Review: THE RIVER BRIDE Refashions the Fairy Tale at Stages Repertory Theatre

As a part of Stages Repertory Theatre's 2nd Annual Sin Muros: A Latinx Theatre Festival, Marisela Treviño Orta's The River Bride is composed of an entirely Latinx cast. Orta's play is based on the style of folk tales and the real-life freshwater river dolphins--the "boto." Her work certainly reads with a mystical vibe and mythical undertones, and it is no surprise that she has a background in poetry.

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We've all heard fairy tales before, perhaps about mischievous elves, menacing witches, or flirty little fairies. However, this particular tale centers around mythical dolphins who happen to visit the Amazonian shore during three days of the month of June. As a teenager, Orta learned that though the classic fairy tales we hear as children always end "happily ever after", the original stories were much more dark and violent. Orta notes that she thinks of her plays as "cautionary tales for adults", much like these older fairy tales were cautionary tales for children. The characters in Orta's play are deeply rooted in their heritage and the cautionary tales of their culture, which raises the stakes of the story greatly. When a handsome, unknown man washes ashore--or rather, gets tangled in Sr. Costa's (Luis Galindo) fishing net, the lives of the soon-to-be-married Belmira (Melissa Molano) and more hesitant sister Helena (Jennifer Paredes) are thrown into disarray.

Set in a fishing village alongside the banks of the Amazon, The River Bride navigates the complicated relationships of four individuals--two sisters, one village man who is engaged to marry one of the sisters, and one man pulled from the depths of the river bank. Melissa Molano portrays the younger, bolder little sister Belmira playfully and with enough likeability that you forgive her sometimes rude and selfish personality. Jennifer Paredes plays Helena, the more calculated, practical sister who--perhaps to a fault--puts everyone else's needs before herself. Helena clearly cares for her sister deeply despite their rifts, which makes the ending of the story that much more saddening to watch.

Luis Quintero plays Moises Lira, the mysterious man pulled from the river dressed head-to-toe in fancy clothing and irresistible charm. Orta's writing allows Quintero's performance to give away bits of the story as you venture further into the show, without giving anything away too soon. As both sisters find themselves romanticized by this intriguing man, the turn of the story will likely surprise you.

Luis Galindo (Sr. Costa) and Patricia Duran (Sra. Costa) play the parents that are living the long-lasting love story that most all of us hope for. Both Galindo and Duran capture the essences of the protective, loving father and the caring, excitable mother. Adonis Bañuelos plays Belmira's soon-to-be husband Duarte, who we learn has a complicated past with sister Helena.

An interesting note about this play is that the characters do not seem to be written to be specifically liked, hated, cheered for, or cheered against. Rather, each character has a duality to them that made me unable to say who was the "good guy" or "bad guy" in the story. Instead of being right or wrong, all the characters were merely human--and, as we all know, humanity is both. As Stages' Artistic Director Kenn McLaughlin notes in the program, "There are no heroes or villains--just fascinating people longing to be loved".

Jerry Ruiz directed the 80 minute one-act with timeliness, while making creative use of the space available on and within the set design. Despite the somewhat small stage space, Ruiz facilitated movement and pace that never made the story feel cramped. Steven C. Kemp's scenic design cleverly split the stage with a slanted wooden dock, giving the actors different levels to play off. This production reminds us that you don't always need massive set changes to pull off changes of location, as the lighting, sound, and direction all informed the characters' placement within the story. I applaud Kemp's use of the upstage portion of the stage space to create the freshwater river that dolphins swam in, boats waded through, and the actors could jump in and out of.

Sound Designer and Composer Julian Mesri brought the magical coastal environment to life with his natural and organic sound effects. Mesri's designs were detailed and true-to-life, from the "plop" of fish being thrown into the river to the melodious sounds of chirping dolphins. Combined with Renée Brode's lighting design, all of the elements in the theatre were more than believable; it was as if you could feel the damp and salty air for yourself.

Oftentimes, when you go to the theatre and are familiar with storytelling, you are able to easily predict storylines and basic plot twists. The River Bride was a production that let you guess just enough to feel like you had a handle on things, before taking that assumption and running far past your initial expectation. I found myself being genuinely curious, trying to guess what would happen next. While some of the storyline was understandably predictable, those moments were offset by the times I audibly gasped from the shock of a plot twist.

I encourage you to grab a seat, so you can learn for yourself about "the secret the river won't give up".

The River Bride runs at Stages Repertory through February 10th, as a part of the 2nd Annual Sin Muros: A Latinx Theatre Festival. Performances are Wednesday-Thursday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 2:30pm and 8:00pm, and Sunday at 2:30pm. Regular tickets start at $25, and group discounts are available. To purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 713.527.0123.

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