Cultural Clash in America
I've said it before but it needs repeating: Comedy is very
serious business. It's also very tricky. What makes one person laugh
out loud can make another groan with pain. It all depends who you
are, where you live, and your life experiences.
At rock bottom, "comedy is about survival." When the going gets
tough you'd better laugh or you'll get plowed under. In fact, the
subtext of first-rate comedy has acted as instructive criticism for
human foibles throughout the ages. (Just think of Plautus' slaves or
Shakespeare's court jesters.)
Add impeccable timing, social satire, and self-mockery to the
mix, and you have the bare bones of this undefinable subject we've
all embraced since the days of ancient Greece. As George Burns said
with a straight face, "Dying is easy, comedy is hard."
So when "Cultural Clash in AmeriCCa" exploded from the stage at
South Coast Repertory last weekend, and the audience leaped to its
feet in unanimous thunderous applause--that, my friends, is the sound
of first-rate comedy.
For 23 years, Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza
have been poking sacred cows across the country with wild abandon.
Now that they've tested their mettle in Orange County, the verdict is
in: These guys have got it.
Working on a bare stage with nothing but a giant American flag
stretched across the back wall (plus some quick-change costumes) they
bounce around from one politically-incorrect subject to another with
no holds barred. Nothing is sacred; everything is fair game.
From a Vietnam war vet who claims that life in Tijuana is safer
than living with Chicano gangs on the East side of LA; through a skit
on building walls to keep illegal Mexicans out of California (It
won't work; who's gonna' build them?); to riffs on Sheriff Mike
Corona, a step-by-step description of transgender surgery, Muslim cab
drivers and D.C. call girls, local swingers, and Jewish transplants
from New York to Miami; these guys aim at their targets and hit the
bull's eye every time.
The fast-paced direction of SCR director David Emmes keeps
everything zipping effortlessly along. For ninety laugh-filled
minutes, Montoya, Salina, and Siguenza slide in and out of one juicy
slice of American pie after another, exposing the basic ingredients
of our multi-cultural country.
Prepare yourself for a spicy delightful experience, one that
you'll savor long after you've digested the last bite.
"Cultural Clash in AmeriCCa" continues at South Coast Repertory
through April 6. For further information: call (714) 708-5555, or go
on line at www.scr.org.