No-hitter at ‘Chavez Ravine’
By Juliet Schoen/Staff Writer
If you would like to learn about the fascinating history of Chavez Ravine, take a trip to the Mark Taper Forum. Don’t bother to buy a ticket for “Chavez Ravine,” the current production. Just pick up a program, which contains a neat chronology of the strange events that led to the eventual sale of the land to the Los Angeles Dodgers and the creation of Dodger Stadium.
The show is the product of a Latino group called Culture Clash, but there is more clash than culture. The three members of the group, aided by a confused young woman, play 51 characters by throwing on all sorts of costumes and frantically moving on and off stage. There is some humor in the procession of comedy sketches, but the efforts are strained. (“We are moving out West! Where to? Echo Park.”)
The play opens with a reasonable facsimile of Fernando Valenzuela taking the mound for the Dodgers with Vin Scully calling the action. Then we learn that the pitching mound was once part of a hilly enclave composed of Mexican families. It was a slum, according to enlarged photograph projected onto two screens.
However, when a concerned councilman brings in famous architect Richard Neutra to build an ideal community on the site, the residents resist. They carry signs saying “We won’t move” and chant similar sentiments. (How many times have we seen this!) From here on it’s downhill. The politicians take over, promises are broken and the residents are left high and dry. Fortunately, things pick up a bit in the second act when the Dodgers arrive in Los Angeles. There is no sympathy for the Brooklyn fans.
The three members of Culture Clash are Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza. They may be talented as comedians, but they are completely befuddled when it comes to acting or, for that matter, writing. They are abetted by Eileen Galindo.
Others mentioned in the credits are John Avila, Randy Rodarte, Scott Rodarte, Roberto Alcaraz, Minerva Garcia and Edgar Landa, but it is difficult to sort out who does what.
We expect a higher level of professionalism in our ballplayers and playwrights.