**** Highly Recommended LUCHA TEOTL was a total blast! I laughed so much my face hurt – it was that much fun! Let me set the stage so you can visualize – people making signs to cheer on their favorites; pre-show mariachi music; a wrestling ring – and why call it a ring when it’s square, but I digress – in the center of the Goodman’s Owen Theatre: and wrestlers bouncing off the ropes. Sheer craziness and it totally worked! 4 BIG Spotlights
So I mentioned that full-sized wrestling ring. It was equipped with a spring floor, posts at the four corners and ropes between all the posts. Behind that was a huge Aztec temple with a door in the center and a 15-foot-high Aztec calendar hanging beside it. Before the show, the Maestro de Ceremonia (Victor Maraña) and El Referee (Jean Claudio) were roaming the audience chatting people up.
At showtime, the Maestro de Ceremonia introduced the LTA announcers, Comentarista 1 (Ramón Camín) and Comentarista 2 (Rinska Carrasco). They kept the audience entertained and informed with both patter and play-by-play. All of the action, caught by Camera Operator 1 (Isabella Abel-Suarez) and Camera Operator 2 (Cisco Lopez), is projected on a large screen situated above the Comentarista desk.
The wrestlers or luchadores wore colorful costumes with masks representing Aztec gods. Apparently in the LTA, the gods vie for domination, while the wrestlers stand for family, honor, tradition and redemption. Some of the gods represented the light/good, some the darkness/evil. As wrestlers were introduced by the Maestro de Ceremonia, the Commentaristas let the audience know who to cheer for (light/good) and who to boo (dark/evil).
When they were actually wrestling, it was definitely full body contact. They were body-slammed, they were on the ropes, under the ropes, even people falling over the ropes (right into Al Bresloff’s lap).
Apparently Huitzi (Joey Ibanez) represented the sun, Coyol (Paloma “Starr” Vargas) the moon. After Huitzi lost his very first bout, Coyal invited him to join her tag team, which was – gasp – unprecedented. Coval was stronger than almost anyone and really didn’t even need Huitzi. Eventually, she turned on him – using a folding chair as her weapon.
The other wrestlers are: Opotchli/Xochi (Jamey Feshold), Quetzacoatl/Techalotl (Molly Hernández), Centeotl/Itzla (Natalia Christabelle) and Tezca/Xolotl/Macuil (Luis “Aski” Palomino). Also appearing as Toci (Isabel Espin or Alexandrya Salazar).
LUCHA TEOTL was written and directed by Christopher Llewyn Ramirez and Jeff Colangelo. It is produced by the Goodman Theatre in association with the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA) and the National Museum of Mexican Art as a part of the 2023 Destinos festival.
LUCHA TEOTL has been extended through November 5th in the Goodman Theatre’s Owen Theatre,170 N. Dearborn, Chicago. Most reasonable parking option for the Goodman is the Government Center garage on Lake between LaSalle and Dearborn, online advance payment at www.interparkonline.com/goodmantheatre.
Running time is approximately 100 minutes, no intermission. Performances are: Wednesdays through Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 2:00 and 7:30 pm; Sundays at 2:00 pm with a special performance on Tuesday, October 24th at 7:30 pm.
Accessible & Special Performances: ASL Interpreted Performance: Friday, October 27th at 8:00 pm; Touch Tour & Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, October 28th, 12:30 Touch Tour, 2:00 pm Performance; Open Captioned Performance, Sunday, October 29th, at 2:00 pm; Spanish Subtitles, Saturday, October 28th at 8:00 pm
Tickets range from $25-$70. FYI (312) 443-3800 or www.goodmantheatre.org/Lucha