Review: CHOKE at GALA Hispanic Theatre

Among its other achievements, the world premiere of the Spanish language “Choke” at GALA Hispanic Theatre should also be noted as perhaps the first play to incorporate the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge.

It falls at the end of act one and was one of the changes made in Emilio Infante’s play, originally set in Corpus Cristi, Texas, but relocated to Baltimore to have a more immediate surrounding for East Coast audiences.

But there’s a lot to relate to, apart from the looming refineries and environmental concerns.

Anytime generations of a family are pushed together for an event — in this case the funeral of a beloved aunt — there are bound to be flareups of longstanding concerns.

In this case, the elder couple Gonzalo (Gerardo Ortiz González) and Esperanza (María del Mar Rodríguez) are dreading their daughter’s arrival because she’ll look down at their modest — some would say ramshackle — house and revive her campaign to try to get them to move out.

All the other neighbors have long since moved out or died. Everyday pollution and the resulting illnesses it causes, as well as the almost routine warning sirens, has made it pretty much a hazard. Its toll can be seen in a troubling black sinkhole in the middle of their living room  that they try to hide with a carpet and end table. 

Still, the refinery, for all its ills, was the place Gonzalo worked for 40 years, allowing him to raise his family and send his daughter to college. There is still some pride in being a refinery man and he is reluctant to complain about his one-time employer. 

College, and life away from this corner of Baltimore has taught the equally strong-willed daughter Casandra (Giselle González) that her parents don’t have to live like this, and it may just be killing them. Her wife Zulema (Joi Kai) tries to referee the conflict. That the elderly couple don’t have any particular problem with their lesbian coupling hints that they may be more open-minded than they think.

It’s enough that they all get along for this unplanned few days after the funeral. And then the bridge collapses after being struck by a wayward ship. One unexpected benefit to come out of that infrastructure tragedy is that money is suddenly freed up to help buy up the remaining homes, particularly from Latino families, since all six construction workers who died in the collapse were Latino immigrants. (As up to date as the play seems, it doesn’t take into account that any of that federal aid will almost certainly be rescinded by the current administration).

In some ways, “Choke” is one lingering argument over two acts. As its subtitle says, “Sucede hasta en las mejores familias” — “It happens even in the best bamilies.” 

What makes it come alive on stage are some uniformly strong performances, from Gerardo Ortiz González as the prideful paterfamilias, who limps along with an oxygen machine when he’s not raging against change; to María del Mar Rodríguez , who keeps the crumbling household together the best she can while stoically hiding her own secrets.

Giselle González, as the daughter, brings a zest to her performance, embodying the Gen X adult who is still so impatient with her parents’ ways. Joi Kai’s role is something of an outsider to the family, or at least a newcomer, but she’s in a position to listen to everyone’s point of view and proceed without the emotion of blood ties. 

She’s also the one character who freely moves from Spanish to English in a realistic way, The titles follow by switching languages interchangeably as well. English speakers who rely on the titles will notice that not all of the dialogue is translated for them. Rather, you get enough information to know what’s going on, but a lot of the back and forth is skipped, probably because you couldn’t keep up with reading all of it if they did have every line. Hearing the dialog rapid-fire sounds more natural, though, and the Spanish-speaking audiences certainly picks up on it.

GALA Artistic Director Gustavo Ott, who directs and provides translation, also gets credit with helping shape the story to fit Baltimore. He also gets the best out of his talented actors, half of whom are TV and film stars in their native Puerto Rico (Mr. González) or Cuba (Ms. González).

Grisele Gonzalez’ sprawling wood-paneled set seems right for the family — neat but having seen better days. Behind them, the refineries billow smoke, or the Key Bridge is visible through the projections of Hailey Laroe (though one projector was flickering a bit during one matinee).

For all the family emotion that playwright Infante gets right, he also is able to bring forth many of the immediate issues of environmental pollution and corporate greed that poisoned one family. It serves as a clarion warning, too, at a regressive time when whatever environmental safeguards had been in place are crashing down like that old bridge.

Running time: About two hours and 15 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.

Photo credit: Gerardo Ortiz González, María del mar Rodríguez and Giselle González. Photo by Stan Weinstein. 

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