As the premiere Spanish-language theatre company in New York, Repertorio Español caters to a niche audience, a proven marketing technique as other companies continue to fold. Its production of Boxcar, however, proves that the Repertorio's drama, while culturally focused, does not get lost in translation.
Sylvia González's Boxcar won the company's Nuestras Voces National Playwriting Competition in 2004; González was inspired by the true story of a group of Mexican immigrants who attempted to evade the border patrol by entering the United States in a boxcar and died of suffocation. The script alternates between scenes with the men in the boxcar and dialogues between the two immigration officers, who debate the legitimacy of the border restrictions.
The passion of the five immigrants transcends language; their longing for their destination is palpable in their physicality. Despite the grim subject matter, scenes in the boxcar are rarely heavy-handed. Thought-provoking issues sit alongside humor; when one traveler reveals his previous hideout was an oil barrel, another quips that the oil was necessary to squeeze him in. This is far more effective than retreading the players' fatal situation; their destiny becomes more tragic as it fragments their previous ebullient spirit.
The immigration officers' scenes are far less successful. The duo's differing philosophies are too rigidly clear-cut. More uncomfortably, they run along racial lines: The Spanish speaker is a martyr while the English speaker is an immoral enemy. Not only is this predictable, it's unrealistic, as evidenced by the current multidimensional political debate.
Realism is in increasingly short supply as the production progresses. The joking atmosphere that the boxcar voyagers capture so well devolves into metaphorical death poesy removed from the verisimilitude of the earlier scenes. As the men collapse, we long for their joking discussion to return, not only for their sake, but in our own desire for authenticity.
Presented by and at Repertorio Español,
138 E. 27th St., NYC.
Aug. 3-Nov. 11. Schedule varies.
(212) 225-9920 or www.repertorio.org.