Mariela in the Desert

In her extended essay, A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf argues for the need to provide space to women to develop their talents outside the patriarchal paradigm exerted over the arts. In one chapter, "Shakespeare's Sister," she muses on what would have happened to a woman of the bard's genius living in his day and concludes she would never have had the opportunity to develop her talent.

The list of female artists whose careers were wholly or in part subordinated to and/or appropriated for their partner's ego and art is long (Frieda Kahlo/Diego Rivera, Camille Claudel/Auguste Rodin, Sylvia Plath/Ted Hughes, ...). To all of these women, this one's for you!

Vivia Font as Blanca Photo: Terry Shapiro

Mariela (Yetta Gottesman) lives with her husband, José (Robert Sicular), a famous painter, their two children, Blanca (Vivia Font) and Carlos (Jean-Pierre Serret), and José's devout, spinster sister, Oliva (Franca Sofia Barchiesi). She was a promising painter when she met José while taking a class from him in Mexico City. They were a part of the Orozco/Tamayo/Diego Rivera/Frida Kahlo art scene during the Mexican Renaissance and hoped to establish an artists colony in the desert of northern Mexico, but instead lived a lonely, claustrophic existence that drove Carlos out of his mind and Blanca far away.

Robert Sicular as José and Yetta Gottesman as Mariela Photo: Terry Shapiro

The story takes place over a single day and night, as José lies dying, ostensibly from diabetes, but deep down it is a secret he shares with Mariela that has laid waste to his soul. Flashbacks provide glimpses into key events, while rumors of ghost-like figures dance through the present. When Blanca, a budding painter, returns with her lover, Adam (Sam Gregory), a professor of art history, whom she met much like Mariela met José, the truth comes out.

(L to R) Yetta Gottesman as Mariela, Vivia Font as Blanca and Jean-Pierre Serret as Carlos Photo: Terry Shapiro

Gottesman's Mariela is a marvel of deep-rooted, yet understated and fleeting emotions—a testimony to the sublimation of her spirit and artistic talent. Sicular paints José with colorful, broad brushstrokes of gusto, machismo, and petulance. Despite the shocks that she weathers, Font's Blanca retains a child-like enthusiasm that gives us hope she will carry her iteration of her parents' talent into a future liberated from the past.

(L to R) Franca Barchiesi as Oliva, Vivia Font as Blanca and Sam Gregory as Adam Photo: Terry Shapiro

Barchiesi's Oliva haunts the family with old world values, while Gregory's Adam provides a genial outside perspective on the quality of José's, Mariela's, and Blanca's art, as well as a natural catalyst for unearthing important family information. Serret's Carlos is a marvelous alchemy of emotional trauma and innocent insight.

Director Bruce K. Sevy and scenic designer Vicki Smith work wonders on the compact Ricketson stage, where a bedroom, a studio, and even the desert are brought forth into a living room/dining room. To top it off, the entire stage becomes a canvas.

Yetta Gottesman as Mariela Photo: Terry Shapiro

This is a different play than what folks saw during it's previous productions in Chicago and Portland. Karen Zacarías' rewrites have fully uncovered its promise as an insightful family drama and statement on gender issues in art.

The Denver Center Theatre Company's production of Mariela in the Desert runs through May 15th. 303-893-4100 or www.denvercenter.org.

Bob Bows