gl030321.htm

THEATRE REVIEW:

“COCKS HAVE CLAWS AND WINGS TO FLY” at SDSU

Published in Gay and Lesbian Times March 21, 2003

No, it's not those kinds of cocks. But there's enough symbolism in the play to include that, too. The titular birds and their various attributes comprise the running theme of this new play by Texan Amparo Garcia. In the face of attack, the choice (claws or wings) is Fight or Flight. And so it is in this crazy Tex-Mex family, where a visit from Mom has wrought havoc once again. The three kids have been screwed by the Church (literally and otherwise) and screwed up by their mother. And they're all dogged by duendes, impish spirits that only seem to be seen by those in psychological extremis (i.e., those who've taken temporary or permanent leave of their senses). So the cocks of the title could refer to this fowl (?) dysfunctional family or, given that one son is gay, there is the tossed-off reference to the other types. And there's also an oversexed black man (stereotypes, anyone?) who has an unresolved relationship with the daughter. So that covers all bases.

And that appears to be exactly what playwright Garcia is trying to do. So is director (and new SDSU faculty member) Peter James Cirino, who has made an odd choice for his very first production at State. It starts off promisingly -- gorgeously -- with a startling stage picture: all characters in a freeze, bathed in blood-red light against a striking set of columns with cutout nichos cradling provocative, red-lit twigs. It goes downhill from there, beginning with the interminable dance of the duendes, which, in various forms, recurs needlessly several times throughout the already-too-long evening. Movement was, according to the director's note, the evolution of character development, but, except for the impressively agile Matt Pittenger as the wacked-out, drugged-up younger son Guero (a psychotic with a crucifixion fantasy; he doesn't think he's Jesus, but one of the thieves nailed up beside him), the moves do not move us, and in fact become quite irritating after awhile. When the duendes are just posing, or when they slink and slide around a character, they're much more effective. Like all good (or evil) ghosts and spirits, they shouldn't hang around too much or their effect is diminished.

Meanwhile (amazingly), there's actually a second crucifixion in the play (this time, descending from the flyspace, it's the offending priest, who died with his cowboy boots on), not to mention a schizophrenic uncle (who's Mama's fiancé), a cast listing of R.D. Laing (did I miss that appearance??) and a boatload of family abuse -- of the physical and emotional sort.

Epiphanies abound at the end, but the play still has more loose threads than a fringed rebozo. There's a sophomoric feel to the philosophical underpinnings -- and the performances, though standouts are Pittenger and Marisol Sánchez Báez as the barnstorming, madness-inducing, crucifix-wielding Mama. James Steinberg is funny as the poorly defined but wacko uncle Santiago.

This is a far cry from the SDSU Theatre Department's controlled, focused and magnificent production of the hugely challenging "Laramie Project" last month. Better luck next time -- when the cocks give way to Sondheim.

"COCKS HAVE CLAWS" runs through March 23 in the Experimental Theatre on the campus of SDSU; 619-594-6884. It will make a stop at the City Heights Urban Village Performance Annex weekends from April 11-27; 619-641-6123.