The tyrant is a woman
By Juliet Schoen/Staff Writer
Federico Garcia Lorca wrote “The House of Bernarda Alba” to point out the restrictive lives of the women in Spain long before the word feminism was coined. Tyrannized by a woman, not a man, five sisters are compelled to live a puritanical existence. The story being enacted at the Mark Taper Forum has Chita Rivera playing the mother who decrees that her five daughters must spend eight years within the confines of their house in mourning for their father. This is a dark tale but Chay Yew has lightened the production in a new adaptation. The sense of despair is missing in the translation.
Rivera, as Bernarda Alba, is quite frightening as the matriarch who speaks softly but carries a big cane. Cold and snobbish, she is not quite real. The daughters all react to their plight in different ways, subdued by their mother but not quite depressed. Somehow, one would like to see them act a bit more forlorn.
The oldest daughter does find a beau, as marriage is the only release from their prison. Alas, she can only talk to him through the bars of the window. Alas, again, he is in love with the youngest daughter. Jealousy rages and the mother must use her cane to quell a possible rebellion. The multiracial cast works hard to capture the essence of the drama.
The Mark Taper Forum, with its thrust stage, is not the perfect venue for this drama. The set is charming and decorative with its patio and frieze of sere trees, but that fenced-in feeling is missing. The play starts off splendidly with a dialogue between two maids, Poncia, played by Camille Saviola, and Blanca, with Shaheen Vaaz in the role. They discuss their mistress in disparaging terms, setting the scene for the arrival of the black-gowned Bernarda Alba. Saviola is a treasure and gives off sparks whenever she appears.
Playing the sisters are Rita Wolf, Eileen Galindo, Marissa Chibas, Lydia Look and Sandra Oh. Other roles are taken by Tsai Chin, Christine Avila, Adrianne Avey and Jeanne Sakata. Annas Allaf is effective off-stage, offering mood music on guitar and oud.
The play is well-directed by Lisa Peterson. Rachel Rauch provided the clever set design and Joyce Kim Lee was responsible for costumes; mostly black with here and there a touch of red.
I would have preferred a lot more black.