Arias takes on three personas: an older Puerto Rican transvestite looking out for the new blood in town, a glib hustler in the Dominican Republic who needs a financial break, and a still lovely but aging Cuban escort who wants to do her duty with dignity and grace. Arias' performance is obviously very personal, and his nerves are palpable when he trips onto the stage as the transvestite, la Caramelo. He stumbles over a few lines and doesn't hit the jokes quite right, and he relies on his sparkly red dress to carry the character. Eventually, he starts to hit a stride, but I had lost my initial confidence. The highlight of the three characters is Esperanza, the escort who provides her customers with the "illusion of love," and the actor, clad in a modest blue gown, reminisces with ease about Esperanza's storied past. But Arias is too close to his material, and Preisser's direction does not take him far enough away from it. There does not seem to be much structure to the scenes, and the rhythm too often lags.
Samantha Shoffner's hanging boardwalk provides a nice place for these street characters to hide, and the mood-setting posters plastered along the wall scream kitschy tourism. A beautiful lounge singer (Natalie Peguero) seduces the audience with Latin music between scenes, and while the songs are not anything spectacular, the numbers provide easy transitions.
Arias' characters are real, and his setting is rich, but he never completely fills their shoes. Arias performs the show in Spanish as well, and somehow I think that version might work better, even for non–Spanish speakers. These fast-talking characters are quite difficult to comprehend as it is, and it seems more natural that they would be speaking in their native tongue.
Presented by International Studio Theatre at the Times Square Arts Center, 300 W. 43rd St., Ste. 506, NYC. June 2–July 30, Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m. (Performances in Spanish Sun., June 5, 12, and 19, 3 p.m.) (212) 868-4444 or www.smarttix.com.