Theatrius
  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us
  • Search Icon

Theatrius

Theater Reviews—San Francisco and Beyond

“Exhaustion Arroyo”: A Trip from Pizza Slavery to Redwood Heaven—at Cutting Ball

“Exhaustion Arroyo”: A Trip from Pizza Slavery to Redwood Heaven—at Cutting Ball

May 17, 2023 bdhorwitz

W. Fran Astorga’s Comic Vision Inspires with Grace & Eco-Poetry

by Barry David Horwitz

I have never seen a play like “Exhaustion Arroyo: Dancin’ Trees in the Ravine.”  “Arroyo” is a totally original show that offers bi-lingual dialogue in English and Spanish—with no loss of understanding. Playwright W. Fran Astorga takes us along with his Pizza parlor workers to a wonderland in the Santa Cruz forests.

Astorga has concocted a heady cocktail of TV comedy, street lingo, and environmental revelations that could kick off new kinds of theater. The perfectly balanced cast makes us feel at home; while a profound critique of the way we live now unfolds delightfully.

When we meet Taki (Edna Mira Raia) and Chio (Pano Roditis), they are working hard at Dante’s Pizza chain during the pandemic—at a hellish corporate job. Raia’s engaging delivery and openness to whatever comes along is charming and enticing. Roditis’ earthy lingo puts us right into that pizza hell, wondering how they manage to survive the B.S., while being underpaid and exploited.

Natalia Delgado (La Roca), Pano Roditis (Chío), & Patricio Becerril (Apé)

They are visited in short order by a bumbling burglar (Patricio Becerril) who later becomes their friend Apé. Becerril is charming and open He makes us laugh out loud at his feeble attempts to rob the store. Here’s a burglar with whom you can find empathy, for sure.

Hilarious Natalia Delgado plays a corporate inspector and a complaining white lady, La Karen, who demands her phoned in pizza order right now. She goes to pieces and demands her rights from the Dante’s Pizza overlords. Delgado goes all the way playing an entitled customer’s self-righteousness, beautifully. In all her height and rage, that we howl at her fabulous antics as La Karen!

Natalia Delgado (La Karen) demands better service from Edna Raia (Worker). Photos: Ben Krantz

Delgado makes believers of us, again, when she turns up as La Roca, a talking boulder who speaks to the trio of friends on their hike. Later she plays The Shroom, too. At a hidden lake in the Santa Cruz redwoods, the friends take some shrooms and the rock speaks to them boldly. Their mushroom trip carries us deep into the natural world, far from Dante’s Hell. They need that trippy day off.

Each scene delights, as we flash back and forth between pizza parlor and redwood arroyo. Cutting Ball’s experimental work is highlighted by wonderful rings or ripples painted onto the floor, echoing tree rings or waves from an underground lake. From every angle—the set, the actors, and the script—the play echoes with new ways of seeing the world we live in.

It’s a rich comedy but more than that—it’s a way to escape to Nature while reflecting on the mess we’ve got ourselves into. I strongly recommend a trip to Cutting Ball Theater—a trip that allows us reflect on the wonders of Nature and our role in Nature.

Don’t miss “Exhaustion Arroyo.” It’s the right time for “Dancin’ Trees in the Ravine,” a comedy with purpose and pleasure, right here in downtown San Francisco. Take that trip with W. Fran Astorga and his crew because their experimental play is unique and memorable.

Patricio Becerril, Natalia Delgado (Shroom), Pano Roditis, & Edna Mira Raia

“Exhaustion Arroyo: Dancin’ Trees in the Ravine” by W. Fran Astorga, original music by Jesse Sanchez, directed by R. Réal Vargas Alanis & W. Fran Astorga, a co-production with In The Margin, costumes by Sonia Yvette, scenic design by Ashley Mendez, by Cutting Ball Theater, San Francisco. Info: CuttingBall.com – to May 21, 2023.

Cast: Patricio Becerril, Natalia Delgado, Edna Mira Raia, and Pano Roditis.

Banner photo: Patricio Becerril (The Burglar) & Edna Mira Raia (Taki). Photos by Ben Krantz


#Comedy, #Gay, #Latinx, #Lesbian, #Mexican American, #Non-Binary, #Satire, Latinas, Plays, San Francisco
Capitalism, Civil Rights, Colonialism, comedy, exploitation, friendship, hope, Identity, Immigrants, love, patriarchy, politics, poverty, power, race, racism, San Francisco, Satire, social class, wit, women, workers

Post navigation

NEXT
“Chinglish” Mingles Language & Politics in Brilliant Comedy—at SF Playhouse
PREVIOUS
“The N— Lovers” Calls Out White Myths with Great Comedy—at The Magic
Comments are closed.

Menu

  • Now Playing
  • All Reviews
  • Writers
  • Reflections
  • Millennial Notes
  • Join Us
  • About Us

BLM

Black Lives Matter

Subscribe for upcoming reviews!
Loading

Current Shows

  • “Let the Right One In”: Shocking Story of Vampires in Our Lives—at Berkeley Rep
  • “I’ll Eat You Last” Serves Up Power, Fame, Obsession—at Spindrift 
  • “Chinglish” Mingles Language & Politics in Brilliant Comedy—at SF Playhouse
  • “Exhaustion Arroyo”: A Trip from Pizza Slavery to Redwood Heaven—at Cutting Ball
  • “The N— Lovers” Calls Out White Myths with Great Comedy—at The Magic
  • “shadow/land” Celebrates Joy in the Face of Disaster—at The Public, N.Y.
  • “Where Did We Sit on the Bus?” Rolls to a Stop—at MTC
  • “The Producers” Soars with Spectacular Satire & Song–at Hillbarn
  • “Boeing Boeing” Flies Us into Deception & Folly—at Benicia
  • “Cyrano”: A Beautiful Romance for the Ages—at Aurora
  • “Poor Yella Rednecks” Sprinkles Slang & Spice in Viet Struggle –at ACT
  • “To Master the Art” Blends French Food, U.S. Politics, & Love—at CCCT
  • “Giraffes Can’t Dance” Highlights Power of Perseverance—at BACT
  • “Cyrano”: Streamlined Comedy on the Nose–at Aurora
  • “Poor Yella Rednecks”: Refugee Tale Rocks & Rambles—at ACT

About us:

If you want to see the best plays & performances around the San Francisco Bay or beyond, read our reviews. We promise to give you a true report on the best shows.
Bay Area Critics Circle

Barry David Horwitz, Editor of Theatrius, is a Voting Member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle, SFBATCC. Follow us on: facebook.com

© 2023   All Rights Reserved.