Strong cast drives humorous 'Hearse'

Your sons profess to adore you, but can't remember when your birthday is or even how old you are. Your daughters-in-law consider you a burden to be dodged and speculate on how many years you might have left. With children like these, what mother needs enemies?

Such is the premise of "Esperando la Carroza" ("Waiting for the Hearse"), Mixed Blood Theatre's season-closer and its 10th annual bilingual production. Material that could make for a bleak family drama becomes the stuff of comic absurdity in the hands of Uruguayan playwright Jacobo Langsner, as three couples grapple with the problem of how to take care of their octogenarian mother. Adapter and director Jerry Ruiz has relocated this work from Buenos Aires to Chicago and translated large sections into English, adding a layer of social commentary as the action plays out against the backdrop of the American dream.

Mama Cora (in a delightfully wide-eyed cameo by Yolanda Cotterall) has lived for the past four years in the tiny apartment of son Jorge (Pedro R. Bayon) and his wife, Susan (Jennifer Maren). The addition of a new baby, however, has made the situation untenable, so Susan pressures her husband to put Mama Cora in a nursing home. This suggestion wreaks havoc among the family members: The brothers refuse to consider the idea, and their wives panic at the thought of bringing Mama Cora to their own homes.

When the old lady suddenly goes missing, the crisis escalates. Economic status, ethnicity (Susan is white), and sexual infidelity all add fuel to the fire, as accusations fly and alliances are broken as quickly as they are formed.

This play is all about the women of the family, and Maren, Maggie Bofill and Nora Montañez dominate the stage as the three sisters-in-law. Their husbands, in contrast, played by Bayon, Ric Oquita and Raúl Ramos, wander Joseph Stanley's beautifully detailed set in varying degrees of despair, obliviousness or ineffectual bluster. It's a strong cast, but the play is pitched at such a histrionic level in the opening scenes that by the end of the evening they struggle a little to take the material even further over the top.

Nevertheless, "Esperando La Carroza" is a lively production that offers a good opportunity to see Langsner's work within a unique setting. Although much of the dialogue transpires in Spanish, this production is completely accessible to non-Spanish-speaking audiences, due as much to the expressiveness of the acting company as to the supertitles projected above the stage.

Lisa Brock is a Minneapolis writer.