Love, lies, and the American Dream collide in 'Labor of Love'

Photo by Alistair Hunter

Downey’s celebrated theatre director, Sylvia Cervantes Blush, latest project was the just-performed staged reading of a hilarious new piece of musical theatre Labor of Love at the Hi5 Studio. Her direction was masterful.

Blush is a founding member of the Downey Arts Coalition, attended Cerritos College, has an MFA in Directing from UCLA, and has directed at the Latino Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Arizona Theatre Company, Tulane University, and much more.

Hi5 Studio is a production studio used for advertising. The concave stage ceiling, walls, and floor are a brilliant white. A perfect setting for a staged reading. Ten actors dressed in black sit at music stands in the back. Six music stands are on the front of the stage that actors with scripts in hand step up to performing the scenes and interacting. The musical director stands at keyboards stage left. The four actors seated stage right are the ensemble bringing numerous characters to life.

They have had 29 hours of rehearsal, including five hours on the day of the staged reading. The diverse cast were uniformly excellent. The audience gave it a standing ovation.

Staged readings are critical in the developmental of musical theatre as it brings the script and music to life with minimal production values. The focus is on the story, dialogue, and songs. The creative team sees and hears what works and what doesn’t along with the audience’s response. Blush leads a Q&A guiding the audience for their feedback.

A couple of years ago, writer Tony Estrada was the only person in an AMC theatre watching and laughing out loud at the award winning film, The Producers. It sparked an idea for him.

“Though I had seen it several times before, I felt immense joy watching this satirical comedy,” he said. “Most importantly, it made me rethink how movies could attack very sensitive topics in a crowd-pleasing way…I thought to myself, ‘How do we get people to listen to one another? How do we get people to stop being so afraid of each other and see one another with more empathetic eyes that could unify us?’”

As a third generation Mexican-American, he had long struggled with where he fit in.

His answer was comedy and music. His idea was a musical film of a day laborer. After writing the script and shopping it around, the response he got was that this really should be musical theatre for the stage.

Enter the energetic creative producing team, Brooklyn Sample and Melanie Lee of Blind Toe Productions who join forces with Tony Estrada as executive producer. Their target is to bring the full musical to production.

Labor of Love is created and written by Estrada. Blind Toe brought in Nerris Nevarez-Nassiri and Patty Vasquez as co writers. The music and lyrics are by Nevarez-Nassiri.

Tom Alexander came on board as the music supervisor and arranger. Mikey Gibson joined as musical director.

Sylvia Cervantes Blush came on as the director about a month ago.

“The process was lovely,” says Blush. “It was thoughtful, engaging, and considerate of everyone’s time. Especially with a small budget. Brooklyn and Mel are very supportive of Tony bringing on additional writers. Everyone was open to me as a new member of the group. Allowing me to bring my own sensibilities to the project. There were no divas saying ‘This has to stay or this has to be this way.’ The conversation is the continuous process of refining the script, and writing the additional lyrics and music”

Only three songs were performed. “The All American Inclusive Package” was the opening number and reprised at the end. It was hilarious, set the tone, and hooked the audience right away.

“Don’t Deport Us, Support Us” and “A Better Tomorrow” carry the story forward beautifully performed.

Estrada said, “What once had just been a funny idea of “a day laborer musical” soon evolved into a story of unity, hope, and empathy. This musical is written - Con Ganas (Estrada’s production company) - with purpose, passion, and intention. It is my most profound hope that, with this piece, we can somehow find a way to come a little closer together and live with more open hearts.”

The Story

Jorge, a starry-eyed dreamer, crosses the border into America illegally from Mexico in pursuit of the American Dream, his optimism and his unflinchingly positive outlook give him a lyrical energy as he struggles to find any sort of hospitality in America. As he works the estate of the republican Presidential candidate, Senator White, as a day laborer with his resentful cousin, Miguel, he spots Holly White the Senator’s daughter and campaign manager, who is desperate to get back in the campaign’s good graces after releasing a racist commercial that sent their poll numbers into a tailspin. Searching for something, someone, to get them back, Holly decides to use the charismatic Jorge as a vessel to gain support for the Latino vote - a rags-to-riches embodiment of the American (Public Relations) Dream.

Jorge’s honesty and infatuation with an idealized country he barely knows make him an overnight sensation, and “Jorgie Boy Mania” sweeps the nation. He finds himself on the late-night talk shows, magazine covers, and promotional tacos - the premonition of the American Dream he has created for himself. As Jorge’s star rises, he finds himself at a crossroads: falling deeper in love with Holly, much to the chagrin (or not) of Jorge’s Mama and Holly’s opportunistic political strategist of a fiancée, Devin and living a life that is expected of a traditional “good Mexican”. With Jorge moving closer and closer to the American Dream, and Holly helping her father get one step closer to fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming president by going against her moral compass, the two would-be lovers are left to wonder, what does it really mean to build a life all your own in America?

Act Two is filled with twists, turns, and more hilarious high energy hi-jinx with more than a surprise or two.

Labor of Love is a biting, heartfelt, hilarious exploration of identity, image, and the blurred line between politics and performance.

Speaking of performance, it is the actors that bring this piece to life in this short rehearsal period while capturing the essence of the play. Congratulations to the entire cast.

Chris Blonski – Miguel
Chris Gutierrez – Jorge
James Lemire – Senator White
Tanya De Leon – Mama
Juliana Lustenader – Ensemble
Chloe Oloren – Holly
Eevie Perez – Ensemble
Malikah Pinder – Ensemble
Kennedy Porter – Ensemble
George Vagujhelyi - Devin