When the angels revolt against the senile God, the moon disappears and every item of food is turned into salt. Marisol, without the protection of her guardian angel, is left to survive on her own in the Bronx where a man attacks her with an ice cream cone, a woman is tortured for exceeding her credit limit and a Nazi skinhead sets homeless people on fire.
A play with an overflow of actions and a ridiculously bizarre sense of humor, “Marisol,” a creature created by director Charles Giardina ’12 and stage-managed by Kim Kneeland ’13, seemed to move its limbs in sync; every carefully considered but adventurous element of the production was woven in effective contradiction during its three-day run at the Hepburn Zoo.
With the beautifully winged Angel (Heather Pynne ’11) on a symbolic tall ladder with sterile heavenly light, the audience was immediately transported to a different world. Sound and lights effectively kept the tempo of the play as the story unfolded.
Marisol, played by Alicia Evancho ’12, is a strong woman. Her inner strength supports her character despite the “savage differences between girls and boys.” With outrageous actions one after another, Marisol is not an easy role to play. However, Evancho managed to hold the actions together with her powerful and magnetic portrayal of the character. Her monologue to God was especially captivating, almost as if to represent the cry from the whole human race, giving a space for sympathy from the audience even in this most unusual plot.
Noah Berman ’13 stood out in a four-woman, one-man show, as he played four different kinds of lunatics: Man with Golf Club, Man with Ice Cream, Man with Scars and Lenny. Berman’s ability to play such extreme characters with refinement and depth simply stunned the audience. The proximity of the audience to the actors in the Hepburn Zoo allowed us to experience his dynamic acting, hearing each of his breathless cries. The most amusing scene of the play was when Lenny gives birth to a baby. In this ridiculous situation, no one but Berman can convince the audience that “every man should have the experience” of being pregnant.
There was a strange chemistry between Lenny and June, played by April Dodd ’13. Although both of these siblings are crazy (knives and golf clubs often come in between them), the audience still saw the strong bond between the characters. It was surprising that there was nothing strange about them saying sorry and hugging each other on the floor at the end even after trying to kill each other.
In fact, it was not only between Lenny and June that we saw the chemistry. The group dynamic was very successful, and the actors all seemed to be enjoying the art that they created together. This energy was then passed on to the audience, and in the end, Marisol gave them a night they would never forget.
Chaos reigns, performers captivate in "Marisol"
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