‘Two Kids in the Universe’ @ Teatro Dallas
—Teresa Marrero
Two Kids in the Universe is a marvelously well-written play by Teatro Dallas executive artistic director Gustavo Ott and directed by Mac Welch. Translated from the Spanish by Heather L. McKay, this play hits home in a way that is relevant in today’s world of bellicose attacks and counterattacks.
Two Kids first creates a dichotomized world, an “us vs. them” of finger-pointing and anger—and then offers an alternative from the perspective of a friendship between two children. The three women onstage—Audrey Medrano, Caitlin Galloway, and Victoria Angelina Cruz—do the play justice by enacting its core message, that accusations and attacks are never our only options. The innocence of children can light the way.
According to the Playbill, the original Spanish language title of the play is Lírica, which means lyrical or poetic. Upon working with the translation and in rehearsal, the focus turned towards the two children, although they are only in 5% of the play. It is based on a true story.
The play takes place entirely in an elementary school principal’s office. Principal Ramírez (Audrey Medrano) is mediating a nasty brawl between Mrs. April Lopez (Caitlin Galloway) and Mrs. Norway Gonzalez (Victoria Angelina Cruz). They all live in a dangerous, poor neighborhood where people work several jobs to stay afloat and safety is never guaranteed.
The audience first listens to Mrs. Lopez´s story. She and principal Ramírez exchange rapid conversation in a way that lets the audience catch up quickly on the back story. This trope works because it delivers both storyline and conflict together, piece by piece. At first, I sympathized with Mrs. Lopez, who wants Lennon Gonzalez expelled from the school. She claims that he bullies her son, David Lopez.
We then hear out Mrs. Gonzalez, whose version of the story is quite different from Mrs. Lopez´s. And we discover that this is more than a parent-teacher conference dealing with schoolyard problems. There’s some complicated history in the room, relating to Mrs. Lopez´s newly killed husband and the father of Norway Gonzalez´s child.
Without giving away any plot twists, the mothers end up behaving like children having a tantrum, accusing and talking over each other, much to the dismay of the principal.
Mrs. Ramírez has information about the true relationship between Lennon and David: they are best friends and outstanding students who create poetry when together. They even have a crush on the same little girl.
In the short part of the play when the action takes place in an alternative children’s play space, Cruz-as-Norway Gonzalez (mother of Lennon) plays the role of David Lopez, and Galloway-as-April Lopez (mother of David) plays the role of Lennon Gonzalez. Both Cruz and Galloway transition seamlessly from angry, irrational mothers to innocent and peaceful children. Well done! Medrano as the principal also has her dramatic arc, going from a rather befuddled administrator to a veritable peacemaker—while simultaneously revealing her own journey to reach the principal’s office.
The dialogue rings so true as to be painful sometimes. And yet, the beauty of the magical space suggested by the bond between these two little boys offers a hopeful rainbow, just beyond the strife of the adults and their conflict-ridden world.
WHEN: November 2-19, 2023
WHERE: Latino Cultural Center, Dallas
WEB: teatrodallas.org
