The Merit System @ Teatro Dallas
—Teresa Marrero
Teatro Dallas’ production of The Merit System (2019) by New York Puerto Rican playwright Edwin Sánchez earns a double star: it boasts the sold-out world premiere of this play, and the premiere of the long-awaited Black Box Theater at the Latino Cultural Center. It was worth the wait on all counts. The piece was directed by New Yorker Claudia Acosta; however, Emily Ernst stepped to co-direct when Acosta had to leave the project due to health concerns.
The three-character play centers around a blue collar, mid-range manager, Raymond Rivers (Danny Lovelle), who is eager to please an unseen yet keenly felt boss. Two Puerto Rican women work at the factory. Cuca (Dolores Godinez), the elder of the two, does not speak English. Cammy (UNT acting grad Alondra Estremera), the younger and sister of Cuca’s former husband, does. Herein lies a central aspect of this unlikely triangle.
The action takes place in several well-designed spaces: Cuca’s apartment, Mr. Rivers’ office, the factory break room, the assembly line, and the subway. Set on the diagonal, a long platform stretches between the apartment and the office, serving as both the subway platform and the interior of the subway train. Behind it, the women stand while working the assembly line; thus, the platform also serves as their work station. This brilliant design elongates the space, giving the audience a wide visual field. Having no curtains or backdrops, in true black box fashion, also gives a depth of field to the visual aesthetics. In no way did this black box feel boxy. Seats were socially distanced according to CDC guidelines, in arrangements of twos or threes according to the number of members of each party. The seats were staggered to provide an adequate visual experience from anywhere in the house. Claudia Jenkins did the sound design and Natalie Rose Mabry, an SMU MFA design candidate, did scenic design. Congratulations on this project.
Playwright Edwin Sánchez is no newbie to the theatre world. I first met Eddie while in graduate school in Southern California in the early 1990s.. His website states he has created over 24 titles (https://www.broadwayplaypub.com/play-authors/edwin-sanchez/). He is the winner of the National Playwriting Award for La Bella Familia, and has been produced all over the United States and abroad. His skill shows. With a minimal amount of background information, the audience quickly perceives who these three visible characters are. We also intuit several more of them with whom Mr. Rivers speaks directly, though they do not appear onstage. They include Rivers’ American boss and his white girlfriend Connie, and at one point Cammy addresses all the invisible women factory wworkers.
This is an unusual, non-romantic love story between two people, each from very different backgrounds of class and education, who bond in spite of a language barrier. Mr. Rivers barely speaks Spanish and Cuca speaks no English. They first engage in the factory lunch room while working overtime. Cuca has coffee and Mr. Rivers accepts her offer of a little “spike” to take the edge off his constant performance anxiety.
Rivers is a New York Puerto Rican version of Arthur Miller’s famed Willy Loman in Death of Salesman. While both Loman and Rivers live insecure lives professionally, Mr. Rivers’ angst stems from a deeper source than just living up to the merit system (a merit rewards system first installed in U.S. government in 1883 to replace the spoils or political patronage system and common in the business world and academia today). His issue stems from a deeply rooted self-rejection. The breakdown between Rivers’ assimilated image of himself as a “passing” white man is confronted with his undeniable ethnic inner self. Cuca is the unlikely conduit who both accepts and catalyzes his self-confrontation.
Lovelle as Mr. Rivers, Estremera’s Cammy and Godinez’s Cuca work together synergistically to create believable characters. One point of observation was the make-up. While both Lovelle and Estremera’s make-up and costumes appeared understated, Godinez’s overdrawn face make-up gave her more of a clownish look than anything viable for a coquettish and stylish Latina. Wearing a lot of make-up well is one thing. Wearing it badly is another. Furthermore, the dance scenes lacked salsa. At this point in time, learning at least the basic salsa step should not pose major challenges to professional actors. It is offensive to see one’s musical dance heritage downgraded to a pantomime.
This is an enjoyable and approachable 80-minute play with no intermission, suitable for young and older adults alike. There is no language, nudity or objectionable scenes. As always at the LCC, there is free, safe and well-lit parking. Covid protocols in place have minimized seating capacity. Purchase your tickets early.
Runs through November 13 at the Latino Cultural Center, 2800 Live Oak Street. For more information: teatrodallas.org
(Teresa Marrero is Professor of Latinx & Latin American Theater, UNT Department of Spanish, and a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. Teresa.Marrero@unt.edu)
