What I liked
Coming into the Let Live Theater at The Actors Company, it is great to see funeral appropriate furniture, signage, music, et. al. Use of projections also help to showcase specific locations.
This 10-person entirely LatinX cast showcases some truly strong performers. Of the entire ensemble, my favorite performer is Sofia Yepes, whose portrayal of Vanessa (Lopez’s drug-addicted mistress and mother to twins) steals the show from the moment she enters the play.
On the writing front, I liked the surprise about the will and how its contents effected the lives of all the family.
What I didn't like
To help this play continue to grow and develop I offer the following thoughts to ponder:
1) Be aware of repetition throughout the piece. The use of terms such as “bastard,” “half-sis,” “whore,” etc., lose their potency after a while.
2) Working with a competent dramaturg to shave a solid 15-20 minutes off this play will make it stronger. This applies to the main character’s monologues and the scene where the family discusses all their issues.
3) Consider not having so many different scene locations for the play as the transitions take up time.
4) Hiring a separate director will help with overall stage picture and blocking a cast of this size. At times, actors were standing for long periods without any movement.
My overall impression
Some families take dysfunction to historic levels with heavy doses of humor added in to the mix. In Adriana Martínez Barrón’s semi-autobiographical dark comedy, I Hope You’re Having Fun in Hell, Dad, emotions run high at patriarch Fausto Lopez’s funeral. An extremely successful business, Lopez is introduced as a controversial, disliked father and philandering spouse. All hell breaks loose at the reading of his will with many expecting to cash in on his passing.
What, if anything, will he leave his children? How will his children cope? What about his ex-wife and mistresses?
The road to hell is not smoothly paved, but this show proves that it is indeed possible to mourn and even love someone truly awful.
