IF You Love Theater Go See Isla. That’s the Review.
We’ve seen shows this year with bigger budgets, bigger sets, and a hell of a lot more technology. ISLA does more with paper, shadows, puppets, and a guitar than most of them.
I love when a show uses its medium well. And ISLA at the WP Theater, produced by Hit the Lights Company, is one of those shows that is a theatrical experience through and through.
I find myself in a bit of a conundrum here with ISLA because it might be my favorite show I have had to review for Tawk, but that means that I want to say the least about it, as I want a show like this to speak for itself. So I’ll give you the basic details, and then you’re going to go see it and come back to me, okay?
ISLA, by and starring Samantha Blain, is the story of a family: Lulu’s (Blain herself) family. It is actually her family’s story, as her mom and her aunts fled Cuba to escape Castro and the communist regime there. We hear the real interviews that they gave, and their voices accompany us throughout the show.
It is a simple but beautiful love letter to Cuba and family, told beautifully by the three actresses who play the three sisters: Lulu, Carmen (Daniela Delahuerta), and Alina (Tiffany Iris). They do an amazing job with all the aspects this show demands: acting, singing, puppetry, and shadow work. I loved seeing them keep their very distinct personalities even when they were playing other creatures and/or characters.
Courtesy: Rebecca J Michelson
I have ties to Cuba myself, having been twice, having an uncle who goes every year, and a cousin who married a Cuban woman, so I felt at home in the ambiance. And I LOVE when the lobby and concessions of a place adapt to the show we are there to see, and this one did, selling special treats and sodas typical of Cuba and Latin America.
Okay, so what about that theatrical experience I was talking about? Well, ISLA uses the medium of theater better and more beautifully than a lot of shows I have seen this year.
It does not need big budgets or any wild tech to do so. It does it in the ways theater is strongest: paper crafts, homemade chickens made of fur and beach balls, shadow work. L.A. Clevenson’s work as the costume designer and Casey Scott Leach’s work as puppet designer are nothing short of magical, and the performances of Erica Knight and Jessie March as puppeteers cannot be praised enough. The show is so alive and wonderful, and they are a big part of it.
The whole show uses a mix of so many different theatrical techniques that it was a treat to watch. It starts with a slideshow and a regular monologue/acting. Then we move to a lot of shadow work and shadow puppetry, masterfully designed and brought to life, along with Cuba’s many sceneries, by Vittoria Orlando’s lighting design.
It is all mixed with live music played and co-composed by Claron Hayden, with his guitar adding a smooth throughline to the show, as well as the previously mentioned recordings of the family adding an element of sound, musical theater-like songs, and slapstick comedy. It simply uses all the tools at anyone’s disposal to tell a theatrical story. It uses them all, and uses them better than almost every production I have seen this year. For that alone, it’s worth going.
On top of that, the simple but emotional story will not disappoint. It’s not a Homeric tragedy, but the point of it is to tell and remember these women and their story, and it has a beautiful ending to remind us of who came before us.
Courtesy: Rebecca J Michelson
I could nitpick that I wished the first song had lyrics instead of just “la la la.” Even though I understand why it doesn’t, I still think it could be stronger with lyrics. Or that some of the shadow puppet segments feel too long or slow compared to more important moments that are quickly rushed by, as if we didn’t know how to tell this part in as much detail.
But those, I want to be clear, are nitpicks. This is a lovely, gorgeous show that we do not see often. It is a theatrical play through and through, and any lover of theater should go see it. It’s not going to challenge your notions of theater; it is going to reinforce your love for it. Seriously, there is not a bad or even mid performer in the lot, and what co-directors Roman Sanchez and Mikayla Stanley brought us here is very moving for theater lovers.
I’m considering seeing it again.
I’ll leave it there, as per our deal. Trust me and go see it. I’ll buy you an Ironbeer if you didn’t like it.
