What I liked
Everything about this production is 10/10 would recommend.
What I didn't like
The fact that this show is not running for more performances. It deserves to.
My overall impression
Before going to see Las Garcia my impression and definition of any Solo Show was that it was a collection of funny, glib, gently touching anecdotes from a person’s life and history, usually delivered with a casual 4th wall-break approach.
Las Garcia went above and beyond those expectations.
Gabriela Ortega writes characters—and yes, they are characters, she plays about 10-12 different ones in a solid hour with an acting proficiency that can only described as turn-on-a-dime—that are filled with fire, with blood, with an individual story for each one that will reach into your chest and pull at your heart strings. Las Garcia is a poetic and poignant look at heritage and what it means to be truly ‘home’, as laugh out loud funny as much as it is gut wrenching.
Ortega is a no-holds-barred dynamo of a performer: her writing is succinct and truthful, and her performance wonderfully alive and raw. There was never a moment where I could not track the stories of all the characters, nor a moment where I couldn’t figure out which character Ortega was playing, she turns on a dime at each moment in the show.
Las Garcia is a show that not only deserves to be seen at Fringe, but also a show that deserves to be extended. At a time in this society where the concept of home and country and belonging is extremely prevalent, Las Garcia is as diverse as it is universal, as heart-warming as it is heart-wrenching. You will leave this show feeling as if you’d remembered something about yourself that you’d forgotten; a sense of nostalgia and going back to the roots from whence you grew.
I cannot recommend this show enough.
