Kyla Garcia and Darrell Dennis in Vickie Ramirez's Pure Native at the Autry Museum. (Photo by Craig Schwartz)
Kyla Garcia and Darrell Dennis in Vickie Ramirez’s Pure Native at the Autry Museum. (Photo by Craig Schwartz)

Pure Native

At Native Voices at The Autry
Review by David Cruz-Chevez
Through March 24

[Note: This review is part of the Z. Clark Branson/Stage Raw Equity and Inclusion Initiative for Young Journalists. Stage Raw staff are mentoring the young authors, as they build their professional resumes as arts journalists.] 

Vickie Ramirez’s Pure Native is a well-executed story that centers around family life and the struggles of Native People in the United States. When a corporation wants to open a factory on the tribe’s land, several members of the tribe are conflicted between embracing progress and sticking to tradition.

The clash between Connie Smoke (Kyla Garcia) and Brewster (Kalani Queypo) after Brewster’s long absence from the reservation brings tension to the village when Brewster’s questionable intentions are revealed to the others. Darrell Dennis as Gary Smoke, Connie’s husband, plays a convincing Chief, and showcases his leadership abilities by advising the audience to lead by example. When Kalani Queypo, as Brewster, explains how the tribe should allow his company onto their lands — because if not X corporation today, then it’ll be Y corporation tomorrow — it reveals a sad truth of how overall the U.S. has treated Native Peoples.

The set, lighting, and costume design (Chris Stokes, Christopher Scott Murillo & E.B. Brooks, respectively) play an important role. These design elements are used to create the world of the play while being utilized in such a way that they are not distracting, allowing the audience’s focus to remain on the story. Brooks’s costume design proves that minimalism can sometimes be better than over-the-top and extravagance, and keeps the production feeling naturalistic.

Overall, Pure Native is a production that depicts the struggles of real people. The design of this production has allowed for a blend of minimalism and complexity, which allows for the audience to take in the show at a slow but steady pace.

The Autry Museum in Griffith Park, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through March 24. TheAutry.org. Running time: about 2 hours, with a 10-minute intermission.