Review by Bel Hernandez
During these trying times, 57 Chevy is a ride worth taking.
When three comedic minds come together for a fun ride back into the 60′ told through a story by Emmy Award-winning writer Cris Franco (My Family, East Los High), co-director Herbert Siguenza and performed with comedic zeal by Rick Salinas, this is a ride you need to take.
Sam Woodhouse, San Diego Repertory artistic director is also co-directing this baby-boomer comedy entailing the humorous exploration of “double immigrants” who moved from Mexico City into the barrios of the United States, then “moving-on up” into the suburbs in search of opportunity, color TV, and the middle-class American Dream.
With the wit of Franco, whose writing has encompassed film, theater and television, and the uproarious talent of Salinas, who originated the role in 57 Chevy, the production will take you on a journey from the 50’s to the present, through the eyes of a young boy whose family enjoyed the “best of times” back then when the Covid pandemic was just a plot for a sci-fi movie.
The hour-plus streaming production explores Franco’s bicultural-bilingual childhood with a nostalgic look and telling of a Latino family life, in a refreshing kind of “Wonder Years” TV show kind of take. The production brings together two-thirds of the highly lauded Chicano comedic troupe of Culture Clash, Siguenza and Salinas whose perspectives enrich the telling of 57 Chevy.
Theater lovers can stream the production until August 15. Tickets and more information are available now at sdrep.org. Subscribers to San Diego REP’s 2020/21 season will receive access to view 57 Chevy for free.
The production team is rounded out by: Christopher Murillo (Scenic Design); Carmen Amon (Costume Design/Wardrobe Supervisor); Mextly Couzin (Lighting Design); Elizabeth Barrett (Projections Design); Freddy Lanuza (Music Composer); Matthew Lescault-Wood (Sound Design/Audio Supervisor); Timothy Powell (Director of Photography); Heather M. Brose (Stage Manager); Danielle Dudley (Assistant Stage Manager); Chelsea Smith (Production Manager); Sam Moore (Technical Director); Zlatko Mitev (Properties Supervisor); Kira Vine (COVID Compliance Officer); Jacob Sinclair (COVID Compliance Officer); and Kim Heil (Casting Director & Associate Producer).