‘The House of Ramón Iglesia’ – Jose Rivera, Playwright. Arthur Gomez, Director. Cameron McEachern, Set Designer. Finn Bamber, Lighting Designer. Abraham Rebollo, Props Designer. Presented by Moonbox Productions, at The Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown, through May 1, 2023.
by Linda Chin
Unlike a bottle of fine wine, or an oak barrel of Ron del Barrilito, Ramón Iglesia’s house in suburban NYC is not aging well. The septic system and water pump are often on the blink, and the furnace is busted. Ramón and his wife Dolores, who moved from Puerto Rico to the US nineteen years before to make a better life for their family, are also in failing health. Dolores is reclusive (refusing to learn English adds to her isolation) and has frequent fainting spells, and Ramón’s limp is getting more pronounced (excessive drinking aggravates his diabetes), making them appear older than they are and more needy of their three sons’ attention.
The family’s struggles are chronicled in Obie Award-winning Jose Rivera’s playwriting debut, The House of Ramón Iglesia (1983), which is set in the 1980s. It takes a few scenes to build empathy for the family’s plight, and the play is weighed down with some heavy-handed and repetitive moments. Some dated dialogue and stereotyped characters (the Italian neighbor and LawnGuyland girlfriend who round out the cast of seven) show the play’s age. Overall the themes are timeless and relevant, and family dynamics are relatable, regardless of one’s cultural background, generation, or immigration history.
The House of Ramón Iglesia is perhaps autobiographical, as Rivera focuses mostly on the bonds between father and son. Luis Negrón delivers an exceptionally nuanced performance as the titular character, Ramón, who despite his enormous sacrifice and best efforts, fails the people he loves most. Dolores (a sensitive Sara Burd) blames her husband for keeping their family captive in a house and country she doesn’t consider home. Worn out from life’s challenges, the couple is often distant (Dolores is also in grief from the death of their baby daughter) and the moments when they can recapture their playfulness are delightful.
Their three sons struggle with the generation gaps typical of most teenagers and their parents, but the Iglesia boys are also torn between two cultures and identities. Julio and Charlie, 19 and 16 (energetic and expressive Dan Garcia and Mo Correa) have been holding down the fort while their older brother Javier, 22 (a captivating and committed Jose Hernandez), has been away at college in DC. Of the three, Javier, who aspires to get a “white-collar” job, and dates ‘white’ women (Lily Steven), is the most rejecting of his roots, ashamed of his family’s inertia and resentful of having to handle business matters, like negotiating with their crusty neighbor (Matthew Zahnzinger).
Javier has the biggest gulf with his father, and Ramón and Javier’s fractured relationship makes for the play’s most poignant moments. An early scene when Javier admits to one of his brothers, “Whenever I see a Puerto Rican stumbling around drunk, I think of Dad,” took me back to my childhood and memories of my father and other downtrodden immigrant men who made up much of the menial labor workforce in 80’s NYC. A scene in Act Two, when Javier goes out in the middle of the night to look for his father and finds him lying on the ground in the snow, shivering and sobbing after a fall, is heartbreaking.
Moonbox Productions has a track record of uplifting communities (Teatro Chelsea is this production’s community partner) and creating beauty in lifeless spaces (its Rocky Horror pop-up in an empty retail space in Harvard Square was a total treat) and this play at Watertown’s Mosesian Center for the Arts (currently surrounded by construction fencing) is no exception. The 300+ seat theater has been curtained off behind the third row, putting the audience right in the Iglesia’s homey living room (designed by Cameron MacEachern) where most of the action in the story takes place. In the outdoor scenes played downstage, Finn Bamber’s lighting is especially evocative. Arthur Gomez’ direction demonstrates his commitment to authentic storytelling and cultural understanding. No dysfunction is quite as painful as family dysfunction, and no redemptive love is quite as healing as family love. At The House of Ramón Iglesia, mi casa es su casa. For tickets and information, go to: https://moonboxproductions.org/
