"Resabios de Amargura" and "Footprints"

Sorry about the lateless of the hour. I ended up staying up a little later to finish studying and completely forgot about actually posting. I printed it out, but that's no good.

"Resabios de Amargura"
Although this play, or Bitter Cabaret as I should say, was short, the content was fabulous and made me wonder more about immigration than I already did. Love was a similar theme in this play as it was in Psyche Project, but it was a different kind of love I saw. This love was a love of one's heritage and homeland. The way that Beliza Narváez would present Lola Amapola and prance along stage singing about where her heart is and why it seems to jet off to another country, from state to state, is amazing. Her cunning use of the songs "Ropa Interior," "Protoplasma," and "What's the Point" really embrace how she feels about leaving her Puerto Rico, and really epitomizes the emotion that we all get when we leave something we love behind. Maybe love isn't the word I should use. I think because she grew accustomed to her life in Puerto Rico, leaving her land was the next step. And when she finally did it, there was nothing for her in the states. When Lola went back, there was nothing for her there, and that's where we last hear from her. Lola's perception and anunciation makes the audience laugh whenever she says or thinks something that is similar to Latin American culture. From the rolling of her r's to her dramatic behavior, Narváez is sensational in telling a story about a woman's struggle with immigrating to the U.S., and why her story is like a bitter cabaret.

"Footprints"
I am always astonished whenever there is music in a play that encompasses the content and underlying message of the work. Footprints is a story about a young girl, Sophie, traveling through many obstacles all to help a tree that her father is going to knock down. She must travel to all corners of the Earth to collect some of the different types of elements, as I should say, to help the Tree. Sophie goes to the Goddesses of the Water, then to Goddesses of the Wind, and finally approaches the Sun. The singing was phenomenal and clearly explained everything that happened in the play and why it was so important for each element to leave its prime. Although I didn't enjoy the Sophie's singing as much, I did enjoy listening to the water creatures sing and especially the wind. I loved how each personified a certain element, and how each element sang why it was so important for them to exist. My personal favorite was the Sun. With a deep, beautiful voice that nearly made me cry, the young woman playing the Sun took the play from a seven straight to a ten. It was almost like a finale that happened before the end and was placed there to really "wow" the audience. It certainly did me. I especially liked the line, "It ain't fun being the Sun." Although this was a musical for children, I enjoyed it for what it was. The singing and imagination personified each being and made everything come to life. The underlying message I received was to better ourselves for the sake of everyone else. We're not the only ones who inhabit this world, and we can't act like we do.

Again, I apologize, Jenny, for the lateness in this post.