El beso del adiós (Kiss Bessemer Goodbye)

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El beso del adiós (Kiss Bessemer Goodbye)

at Repertorio Español

Reviewed by Mitch Montgomery

March 16, 2010

Photo by Michael Palms

There isn't much new in "El beso del adiós (Kiss Bessemer Goodbye)," Tencha Ávila's quaint domestic comedy about a middle-class Mexican-American family struggling with finances and dysfunction in 1970s Colorado. Presented in Spanish with live English translation and with Repertorio Español's typical verve, the production offers a few amiable performances, though the play itself seems to have been assembled according to an instruction manual for period family plays. Set in counterpoint with Neil Armstrong's historic first stroll on the moon, Ávila's ambling study of recession, race, and coming of age makes no new leaps and often feels like a retread of giant footsteps already taken.

Sticking to Henrik Ibsen's basic formula for choreographing household neuroses certainly lends the play a familiar structure. Unfortunately, the textbook story of Lupita (Samantha Dagnino), a recent college graduate who is finally actualized enough to tackle her family members' depression and general resentment, feels overly predictable. Did I mention that her ornery Uncle Chuy is a veteran and (of course) doesn't approve of her new Japanese boyfriend? If that weren't enough, that same boyfriend, played stiffly by Daniel Isaac, happens to be studying psychology as well. It comes as only a small relief that Ávila and director Jerry Ruíz avert a schlocky, sentimental disaster by punching up the comedic dynamic in the family's explosive confrontations.

Production designer Robert Federico's subdued lights and tasteful living-room set are highly functional, offering the generally lithe cast ample area for these piercing six-way arguments. Though Dagnino comes off a little too demure as the crusading Lupita, the familial chaos she rallies against is frequently entertaining, mostly thanks to the uninhibited sass and fury of Lupita's feisty Aunt Chelo and crabby Uncle Chuy, respectively played by Rosie Berrido and Ernesto de Villa-Bejjani.

Presented by and at Repertorio Español, 138 E. 27th St., NYC. March 15–May 23. Schedule varies. (212) 225-9920 or www.repertorio.org.