Review: "27 Wagons Full of Cotton"

whitney smith

August 25, 2008 by whitney smith

0 votes

Hoosier theaters have been staging Tennessee Williams plays for years, especially standards such as "The Glass Menagerie" and "A Streetcar Named Desire."

But area theatergoers might not have seen anything quite like the Williams piece playing at IndyFringe.

The latest Williams play to hit town is his lesser-known one-act, "27 Wagons Full of Cotton." The three-character work is populated with familiar Williams types and scenarios -- a violent husband, a fragile wife and an aura of repressed sexuality involving a wronged neighbor bent on revenge.

What's offbeat about this version?

Although "27 Wagons" dates to the 1940s, the Miami-based Jesus Quintero Studio, which is presenting it, either updated it or took an anachronistic approach, by adding clothes and music from the 1960s and '70s.

More importantly, Quintero adds a multicultural twist to the show Williams once called a "Mississippi Delta comedy." The goal was to stay true to Williams, but with characters not necessarily native to the Delta.

Australian actor Jeff Keogh plays the tyrannical husband Jake, who might have torched his rival's cotton gin. Melissa Almaguer, who is of Cuban-American heritage, plays Jake's wife, Flora, who is burned out on their marriage. Quintero, who is Colombian, plays Silva, the neighbor apparently burned out of business.

All three performers indulge their native accents and slang. Jake accuses his wife of getting "pissed" (meaning drunk), and Flora sings in English and Spanish.

Although Quintero's accent is sometimes hard to understand, the approach generally works. By taking viewers beyond a Southern stereotype, the company stresses more universal themes, such as truth, justice and Flora's coming of age.

'27 Wagons Full of Cotton'

What: A Tennessee Williams one-act about a dangerous love triangle, performed by the Jesus Quintero Studio.

Next show: Runs through Aug. 31.

Where: American Cabaret Theatre.

Bottom line: IndyFringe's first production with strong Latino ties emphasizes universal themes.

Posted in groups: IndyFringe

Forum: Talk

Tags: 

Culture, theatre, IndyFringe, Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, Tennessee Williams, Jesus Quintero Studio

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