Alexandra Lee and Michael Guarasci (Photo by Jeff Lorch)
This review is part of the Stage Raw/Unusual Suspects Youth Journalism Fellowship
Reviewed by Fable Isaacson
Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre
Through October 7.
RECOMMENDED
Walking into the Matrix Theatre, I expected the familiar. I used to frequent the space and the lobby still had the same feel to it. But stepping through the door into the upstairs performance area (the Henry Murray Stage) created by the company now in residence, Rogue Machine, was an entirely different experience. The room had been transformed into a teenage girl’s bedroom which scarily resembled my own. Posters littered the walls, fairy lights shrouded the ceiling, and books bestrew every surface. Joel Daavid’s set design alone created an immediate intimacy.
What struck me most about Adolescent Salvation was its rare ability to capture Gen Z without falling into the usual clichés today’s productions are so prone to. Tim Venable’s script avoids cheap references or one-note stereotypes that abound in surface-level pop culture nods (e.g. Fortnite dancing and “Instachat” virality). Instead, it gives the characters the freedom to be messy, complex, and angsty, qualities that actually define adolescence. The story focuses on three teenagers and two adults. The dynamics between the teens shift constantly, flipping from hilarious to devastating within the span of a single scene. What makes the play feel most alive is its unpredictability that constantly had me on the edge of my seat.
However, the impeccable performances are what really bring this script to life. Carolina Rodriguez as Natasha carries much of the emotional weight of the play. Her portrayal captures a teenager desperately vulnerable yet occasionally stronger than anyone around her would ever expect. Rodriguez grounds the entire production, making Natasha’s story feel achingly real. Alexandra Lee’s Taylor F is the kind of volatile I can get with, always teetering on the edge of anger, while dually offering glimpses of compassion. Michael Guarasci as Taylor M provides both comic relief and emotional depth, creating a character who is thoughtful and warm even when swept up in the chaos of his friends.
Director Guillermo Cienfuegos uses the intimate space to its fullest advantage. The staging places the audience directly inside Natasha’s world, to the point where it almost feels invasive, like I’m intruding on a private conversation I definitely should not be hearing. That discomfort is deliberate and effective. At times I leaned back, not because I wanted to distance myself from the action, but because the emotions onstage were so raw they demanded space to breathe.
Adolescent Salvation is a play that lingers. It begins light and funny, then shifts into heartbreaking when you least expect it. In many ways, I found it mirrored the unsteadiness of my own adolescence. By refusing to end with a clean resolution, the play captures the essence of the instability of youth.
This is not just a production I’d recommend to my friends because it’s entertaining, it’s one I’d urge them to see because it’s honest. It dares to portray adolescence in its abundance of contradictions, sloppy, raw; all deeply human.
Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre, upstairs on the Henry Murray Stage, 7657 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood; Fri. and Mon., 8 pm; Sat.-Sun., 5 pm; thru Oct. 12. https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/ Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission
