Dallas Theater Center presents Native Gardens
By Karen Zacarias
Directed by Sylvia Cervantes Blush
Scenic Design by Sara Ryung Clement
Lighting Design by Carolina Ortiz Herrera
Sound Design by David Lanza
Costume, Hair, Wig, and Makeup Design by Carolyn Mazuca
Fight Director Ashley White
Production Stage Mgr Stephen Raver
Production Mgr Ashley Oliver
Director of Production Andrew J Brown
Artistic Producer Sarahbeth Grossman
Executive Director Kevin Moriarty
With
Christina Austin Lopez
Olivia de Guzman
Stacia Goad-Malone
Bob Hess
Rudy Lopez
Alex Organ
Christopher Llewyn Ramirez
Tiffany Solano
Sally Nystuen Vahle
Esteban Vilchez
My thoughts on Native Gardens or…”Fencing Lessons”
I started to appreciate Native Gardens before I even reached my seat in the Kalita Humphreys Theatre. The set designed by Sara Ryung Clement with its towering tree, two story home facades, and abundant flowers is one of the most impressive I’ve seen for any DTC production and this beautifully written comic play by Karen Zacarias directed with TLC and perfect pacing by Sylvia Cervantes Blush is certainly worthy of the lavish staging.
Native Gardens has a simple plot. A young couple, Pablo, a lawyer in a prestigious firm and his very pregnant doctoral candidate wife Tania move into an established Washinton, D.C. neighborhood next door to Ginny and Frank, a well-to-do couple nearing retirement age who have lived in their home for decades. The couples are very friendly at first, even if there are a few culturally insensitive remarks made to Tania and Pablo. Both Frank and Tania are avid gardeners, but their approaches to gardening differ vastly with Frank relying on pesticides and Tania being a native gardener welcoming the insects who help the environment. However, the real rift occurs when Tania and Pablo discover, when planning to construct a fence, that their yard actually extends almost two feet into the area where Frank has been gardening for years.
It is then that the “gardening gloves” come off and a turf war begins between the couples. Yes, this is most definitely sitcom territory and there is even some uncredited music underscoring some scenes, but Zacarias’s sharp wit and knack for eliciting uncomfortable laughter elevates the play. Racism, classism, ageism, and probably an “ism” or two I have forgotten are all brought to the forefront in an often hilarious manner. Zacarias gives us food for thought while giving us food for fun. No Miracle-Gro is needed for a happy ending.
The four actors who play the leads, Tiffany Solano and Christopher Llewyn Ramirez who play the new neighbor Del Valles and Sally Nystuen Valle and Bob Hess who play the Butleys are all members of the Brierley Resident Acting Company, and their acting prowess is undeniable as the laughs are plentiful and even the sometimes ludicrous situations are made believable by these pros. It would be impossible to say who does a better acting job here, but I will give special kudos to Bob Hess who demonstrates some first-rate physical comedy in addition to delivering the verbal humor.
There are four non-speaking roles in the play. Olivia de Guzman and Christina Austin Lopez, who are also Brierley members, play a surveyor and a landscaper and they are joined by Rudy Lopez and Esteban Vilchez, who also play landscapers. These four prove that you don’t need to have dialogue to make an impression in a play as they speak volumes with their expressions and physical movement. Director Blush’s use of slow motion for the nonverbal characters is particularly effective.
Native Gardens is a thoroughly enjoyable evening of theater. It’s only 90 minutes long, but it’s filled with laughs, love, and more than a few “fencing lessons.”
