Gabriela Bañuelos and Leslie Montoya (Photo by Rudy Torres)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Casa 0101
Through December 17
Confessional autobiographical plays presuppose that the protagonist has led a life of cultural or personal significance. It’s a given that the story in question – whether purely comical or harrowing or somewhere in between – must have a narrative force that lifts it beyond recapitulation to universal consequence.
Corina Calderon’s play, Corina: From Lap Dance to Sundance, is certainly deeply personal — an account of Calderon’s efforts to break free of her troubled upbringing and establish herself as a working actress in Hollywood. To that end, Calderon, the descendant of Mexican migrant laborers, worked as a stripper in Austin, Texas for several years to amass enough money to follow her lifelong dream.
As an actor, Calderon, who stars as the narrator of the piece, has moments of sultry effectiveness. However, her largely chronological recounting comes across more as a résumé than a deep dive into the emotional depths.
Lap Dance, which began as a solo show in the Hollywood Fringe Festival a few years back, has been expanded into a full production at Casa 0101 in Boyle Heights, with a large cast and assured technical elements – most notably Nick Wass’s superlative multi-media segments, including occasional subtitles, that play across multiple screens.
The action opens with the scantily attired Calderon doing a steamy exotic dance before donning less provocative clothing going forward. As she narrates, the ensemble, several of whom play multiple roles – her relatives, her friends, herself at various ages – act out the events. The fast, furious and frequently brief scenes – some little more than blackouts – are well-orchestrated by director Emmanuel Deleage, who does his best to smooth the general choppiness.
After flirting with drugs and surviving several abusive relationships, Calderon is inspired to quit stripping; shortly afterwards she booked the lead in the feature film All She Can, the story of a female high school power lifter – a debut that earned her considerable buzz at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. That taste of success finally prompted her move to Los Angeles, where she continues to pursue an acting career.
At play’s end, Calderon exploits the shooting in Uvalde, where her mother (Karla Ojeda) lived, to amp up the emotional stakes. That, and a subsequent rapprochement with her mother, from whom she has been bitterly estranged, seems a belated attempt to instill poignancy into the evening. Nonetheless, it’s a heartfelt denouement that gives a glimpse of what this show could have achieved had Calderon focused less on chronology and more on emotional particularities.
Casa 0101, 2102 East First Street, Boyle Heights. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 4 p.m., through December 17. No performance Fri. December 15. (323) 263-7684. www.casa0101.org 1 hour, 45 minutes with intermission.
