a stellar sound design that is haunting and cinematic, this play is a resounding success. Set in the Arte Americas museum makes the venue a cozy experience for the audience, one that brings us right into the action, the relationships, and the drama. This play signifies that theatre can be written, designed, and housed in all sorts of ways, and El Rayo; Or Self-Deportation Nation serves as a triumph for Rodolfo Robles Cruz and Playhouse Fresno.