What I liked
What I didn't like
My overall impression
The thing about solo shows is that the entire experience of the performance relies on a single person. On the ability of a single actor to transport us to a place, to make us believe she is one or a dozen characters, on making us feel…something.
And Gabriela Ortega made me feel a lot.
I left “Las García” with the conviction that no one but her could have played these roles and told this specific story. It felt raw and intimate in the way that only someone with the life experience to back it up can evoke. She (the performer, the writer) is inextricably linked with the characters. It rings true. And that is all I can ask of someone who is putting on her first solo show.
Gabriela manages to work past the limitations of the theater space 1and perfectly paint both a Dominican plaza in the spring of revolution and the spoiled childhood of first generation immigrants. While the “flashback” scenes are much more compelling and enjoyable (both by the audience and Ortega herself), she manages to beautifully tie them up thematically. These two characters, having never met, are two sides of the same coin.
I can’t imagine what this show could look like without first-production restraints. Gabriela carries the show on her shoulders with mighty power, but a little extra help than a bigger budget can give would not hurt her at all.
I left impressed, marveled at Gabriela, and wondering about my own heritage. She was magnetic, and immersive, and real.
Her name is Gabriela Cristina Ortega García. And you’ll hear a lot more of her.
