“One statement,” José Amador tells his audience mid-way through “El Hijo Prodigo,” his one-man show at New City Theater, “that captures the essence of Puerto Rican mentality, is this: Life gives me surprises; surprises give me life.” Surprises abound in Amador’s engaging, quirky, darkly comedic return to the land of his birth.
Ably directed by Mark Fullerton, Amador’s work is one of ten mostly solo original works in Radial Theater Project’s “Locally Grown – a festival of homemade performance,” at New City Theater’s historic brick-walled performance space at 18th and Union. Judging by the schedule on the project’s user-friendly website, there is a lot of top-notch, original entertainment to be had through February 28th. Check it out for details on shows, performer bios, dates, times and discounts.
“El Hijo Prodigo” (The Prodigal Son) is an autobiographical script created over several years by actor/director José Amador (who, full disclosure, last appeared onstage with this writer in “Don Quixote and Sancho Panza: Homeless in Seattle.) Amador serves up a zesty, darkly-layered serving of Puerto Rican culture as he reenacts his 2003 return trip to the land of his birth, from which his mother took him at age 8 into exile in the United States.
The show is fast-paced, funny, and captivating, no small achievement with a subject that sounds almost like being invited to spend an evening looking at pictures of someone’s trip to visit relatives. That can easily become a yawner; “El Hijo Prodigo” does not.
Amador quickly builds rapport with his close-up audience, coaching them on Spanish words and Puerto Rican names, and crafting a vivid picture of a journey of self-discovery and reconnection with a personal and more universal past.
Amador has masterfully woven together music, movement, anecdotes from his journey and his family, visions of local food, people and culture, and insights into history and religion. Laugh-out-loud recreations of situations and people turn on a beat to reveal sharp irony underneath – an irony, one soon realizes, that is woven into Puerto Rican life and mentality. A story about a relative performing in a play becomes a memorable lesson in the bloody and tragic history of the island named San Juan Bautista by Columbus and cruelly subdued by Juan Ponce de Leon. A story about a jealous relative draws viewers into the mysterious world of Santería, the hybrid Caribbean spiritual tradition linking Catholic faith with the West African animist tradition, Yoruba.
Surprises such as these grace every beat of this well-honed piece of individual and national history. Amador’s discoveries shine light on topical and important questions about American culture, domination, and hypocrisy, offering a penetrating glimpse of a country that while technically part of ours, may be known to most Americans only in stereotypes and caricatures.
Rather than rushing off to explore suddenly hip and accessible Cuba, local adventurers could do worse than take in one of the remaining performances of “El Hijo Prodigo” on February 27th and 28th, and experience a journey of many surprises and much rich life in Jose Amador’s personal and courageous labor of love.
El Hijo Prodijo
Written and performed by José Amador
Directed by Mark Fullerton
Radial Theater Project
at New City Theater, 1404 18th Street, Seattle, 98122
January 30-February 28th 2015