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A Family Visitation

Slap Happy: Liz Marcos at work in "Our Lady of the Tortilla"

By Anne Gelhaus

In 'Our Lady of the Tortilla,' a miracle takes a back seat to a family frolic

Despite its many flaws, Teatro Visión's latest production, Our Lady of the Tortilla, is still an enjoyable comedy. Playwright Luis Santeiro based his script on the true story of a New Mexican woman who saw Christ's image in a freshly baked tortilla. Santeiro uses this incident as a jumping-off point to poke fun at everything from dysfunctional family relationships to overly devout Catholics to in-your-face media types.

Although Santeiro's observations aren't necessarily fresh, they are, by and large, awfully funny, even if much of his humor is lost in the staging quagmire created by first-time director Aaliyah Eaves. Cast members are constantly dropping punch lines or talking over those of another actor, so only about a third of the show's jokes actually reach the audience.

Strangely, all this bobbled dialogue gives the show a certain charm, as if the audience has been invited into a neighbor's living room for an evening to casually observe her family life. It's reminiscent of being asked over to a friend's house for dinner and feeling instantly comfortable without understanding everything that's going on.

In this case, however, even the most polite dinner guest would be hard pressed not to remark on the biological impossibility of this theatrical family: Dahlia Cruz (Belinda Ramirez) looks no older than her first-born son, Eddie (Jim Rodriguez), and if, as she says, she was married to her estranged husband for 21 years, she must have been a child bride.

As Dahlia's youngest son, Nelson, Marc Pinate is obnoxious enough to slap, partly because his character is as thick as a brick. Nelson insists on being embarrassed by his family, even after his WASP girlfriend, Beverly (Kimberly Xoe Cook), makes it clear that she finds his kin to be pleasant company.

Elizabeth Marcos is gently loopy as Dahlia's sister Dolores, who prays to dead actors to help her find lost items. Although it's Dolores who bakes the sacred tortilla, the character is not central to the play. Instead, she winds up as a foil to her family members, who are louder in their wackiness.

There is a chance that this production might gel before the end of its run, but even if it doesn't, the fact that it has some redeeming qualities as it stands is something of a miracle.

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Our Lady of the Tortilla plays Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm through Feb. 10 at City Lights Theater, 529 S. Second St., San Jose. Tickets are $5-$10. (408/295-4200)


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