Juan Gamero and Caila Katz in Latine Theater Lab’s inaugural production of María Irene Fornés’ Mud (Photos by Nat Ordonez)
By Mariah Reed
For its inaugural presentation, Latiné Theater Lab has chosen to mount María Irene Fornés’ Mud, a raw and unsettling drama that explores the limits of human aspiration in the face of poverty, ignorance, and control.
The play centers on Mae, a poor young woman living in a rural setting, who yearns for a better life. Determined to rise above her circumstances, she begins pursuing education, believing it may be her way out. She lives with Lloyd, a man dependent on her care, who resents her intellectual ambitions. When Mae brings Henry, a seemingly more refined man, into their home, tensions rise as her pursuit of independence threatens both men’s sense of power and stability.
As the relationships between the three characters become increasingly strained, the play reveals how deeply entrenched social and gender roles can stifle personal growth. Mae’s desire to change her life leads not to liberation but to a violent confrontation that ultimately leaves her voiceless and broken, suggesting the brutal consequences of trying to break free from oppressive systems.
Director Alex Gonzalez, who also compiled the impressive sound underscoring, has boldly embraced the stark and gritty imagery of the play, effectively evoking the harsh realities of the characters’ lives. His imaginative blocking utilizes every inch of the stage, transforming chairs, tables, and even ironing boards into platforms that elevate and emphasize moments of fervor and fury.
Andrew Rodriguez-Triana’s brilliant set is a dark and oppressive hovel comprised of corrugated metal walls lined with wooden crates, and a row of men’s trousers hung along the back wall. Symbolism abounds in the design, as the playing area is depicted as a kind of pigs-sty featuring a fence surrounding the action, a pig’s trough for dishes, a makeshift table created with a door and sawhorses, and an ironing board at which Mae slaves to earn desperately needed money.
The seemingly endless line of men’s trousers lining the back wall of the hovel emphasizes the never-ending drudgery of manual labor that oppresses our unlikely heroine. Within this environment the crude and animalistic nature of the characters is evident time and time again, jarringly underscored with the sound of pigs squealing in terror.
The play’s title, Mud, suggests something that clings, stains, and is difficult to escape—perfectly capturing the characters’ circumstances. Rodriguez-Triana literally covers the stage floor with dirt, in which the characters roll, dance, and crawl as if filth is a part of their natural state. Sergio Fustes, Jr.’s lighting is moody and cinematic, with abrupt shifts taking place during scenes and within scene changes. While at times distracting, the lighting adds a sense of chaos to this world, with surreal color and strobe effects utilized during scenes of violence.
It should be noted that there are instances of simulated physical and sexual abuse as well as simulated manual stimulation, but with reduced illumination, masking, and stylized physicality, much of the violence is left to the imagination.
Nicole Perry stages the scenes of intimacy beautifully, so that the effect is powerful yet never crudely gratuitous. There is an oddly lyrical grace in some of the choreography, so that the humanity of the characters is front and center rather than the brutality of the act being portrayed.
While dialogue often feels fragmented, reflecting the characters’ limited education and emotional repression, the actors do a fine job of grounding their roles in the circumstances and desperation which leads to such expression.
Caria Katz
Caila Katz, manages to imbue her character with a fascinating blend of fragility and ferocity. Her Mae vacillates between childlike innocence and animalistic rage. As Lloyd, Eric Gospodinoff is a crude and insecure man-child. Because of his lack of education, he is guarded and resentful. Gospodinoff does an admirable job of portraying Lloyd’s struggle to maintain control without knowing how to do so. His descent into brutality is believable and thorough. As Henry, Juan Gamero elicits chills with his passive-aggressive manipulation of Mae and vulgar attempts to seduce her against her wishes.
Gonzalez’s minimalist staging and deliberate pacing heighten the intensity, creating a sense of claustrophobia and inevitability. He employs an abstract and symbolic theatrical style that draws attention to the broader social commentary rather than just the characters’ personal drama.
Latiné Theater Lab has bravely ventured into the kind of theatre that is rare in South Florida. This is not a production for the faint of heart, but for those of us who appreciate art that unapologetically addresses societal challenges. These are times when many long for better circumstances and yet feel that they are somehow always out of reach.
This production of Mud is an immersive, visceral, deeply moving journey that confronts the harsh realities of abject poverty, ignorance, and yearning. It addresses the true cost of transformation in a way that those living comfortably with privilege rarely understand.
Mud, by María Irene Fornés from Latiné Theater Lab playing through June 14 at Empire Stage, 1140 N Flagler Drive, Ft. Lauderdale; Thursday – Friday 8 p.m., Saturday 5 p..m. & 8:30 p.m., Sunday 5 p.m. Running time 1 hour 15 minutes with no intermission. Tickets $15 – 35. Thrifty Thursdays $15 – 25. For tickets https://shorturl.at/asq6k or . info@latinetheaterlab.com.
Mariah Reed is an Equity actress, produced playwright and tenured theater professor.
Eric Gospodinoff
A PaperStreet Web Design
