This week we're breaking format a bit and dropping a full length feature review for Majestic Rep's production of Empanada Loca, which came through LA as part of a double header run of Majestic Rep works getting imported to LA from Vegas.
Both Loca, which was framed by an impressive feat of production design as physical installation and the music parody The Craft'd are not the most immersive work that Majestic Rep has ever produced – they will tell you that themselves – but it was still great to have the company in town for a month. Hopefully not for the last time. If the Loca review and the social media buzz on The Craft'd leave you feeling the FOMO: good.
You don't need to feel the FOMO when it comes to House of Kong: Los Angeles, which is promoting the latest album from Gorillaz. Is it because it's still running or because you can skip it? Kathryn has your answer.
And Thomas is sent to run around London yet again in his latest review of a scavenger hunt adjacent piece. – Noah J. Nelson, Publisher
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Empanada Loca – Los Angeles
Majestic Repertory Theatre ( Sponsored by Midsummer Scream)
From $45; North Hollywood, CA; Feb. 5 - 28
Attend the tale of Empanada Loca, a delectably macabre eighty minute monologue offering a chillingly modern reconstruction (from playwright Aaron Mark) of a ghastly gastronomical classic. With restrained, compelling plating by director Troy Heard and a feast of a performance by the versatile, hypnotic Amanda Guardado, this Las Vegas transfer from the Majestic Rep is an ideal offering for the North Hollywood horror theatre crowd hungry for a dark and twisted morsel to choke on.
You wind your way through a hidden corridor deep below the tunnels of the New York subway system, trash littering the ground, the rumbling of trains sounding through the walls, the only light pouring from a grate overhead, and then you hear it– a startling hiss from the darkness. “Who’s that?” You’re now the captive audience of Dolores Roach, eager to spill her story before she spills… anything else. After thirteen years in prison for a drug bust gone wrong, Dolores finds her old neighborhood whitewashed and her dealer boyfriend mysteriously vanished. She takes refuge in the basement of an empanada shop, a familiar but failing remnant of her street’s former cultural identity, with the lovesick and protective chef Louis. What follows then, well that’s the play, and she wouldn’t want me to give it away.
The script is a veritable tunnel of text, pitch black with gallows humor echoing against the walls, every twist and turn leading you deeper into Dolores’ mind. A deliberate, slow-burn unspooling as engrossing as it is just plain gross; charming, disarming, and alarming as it justifies each grisly, escalating action in such a matter of fact way that it has us rooting for the unfortunate Dolores even as the bodies start to pile up. She recounts her tragic, bloody yarn directly to the audience, and as intimate and enthralling as the experience is, you might think putting a fourth wall between you and Dolores would be the safer choice.
Amanda Guardado serves up this twelve course monologue with the assured subtlety and charisma of a master. Having already played this part in the previous iteration in Las Vegas it comes as no surprise that she has full command of the words, but what’s remarkable is the deliberate authenticity she brings to her delivery. In the best, most primal way this feels like a story being told by a person who lived it rather than a performance being delivered. In her unshaking hands Dolores never comes across as a cartoon or caricature, but simply, powerfully, a woman who has seen some shit.
The restrained blocking gives every motion power– merely leaning her face towards or pulling away from the space’s only light source, casting shadows or illuminating unnaturally, feels weighty, intentional, impactful. Over the course of the story Dolores speaks as nearly a dozen other people but Guardado never makes the new characters feel like put ons, more extensions of Dolores herself that she perhaps unknowingly pitches towards in her retelling. The vocal work and physicality is so fine, so specific, and so understated, yet the transformations from moment to moment are clear and unmistakable. Guardado doesn’t judge Dolores, just as Dolores doesn’t judge herself. There’s a kind of wide-eyed steadiness, a sly yet calm matter-of-factness to how she approaches the speech, devoid of stagey emotional swings, that draws you in because of how horrifically plausible she makes it all come across. Dolores tells you she’s a survivor– Guardado makes you believe her.
The story is presented with an admirable economy, incredible restraint. One could imagine other productions getting spooked by the format and giving into the urge to clutter the narrative with frenetic business, restless pacing, flashy lighting that all would ultimately detract from the words and the reality of the character. Heard thankfully went the opposite route: no showy, extraneous blocking, no never ending fiddling with props, just a powerful, unnerving stillness that demonstrates the level of trust he has in the material and the performer to captivate.
The tech is similarly engrossing in its simplicity– the only lighting an exposed bulb hanging from the ceiling, the only sound an everpresent, muffled urban din that adds a credible, but not distracting, sonic backdrop. This reaching for realism extends out into the street, where you’ll be first met by a sort of immersive installation that evokes the entrance to the subway tunnels leading to a dingy hall complete with flickering lights, sporadic litter, and the aforementioned sound design that provided transportive first few steps into Dolores’ world.
I will admit to being marginally disappointed at the end of the winding corridor to find risers and chairs waiting for me. As I ascended the stairs I felt as though I was climbing out of the atmosphere I had only just entered. I would have gladly sat on a box, a spare tire, the ground, anything to add another tactile layer to my connection with Dolores’ circumstances. As it was, I felt myself drawn in by the performance further than the configuration allowed, wishing for a connection that is hinted at by the premise but not actively permitted by the execution.
While it affords an easy shorthand to highlight the “based on the legend of Sweeny Todd” aspect of the story, it should be stressed just how well Empanada Loca stands on its own, pulling from the core of the original penny dreadful myth while sidestepping the most well known iteration of the material entirely; no winking references or lyrical namechecks for musical theatre fans to nod knowingly at (unlike this review). Instead, the old tale is textured by satisfying role reversals and decidedly modern concepts that heighten the tragedy and add nuance, if not absolution, for its antihero, including cultural erasure through gentrification and the disorienting, unsupported path for the formerly incarcerated.
Is Dolores a naive victim of circumstance, a tragic product of her environment, the deluded end result of her own increasingly poor decisions, or a combination of all three? Has this darkness always been inside of her, just under the surface, or could anyone find themselves telling a similar story if society knocks them down enough times? Empanada Loca doesn’t answer these questions for you, but simply lets them marinate. Stewing in these heady ideas aside, Empanada Loca is first and foremost a Michelin-grade spinetingler well worth the psychological calories. Sometimes we need to indulge in a little horror, no matter how distasteful— especially when what’s happening in the real world is so hard to swallow.
-Chris Wollman, LA Correspondent
House of Kong: Los Angeles — Los Angeles
Gorillaz
$39.50 per person off-peak; $49.50 per person peak; Feb. 26 - March 19
House of Kong is a surreal, colorful, wildly creative touring installation that takes participants deep into the minds of 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs, the virtual members of the genre-bending band Gorillaz. Attendees are issued headphones at the start and are whisked into what seems like a mundane audio tour at a gallery showcasing the band’s creation, surrounded by rough sketches, bare bones animatics, and discarded ideas for the initial character designs. Then… Well, let’s just say the gallery tour takes a significant turn from there.
Throughout the experience, there are multiple cues to “follow the light,” exquisite sound design layered with liberal usage of the band’s deep discography, richly detailed environments complete with custom scents, and light moments of low-stakes interactivity. More than once it felt as if one of the band members had simply popped out for a smoke and was due to return at any time. Attendees of similarly audio-led work such as Viola’s Room will quickly discover the similarities between the two. And that’s not an accident, as House of Kong Experience Director Hector Harkness co-directed Viola’s Room and is a long-time Punchdrunk collaborator. A high level of thought and care has been put into bringing House of Kong to life and it shows. To say too much more would be to rob potential attendees of the delightful journey it takes us through, with unexpected twists and turns at every step. (Pro-tip: if someone hands you a strange looking package destined for Lost & Found? Keep that safe.)
So, whether you’re a die-hard Gorillaz fan or have only a passing familiarity with hits like “Feel Good Inc.” or “Clint Eastwood,” House of Kong remains approachable to anyone who has ever been curious about the creative process behind the music or what it’s like to dive deep into the psyche of a fictional character.
My first thought upon exiting House of Kong was: “I want to go again.” My second thought was: “I want this for all bands.”
— Kathryn Yu, Senior LA Reviewer & Executive Editor Emeritus
Race Across The World: The Experience: West End London – London
CityDays
£35, London; Ongoing
Race Across The World: The Experience is an interesting opportunity to discover historical aspects of Central London. Your team, racing against times set by previous players, solve puzzles to find clues and earn virtual money to get to the next checkpoint.
The experience is based on the BBC’s BAFTA winning series. In the TV show five teams of contestants race around the world to checkpoints without the use of smart phones, credit cards or the Internet and with the cash equivalent of a one way ticket to their destination. A team can complete challenges to obtain more money.
I have not watched the show but have become well accustomed to racing around London, sometimes also solving some puzzles.
This style of racing and challenges was in evidence for this experience. We are sent to a checkpoint to solve a prop based puzzle obtained from cafe or bar staff. Our answer, sent via WhatsApp, sends us to find London locations and answer questions.
The three legs of the race have an added layer offering two options. Using virtual money, earned from additional puzzles, we have to pay a guide. Do we spend a larger amount of our budget for a straightforward set of instructions or a smaller amount for an added layer of riddles, such as directions from a tourist prone to slipping into their native German? We found this option to be a nice additional decision when it came to our travels. Of course, we choose the more complex gameplay.
Unfortunately I must point out a couple of issues with the smooth self-running of this experience. Our starting venue seems surprised by our request and are unable to find the necessary envelope to get us started. When one is found, it is for the Christmas version of the show and the puzzles do not make sense. It is only on this starting puzzle and the final one where we must use our hints, costing us time. That final puzzle requires a padlock code which has changed. Sadly we need to use four hints to push through these mistakes and be comforted that we were not bad at puzzle solving.
Despite this and traversing London's most busy streets, the experience is a good way to spend a few hours (taking us about three hours, with small pauses at the checkpoints) as well as seeing spots even a Londoner might have missed.
— Thomas Jancis, London Correspondent
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