The program claims Luis Alfaro’s Mojada; a Medea in Los Angeles is an “adaptation … based on Euripides’s Medea.” I think it would be more accurate to say it’s a good 21st century writer's attempt at doing exactly what a good writer was doing in the 5th century B.C.E.—bringing a mythological character to vivid life by grounding her in the local setting and culture. Assembling old and new materials, Alfaro charted the progress of love and sacrifice into hate and destruction.
Alfaro doesn’t follow his predecessor’s trajectory at all. When the Greek play begins, Medea already knows the worst: her beloved Jason, for whom she has sacrificed everything, has found somebody younger and more useful for his career, and married her. What follows is a meditation on what anger and grief can do to a person. Euripides does not articulate the transformation of love into hate: his Medea’s first big speech is broadcasting her resolution to poison everybody.
In the end, the Greek Medea not only extracts her revenge, but flies away unpunished, crowing about it:
“Why do you rattle these gates and try to unbar them, in search of the corpses and me who did the deed? Cease your toil. If you need anything from me, speak if you like. But your hand can never touch me …”
It’s a horror story, bitter and without any consolation. Six years ago UCLA did a production that was closer to the original—with a choir that sang as the chorus!—but Annette Benning failed to be frightening, and without a scary Medea, the drama Euripides wrote doesn’t make any sense.
Alfaro, on the other hand, absorbed Euripides and the story and so thoroughly digested it all that he didn’t feel any need for chitons, Corinthian ladies in a chorus, or other antique bric-à-brac. His Medea (Sabina Zuinga Varela) is an undocumented Mexican in Boyle Heights, living with her Hasan/Jason (Justin Huen), and son (Quinn Marquez). Instead of marrying a local princess, Hasan betrays the self-sacrificing Medea to marry his boss, Armida (Marlene Forte), who builds ugly condos all over town.
I’m glad I didn’t know about this in advance. I probably would have groaned at the thought of new mythological characters (hardworking migrant, scammer migrant, loudmouth old lady) superposed on the old. But fortunately Alfaro goes beyond clichés. His characters are vivid and alive. Best of all, they did not seem to be sleepwalking toward doom—the default mood of Greek tragedy productions.
Last night I realized we were in good hands when Efren Delgadillo, Jr.’s house front set was wheeled out. It was elegant, efficient and exactly right—terms which applied to every aspect of director Jessica Kubzansky’s polished production. Everyone was exactly on the mark.
Alfaro provided lots of allusions to Euripides for anyone interested in following them up. It was fun to note his racy, colloquial translations of the classical original details. But it wasn’t necessary for understanding. His best move was to combine all of Euripides’s commentator-characters (Nurse, Chorus-Leader, Tutor, et al) in one, formidable, funny, profane Tita (Vivis Colombetti) who stole the show.
[Image: Cruelty of Medea, Isaac Briot, 1637]
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