An inquisitive personality and an interest in the changing American landscape has fueled playwright Caridad Svich’s prolific career. She began writing in high school and has been going strong for 25 years.
Winner of a 2012 OBIE Award for Lifetime Achievement in the theater plus many more prestigious awards, Svich has also adapted a long list of novels for the stage and reconfigured works from Euripides, Sophocles and Shakespeare. In her spare time, she maintains a parallel career as a theatrical translator, chiefly of works by Federico Garcia Lorca.
You can catch the Cuban American author’s “Red Bike,” which is running through Feb. 25 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive (visit lesherartscenter.org online or call 925-943-SHOW for tickets).
Produced by Center Repertory Company and directed by Jeffrey Lo, the show is a wildly imaginative, highly choreographed physical “ride” on a red bike with an 11-year-old narrator. Riding through his/her small town in America, the youngster shares thoughts and feelings about the town’s transformation as stores close and the town, along with the rest of the country, seems more divided than ever.
The child can be played by one or more actors. In the Center Rep production, Adrienne Kaori Walters and Amy Lizardo portray the exuberant rider. Premiered in 2018, “Red Bike” is the first play in Svich’s “American Psalm — Seven Play Cycle” and the only one with an 11-year-old narrator.
“I had never written a play with a child as the main character and thought it would be interesting to have them comment on social and political things when they can’t vote yet,” said Svich. “They are the most vulnerable because they are affected by the various laws enacted, which they had no say about.”
When Svich wrote the play, she conceived of just one actor playing the part but was asked during workshops what she thought of more than one actor playing the role.
“I agreed to try it and was really delighted. The sharing of identity between two performers was very exciting,” Svich said. “I’m always trying to make plays that live between dance and theater, and opening the play to more than one narrator did that.”
After writing “Red Bike,” Svich started wondering what other similar stories were out there. She started looking at small towns built around particular industries that take the towns with them when they close.
“Often in America, people just leave, but what if they stayed? What would progress look like? That’s when this constellation of plays emerged — my little madness in wanting to write seven plays,” Svich said.
The resulting plays are just emerging with the second one, “Life Jacket,” premiering in Maryland this month and two others in production at the college level. Svich is also stretching herself by working on a musical with Steven Swartz of “Wicked” fame. While she often has songs in her plays, she has never written a musical.
“It’s a very big project, but I’ve always been super-curious. I try not to bore myself,” said Svich.
Castro Valley: Chanticleers Theatre is beginning its 2023 main stage season with the musical “Little Shop of Horrors.” Directed by Sue Ellen Nelsen, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s popular classic musical will run Feb. 10 though March 5 at the Castro Valley’s company’s playhouse in the park at 3683 Quail Ave.
The season continues with John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation” (April 28 through May 1), Sarah DeLappe’s “The Wolves” (Aug. 4-27) and concludes with Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s “The Fantasticks” (Oct. 20 through Nov. 19). For tickets, go online to chanticleers.org.
San Francisco: An interesting new work, “Cashed Out,” is showing now through Feb. 25 in the San Francisco Playhouse at 450 Post St. Set on the Gila River Indian Community Reservation in Arizona, the play follows three generations of one family to show the battles and triumphs of fighting addiction and trying to uphold the tribe’s culture.
Written by Claude Jackson Jr., the director of his tribe’s public defender’s office, “Cashed Out” was part of the S.F. Playhouse Zoomlet series before being commissioned into a full production. The ambitious work boasts a cast of Native American and indigenous performers as it highlights the monetary benefits brought to the tribe by the local casino as well as the destruction from drugs, alcohol and gambling addictions — important topics which, unfortunately, don’t receive their due in this production.
Despite some clever dialogue, the play would benefit from some judicious cuts as well as actors who could convey their characters in a more realistic fashion and knew how to project their voices. Chingwe Padraig Sullivan (Levi) and Sheila Tousey (Nancy Camu), however, managed more honest portrayals.
The production values, on the other hand, continue the high standard usually set by SF Playhouse with Tanya Orellana’s beautifully designed revolving set complete with side walls resembling the weave of the tribe’s signature baskets and Michael Oesch’s creative lighting. For tickets to “Cashed Out,” go to sfplayhouse.org.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.
