Match Point

Roosters is the cock of the walk

by Mark Cofta

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Published: Feb 13, 2008

For Gallo (played by the superbly restrained Joe Guzmán), cockfighting is more art and science than bloody chaos. He's dedicated his life to breeding an ideal fighting bird, but since his imprisonment for manslaughter, the potential champion Zapata now belongs to his son Hector (Oscar Dubón).

Milcha Sanchez-Scott's 1987 play Roosters pits father and son against each other in a struggle for much more than a bird: Will Hector realize his dreams for himself and lead his family to a better life, or will Gallo's return mean the resumption of an impoverished existence fueled by gambling, drink and cockfighting glory?

Director Deborah Block skillfully reveals the stakes, drawing Hector's family lovingly. Catalina Medina is resplendent as mother Juana, bowed but perhaps not broken by a life of serving Gallo. Anjoli Santiago brings an ethereal quality to Hector's teenage sister Angela, who lives in a hazy spiritual world, wearing angel wings, playing with a toy cemetery and, most tragically, romanticizing her father's love. Also compelling are Emmanuel Carrera as Hector's friend Adan and the production's musician, and Melissa Sabater as Hector's world-weary aunt Chata, who cuts through all their passions with proclamations like "all men are shit."

While Guzmán brings an animal danger to the family's modest home, the production less successfully reveals cockfighting's bloody dance, using Chris Devany and Peter M. DiGeronimo in representations that fail to capture the bloody triumph fueling Gallo, or the spiritual transformation eluding Hector.

Nevertheless, the drama skillfully revealed is heartbreaking, especially through Santiago's nuanced Angela, the soul most in danger. Hector might reject his father's path, but can Angela elude becoming a man's domestic servant (like her mother) or his sexual slave (like her aunt)? A production focusing more on roosters, both human and fowl, might not reveal Angela's plight so vividly.

Extra congrats to Theatre Exile for that Philadelphia rarity, a nonwhite cast — and all based here! Asked a week ago if a Hispanic play could be cast locally, I would have said no — but I'm happy to report that's not true. Let's see these fine actors, and more work by overlooked playwrights like Sanchez-Scott, soon.

(m_cofta@citypaper.net)

Roosters Through Feb. 24, Theatre Exile, Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. A

 

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