latimes.com
Moving tribute to social strife
By Philip Brandes
August 17, 2007
“To be a man is to suffer for others,” declares Cesar Chavez at the start of a hunger strike that segues into a fierce ensemble number set to Don Henley’s “I Will Not Go Quietly” — one of several cultural juxtapositions that prove surprisingly effective in “Cesar & Ruben” at the NoHo Arts Center.
Expanded and reworked from its 2003 debut, writer-director-ctor Ed Begley Jr.’s musical tribute to the late farmworkers’ union organizer is something of a departure from the environmental causes with which Begley is more commonly associated. Nevertheless, the passionate heart of a fellow activist beats strong and steady here, along with obvious personal loyalty (Begley knew Chavez and was a pallbearer at his funeral).
Sporting a large cast of talented Latino and Anglo performers, Begley’s play presents a retrospective of the life of Chavez (Danny Bolero), framed in a surreal afterlife encounter with murdered L.A. Times columnist Ruben Salazar (Mauricio Mendoza). Scenes inventively combine dialogue with thematically related songs — some in supertitled Spanish, others in English — in an eclectic score that includes compositions by Enrique Iglesias, Peter Gabriel, Ruben Blades and others. All are capably sung by the performers and accompanied by Ron Snyder’s versatile live five-piece band.
The inclusion of Salazar, who was shot with a tear-gas canister at point-blank range by Los Angeles police during a National Chicano Moratorium march in 1970, adds another dimension of outrage to the oppression chronicled in the piece, culminating in the no-nonsense production number set to Santana’s “No One to Depend On” that closes the first act and the Phil Collins-David Crosby ballad “Hero,” which opens the second. Tight choreography by Frankie Anne adds visceral impact.
Embracing epic scope and a broad spectrum of social issues, this iconic portrait sacrifices some psychological depth. Yet its timely celebratory spirit comes amid the low ebb of complacency in labor relations that Chavez once warned about. Begley’s recurring use of the spiraling Tehachapi Loop railroad tracks near Chavez’s birthplace is an inspired metaphor for the cyclical history of social progress, where “time bends back around on itself” and the way forward is through revisiting the past.
