GALA Hispanic Theatre has a history of producing plays that are not only rich in story and song, but also contain important historical and political perspectives. GALA’s first show of the season is a perfect blend of historical/political/personal issues: “Ay Carmela!” Written by contemporary Spanish playwright Jose Sanchis Sinisterra, “Ay Carmela!” is the story of Carmela (Mona Martinez) and Paulino (Diego Mariani), a husband-and-wife vaudeville team who accidentally wander into fascist territory during the Spanish Civil War.
Having no control over their situation, they are forced to perform for General Franco, some Axis troops, and a selection of International Brigades prisoners who are scheduled to be executed the next day. Despite their antagonism to the political forces who hold them, Carmela and Paulino know they have no choice if they want to survive. They struggle to perform with no costumes or props and no adequate lighting. Carmela must dance her flamenco number dressed in red velvet drapes.
| Onstage |
| ‘Ay Carmela!’ |
| Where: GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW |
| When: Thursday to Sunday; through Oct. 9 |
| Info: $34 to $38; 800-494-8497; galatheatre.org |
The show is supposed to end with them making fun of the Republican flag, but Carmela’s instinct for honesty uses it to make a gesture of solidarity with the International Brigades prisoners. She is shot for her bravery.
The play begins at this point, with Carmela already dead and reappearing to Paulino. He is drunk with grief at having lost her. Much of the first act is dedicated to Carmela explaining the afterlife to Paulino: It’s a hazy place where people wander around scratching themselves.
Act II goes back in time to show the couple re-enacting the performance before Franco. Martinez, trained in classical Spanish dance and flamenco, is brilliant in her fiery dancing and singing, as she accompanies herself on castanets while singing a hymn to Spain. Mariani plays Paulino as a lovable everyman, desperate to survive and lost without Carmela. His failed efforts at humor during the performance are classic images of a man trying too hard to please.
Jose Luis Arellano-Garcia directs this GALA production beautifully, with sensitivity to the variety of moods it contains.
Because of its loop structure, the two tiers of the “Ay Carmela!” story are available to play off one another throughout the play. In its clear political statements about the brutality of war and its more personal statements about love and dealing with the loss of a mate, “Ay Carmela!” is an inspired double vision of all the happiness and misery life can afford.
