‘The Hombres’ – Written by Tony Meneses. Directed by Armando Rivera. Movement Design by Nathaniel Justiniano. Set Design by Kristin Loeffler. Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl. Lighting Design by John Holmes. Sound Design by Julian Crocamo. Properties Design by Carolyn Ferris. Presented by Teatro Chelsea & Gloucester Stage Company at 267 E. Main St., Gloucester, MA through September 22. At Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea, MA from September 27-29, 2024.
by Linda Chin
Humorous and light-hearted, at times heavy (but never heavy-handed), alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking, playwright Tony Meneses’ The Hombres tells a story of five ordinary men that is exquisitely written and extraordinarily human throughout.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, raised in a culture that is both machismo and matriarchical, and inspired by his mother, aunts, and other positive female figures, Meneses has populated his other plays (The Women of Padilla, Guadalupe in the Guest Room) with strong female characters and explored the communication and conversation that characterizes female relationships (intimate and free-flowing in comparison to their male counterparts). The Hombres is the playwright’s first work to feature an all-male cast of five and explores masculinity and the ways men express their love for each other. Meneses is Latino and identifies as a gay man. His plays center on characters of color and LGBTQ characters. Four of the five men in the cast are Latino; one is not. The four Latino men also vary in terms of their country of origin, immigrant status, command of Spanish, and sexual orientation. One of the characters is gay.
Playwright Tony Meneses writes from the dual perspectives of a trained storyteller and a man with lived experience. He captures the vernacular and mannerisms of ‘stereotypical’ Latino men from New Jersey, USA – not the drug dealers or cartel operators seen in pop media, movies, TV, and theatre – but real working-class men. The construction workers building high-end condos next door to a yoga studio, Beto (Jaime José Hernández), Pedro (Luis Negrón), and their older crew supervisor, Héctor (Arthur Gomez), are straight, strong-bodied, macho, and gruff. Julian (Ricardo “Ricky” Holguin), a gay Latino yoga instructor and aspiring contemporary dancer/choreographer, is soft-spoken and gentle. Miles (Patrick O’Konis), who is Anglo, plays one of the rare studio regulars who is not female and strikes up a friendship with Julián after class. Different in temperament, comfort with being vulnerable, and – pardon the pun – degrees of flexibility, the men alternately clash, reconcile, and connect. They all change and grow.
With dialogue that feels very authentic, current, and vibrant as a foundation, Armando Rivera deftly directs the cast, creates lovely stage pictures, and gives us a deeper dive into male relationships than I’ve ever seen staged before. The Hombres is successful in opening audience members’ hearts and minds, reshaping our perceptions about the silos, stereotypes, and labels that limit us, and reminding us that the one group to which we all belong is the human race.
The unit set designed by Kristin Loeffler, with the studio’s light wood floor and simple props, creates a calm vibe (that one of the construction workers remarks “smells really nice in here!”) that contrasts the scaffolding and plastic sheeting of the construction zone works. Costumes by Chelsea Kerl were fitting, but all could’ve been more soiled with construction dust or sweat. The set works in the Gloucester space and should be easy enough to transfer to Chelsea (9/27-29) – or for hoped-for future tours! The Hombres is a play worth hightailing it to Gloucester or Chelsea to see. For tickets and information, go to: https://gloucesterstage.com/hombres/
