I only know a few words of Spanish, but I really enjoyed “Chocolate
Casi Amargo,” (“Chocolate, Almost Bitter”), a one-act written and directed by Candide
Carrasco and presented Saturday afternoon on the TheaterRocs
Stage at Xerox Auditorium. The play has no plot to speak of, it’s just a
late-night conversation between a long-married couple, Isabel (Elena Nรกpoles Goldfeder) and Francisco
(Rubรฉn Lorenzo Gรณmez). Over mugs of chocolate, they argue about their old life
in Cuba, their relatives, and the happiness of their gay son. What makes the
play unusual is that most of the dialogue is in Spanish — the couple only
occasionally, and helpfully, lapses into English. Carrasco uses this pointillistic English (and the actors’ body language) very
skillfully – even if you don’t know Spanish, you still get the idea of what’s
going on and can still respond to some of the humor. The actors help
tremendously: Goldfeder and Gรณmez both have great
presence, play off each other with gusto, and hit all the notes in the script,
whether bitter or sweet.

For a show that hasn’t been on TV for almost 60 years,
"You Are There" casts a mighty long shadow. That is probably because
it is an inspired idea: presenting historical situations as just-breaking news
stories, reported by actual TV news reporters. In the original version, CBS
newsmen (and men only; this was the 1950’s) reported on everything from
Socrates’ trial to the death of Billy the Kid. In this new, Rochesterian
edition, titled "You Are Where," the historical
events come from the Flower City, and include two of our famous flops: the
failures of Eastman Kodak and of the Fast Ferry. Presented in
vignettes, written by Justin Rielly and Spencer Christiano, and directed by Don Bartalo,
the production presents ordinary people’s reactions to the
situations, along with news reporters and politicians (in the Fast
Ferry section, one actor gets to play Mayor Bill Johnson). The individual
scenes are written with humor and an edge, and the acting company is very
engaging. Bartalo would like to turn "You Are
Where" into a regular radio series, and I hope he succeeds.

My Fringe Festival reviewing ended on a high note with "M.I.A." This play was also written by Spencer Christiano,
and performed by him as well. He scores on both counts in this
heartfelt and satisfying solo show. Christiano’s
great-uncle, Joseph, was shot down over Laos in 1965. He was at first
classified as missing in action, then as a casualty, but no one was sure he had
actually died. Forty-six years later, some objects finally recovered from
the crash site proved that Joe Christiano and four
other men were on the plane; they received a funeral with full military
honors. In a detailed, vivid monologue, Spencer tells of his entire
family’s trip to Arlington National Cemetery for the funeral, and of his own
search to learn the details of Joe’s life and to determine his own place
in his family. Spencer describes "M.I.A." As a memory play,
invoking Tennessee Williams’ “Glass Menagerie,” and the comparison is apt.
His rich script is both deadly serious and very
funny, and his performance is perfectly paced.

This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2014.