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'Bandido!' showcases bright, young talent in the county
By MARC CABRERA
Herald Staff Writer
Updated: 06/18/2009 01:33:25 AM PDT
If The Herald had a prep all-star theater team, certainly they would make up the majority of the cast for "Bandido! An American Melodrama of Tiburcio Vasquez, The Notorious California Bandit"
Playing this weekend at the Outdoor Forest Theater in Carmel and directed by Alicia Welch, the Luis Valdez-scripted production is the second collaboration between the Chicano playwright's El Teatro Campesino and the Forest Theater Guild, and represents a unique educational experience.
Given that Valdez's plays delve deep into California history, the student productions serve as a staged history lesson while showcasing the bright young talent roaming the county's school hallways.
Lighting up the stage for the majority of the show is Vasquez, played with tempered swagger by Salvador Yanez.
The noble bandit Vasquez is locked up in a Santa Clara County jail cell after capture by the sheriff's posse, facing trial for triple-homicide in a botched Tres Pinos hold-up.
Yanez is tasked with carrying the entire play, showing up in the lion's share of scenes. He conveys Vasquez's fire and defiance while finding the right touches of tenderness that, according to Valdez's script, made him an 18th century heartthrob.
As Vasquez awaits his fate in a jail cell, he is visited by a series of friends, enemies and opportunists, led off by the exuberant impresario Samuel P. Gillette (Michael Valdez, over the top in a good way). Gillette seeks Vasquez's story with the intent of staging it in Los Angeles.
Vasquez also contends with the brooding lieutenant he betrayed, Ramon Guzman (Estevan Carrillo), the honest but stern Santa Clara County Sherriff J. H. Adams (Jacob Mederos, terrific) and Rosario (Hannah Armenta), Guzman's unfaithful wife.
As Vasquez tells the story of his bandit glory and eventual capture, Valdez's script outlines the action with his signature song and dance.
The numbers are strong thanks to Jane DeLay's choreography and Leticia Candelaria's vocal coaching.
Notable is Hannah Egar, who as madam California Kate knocks it out the box with two songs, "The Ballad of Tiburcio Vasquez and The Bandit Song" and "Ballad of the Whore."
Staged in the chilly, cavernous confines of the Outdoor Forest Theater, the play's outdoor settings are suited for the space.
Scenes set in the California hills work well off stage near the fire pit. Set designer Joe Cardinalli makes good use of the gallows that looms large center stage, a constant reminder of the bandit's consequences.
The audience clapped and cheered at the end of each scene a lot more than they might have during a regular staging. It's an all-star game of sorts, so that's acceptable.
What's more promising is the marriage of Valdez's work with local high school drama students.
While "Bandido" is somewhat risque fare given the age group (the men constantly slap the women's butts, there is lots of drinking and one scene is staged in a brothel), it's worth the risk.
Valdez's work is worthy of being shared with future generations and holds a rightful place in the canon.
Here's hoping a tradition is taking hold on the Peninsula and El Teatro Campesino's productions carry on with local high school students for years to come.
Marc Cabrera can be reached at mcabrera@montereyherald.com. GO!
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