REFUGE

CURIOUS THEATRE COMPANY: MARCH 5 – APRIL 9

 

                                            Sam Gilstrap

     Hat’s off to director Dee Covington and her cast and crew for their compassionate and creative opus, “Refuge.” Curious Theatre is once again helping with humanitarian awareness. This time it’s all about what’s going on regarding the men and women who undertake a formidable migratory journey to cross borders to find a Life worth living. 

      The play is about a Honduran girl (Satya Jnani Chavez) who journeys across the U.S. -Mexican border to find her mother who has made this journey years before, and now lives in the U.S. 

     Due to the restrictions of the pandemic, “Refuge” has been a couple of years in the making. 

     The show is an eye, ear, and heart-opener that’s incredibly innovative in its use of puppetry, bilingual storytelling and music. 

     The script, co-created by Satya Jnani Chavez and Andrew Rosendorf, intends that when one character speaks in Spanish and the other responds in English (and vice versa), playgoers who speak only one of those languages will understand what is being communicated. If momentarily the meaning is lost, the audio/visual context of the staged situation assists.

     The cast includes such excellent veterans of the Denver stage as Erik Sandvold (Rancher), Geree Hinshaw (Martina, the border patrol agent) and Sam Gilstrap (Wolf/Hall/Puppeteer.) 

     The other fine actors were new to this reviewer:  Lisa Hori-Garcia (Steph/Puppeteer) and Josue Miranda (Puppeteer.)

     The original music for “Refuge” is brilliant and lead musician Mari Meza -Burgos’ guitar playing is ear-pleasing indeed!

      Markas Henry’s superb scenic design has Our Lady of Guadalupe overlooking the action, surrounded by candles. His set also features cacti made from barbed wire as well as Day of the Dead skulls featured on both walls flanking the stage.

     Richard Devin’s lighting design is the professional quality that the Denver/Boulder audience has come to expect of him. 

     A dog, a wolf and a rattlesnake are all represented by Adolfo Romero’s magnificent puppetry/marionettes. 

     With this production of “Refuge” Curious Theatre gives us another opus with social conscience that’s heartfelt indeed. 

 

Curious Theatre is located at 1080 Acoma St.

For tickets call the box office at 303-623-0524 or go online at curioustheatre.org