Rudy Ramos Stars in Award-Winning Geronimo: Life On The Reservation
Only Two Performances at The Santa Monica Playhouse
Saturday March 30th and April 6th 2019, 2:00 PM
By Elia Esparza
Santa Monica Playhouse presents the critically acclaimed, seldom told story of Geronimo’s life as a POW on the Fort Sill Indian Reservation.
Playwright Janelle Meraz Hooper’s, Geronimo: Life on the Reservation, returns for two exclusive performances on Saturdays, March 30th and April 6th at the Santa Monica Playhouse located at 1211 4th Street (between Wilshire and Arizona) in the heart of downtown Santa Monica, CA.
Geronimo: Life on the Reservation stars veteran actor Rudy Ramos (Yellowstone, The High Chaparral, The Enforcer, Defiance), and is directed by Golden Globe nominated actor, Steve Railsback. Written by award-winning novelist and playwright. Hooper (As Brown As I Want: The Indianhead Diaries).
Ramos does a stellar job as Geronimo as he morphs into the famous Apache leader, focusing on the resiliency, humor, and genius of this great man. Ramos brings Geronimo’s final years in a dramatic recounting of a fascinating, largely forgotten chapter in American history.
“…Rudy Ramos brings a proud, regal intensity to the role of Geronimo, expounding with passion when recounting the injustices to his family and his people.” The Tulcan Times
Ramos shared with Latin Heat insight on his powerful one-man performance:
Latin Heat: Geronimo’s reviews are stellar. Why out of all the one-man shows you could have chosen, why Geronimo?
Rudy Ramos: I have wanted to do a show about Geronimo for over 30 years but I do not have the writing skills to do him justice. About eight years ago I was contacted by my second cousin Janelle Meraz Hooper who is a published author of books. We were raised in the same town but she moved away when we were kids. We lost contact and then she found me through Facebook, and told me she mentions Geronimo in most of her books. That led to an interesting conversation. Although she had never written a play, at the end of the conversation she said, ‘I would like a shot at it’. In a nutshell that is how the show was born. Soon after that the great actor/director Steve Railsback came on board as director.
LH: You’re Mexican and Native American, growing up which of the two dominated your home life? The Mexican? The Native American – or was it a balance?
RR: As a child I grew up in Lawton/Fort Sill, Oklahoma in a mostly black and Native American neighborhood. Growing up I did not know what I was. We all seemed to be the same in the Mexican-Native upbringing. In my neighborhood there was no racism.
It wasn’t until I started going to school when I started noticing racism. I heard words like ‘Chief’, ‘Spic’, ‘Greaser’ and ‘nigger’. I didn’t know what those words meant. I had to ask my mother what it meant. Even as a little boy I could see the pain in her face. She told me not to pay any attention to those people. Later, these words were the cause of many fights. Some were for me and some were for my brown-skinned and black friends.
LH: Why is Geronimo so fascinating to you?
RR: Fort Sill is where Geronimo spent the last 15 years of his life as a POW in his own country! We all heard stories about his many battles, his many captures and his many escapes. As someone with brown skin, I naturally gravitated to him.
In every story I can remember he was always portrayed as the bad guy, the villain. I was very curious as to the other side of the story and that is what the show is about. In Geronimo, My Life on the Reservation, the Apache leader tells his side– and it’s not what we learned in our history books. To my knowledge no one in the history of American theatre has ever played Geronimo at this stage of his life. It is a seldom told story.
LH: And, it is a story that needs to be told.
RR: Yes! I feel like I am giving him the voice he never had. A voice that deserves to be heard. I have learned much from doing the show. He was not the bad guy. He was fighting for his people, his family and his land. It took ten years and two countries to finally get him to lay down his arms in exchange for a treaty that was NEVER HONORED!
LH: Do you relate to Geronimo?
RR: The more I do the show the more I realize how much alike we are. The injustice and racism we experienced. The anger and passion to protect family. He was a very special spirit who fought for these things and I am honored to play him. Live him. I salute him as a brother.
“The white men will never tell the whole story. They control everything that is said about us in newspapers and books. Even the maps favor the whites. Look and you will see they are dotted with each place we fought the white soldiers. Look closely. You will see that if the soldiers won, it was a victory. If we won, it was a massacre.” — Geronimo, Life on the Reservation
LH: How has morphing into the Geronimo character affected you as an actor?
RR: I do think that being on the road the last six years with this show and the work I have put into this character helped me getting the role of Felix Long in the mini-series Yellowstone, with Kevin Costner. My instrument was very sharp when I auditioned and I was called back right away. When I went back for the second read I left the office with the part.
LH: Currently, you’re a part of the wonderful ensemble cast of Paramount’s drama Yellowstone. How is that experience going for you?
RR: Yellowstone has been a blessing. Wonderful cast and international crew. Beautiful locations in Utah and Montana, and the best scripts I have ever had. Kevin Costner and writer/director Taylor Sheridan [Hell or High Water, Sicario] are great to work with and I have been shown great respect by all. Probably because I am the oldest one in the cast!
LH: Are there any times you disagree with the script, maybe being a bit stereotype, if so, is your feedback taken seriously by the director/s and/or writers?
RR: The scripts are awesome with great characters. No stereotypes. Taylor gives his actors lots of freedom and is always open to suggestions. Very cool people to work with.
In the first two seasons I have done eight shows. Season two will air in June and we shall see what the creator has planned for me.
LH: You’ve had a long and successful career…
RR: I feel so blessed because this year 2019 is my 50th year since I got my SAG card. Six decades and still working. People always ask me when am I going to retire. Interesting question. One I have honestly never given it a thought. I had not done a film/TV project in six or seven years until Yellowstone, but I have never stopped working. I was working on Geronimo during that time.
Thank you, Rudy Ramos!
Geronimo, Life on the Reservation
Two shows only!
Saturdays March 30th and April 6th 2019 at 2:00 PM
Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4thStreet, Santa Monica CA 90401-1391
Tickets: $20; $15 for students, teachers, seniors, members of military or groups of 8 or more. For RSVPs & Tickets, call the Playhouse Box Office at 1-310-394-9779 ext 1 or book your tickets by clicking BOOK TICKETS ONLINE
