March 5
Volume 89
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Volume 89 |
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Maria!Maria!Maria!Maria! is cheesy!cheesy!cheesy! By CORINA KNOLL The Mixed Blood Theatre Company's production Maria!Maria!Maria!Maria! means well in its attempt to disprove minority myths through the enhancement of stereotypes. However, it gets so caught up in explaining this message that the result is a nice bucket of cheese. The play is actually a show within a show. The audience of Maria!Maria!Maria!Maria! also acts as the live audience during a taping of a sitcom called "There Goes the Neighborhood." The sitcom centers around a multicultural family, made up of a Latina American mother, Maria; an Indian-American father, Ravi; an African American daughter, LaToya; and a Japanese American daughter, Kimiko. Guest appearances are made by wacky neighbors, such as the disabled Jewish landlord and the shrewish Korean American shopkeeper. Each character is presented in the most unpolitically correct way possible-LaToya always carries a stereo playing rap music and Kimiko constantly bows and grins. "I'm sorry Tony, but I had to kill you because I am hot tempered and fiery," says the mini-skirted, big haired Maria after she shoots her lover. The sitcom itself works well, as each stereotype portrayed is so obviously ludicrous and overplayed that the audience understands their absurdity. However, the actors are at their worst when they aren't acting on the TV show. The behind-the-scenes breaks they take allow the audience to witness them in their serious mode, but they come across as overacting and unbelievable. The biggest problem with Maria!Maria!Maria!Maria! is its need to point out the obvious. Lisa Loomer, who wrote the show, must have thought that the audience wouldn't understand that the stereotypes shown weren't true. This caused her to write in sequences where the characters become sentimental and discuss how they feel about being stereotyped. What she didn't realize is that the audience isn't stupid. They don't need someone to hold their hands and keep explaining to them why prejudice is bad. Loomer would have done better to let the show speak for itself, without writing hokey scenes where cast members whine about their lives. The saving grace of the show was Jason Lausch, who played Jed Simms, an insane, sweaty, army-clad "Warm Up Guy" who shouted things like "The network is a pimp!" to the audience between scenes from the sitcom. However, even his hilarious rendition of a bitter comic who is jealous of Jerry Seinfeld couldn't save the show from stepping in a big pile of cheese. Maria!Maria!Maria!Maria! is more like a sitcom than it knows. It ends on a touching note reminiscent of "Full House" and "Growing Pains." At the end of the show all of the cast members reject what their producers and directors tell them to do and perform the show their own way. They hold hands and dance around a table while lilting music plays in the background. They gaze at each other, realizing that they work best as a team and that their similarities lie in their differences. Awww. How exceedingly perfect. How simply moving. How incredibly corny. Maria!Maria!Maria!Maria! is currently playing at the Mixed Blood Theatre, located at 1501 S. Fourth St. in Minneapolis. Tickets are $817.50. For more information call 338-6131. |