It’s like Blackout sits down and says, “How are we going to be exceptional today?”
Blackout doesn’t just put on plays. The theater company alchemizes run-of-the-mill plays into theatrical gold.
Blackout is back with original work again with “The Sparrow’s Daughter: A Cuento.”
It’s a New Mexican ghost and family story. The atmosphere is a macabre Latin American magical realism.
Wicked, creepy Blackout touches pour in. There is a shuddering, creaking set composed of old shipping planks; a dreadful shadow puppet work of Shannon Flynn; and the final touch — a gigantic Jabberwocky nightmare that is the terrifying shape-shifter “Cucuy.”
Christopher Walsh classes up the joint by sitting alone at the edge of stage and providing “Dead Man”-esque live music, from the Jim Jarmusch film.
The show stars Rachel Leos, also known as the Best Thing About UNM’s “No Exit.”
She is unabashedly marvelous and natural from the beginning to the show’s killer last line.
Not a member of Blackout Core, Leos’ talent makes her noticeable because she makes acting look effortless.
Friends of Blackout, Ericka Olvera and William Johnson, return to perform alongside the Blackout Core. It is always a pleasure when they perform, and it is good to see them back.
What’s really great is there are no weak links. There are six cast members, not the largest nor the smallest, with half being Blackout Core members.
But with all the talent floating around Blackout Theatre Company, you may not be aware of how phenomenal Leonard Madrid is.
He’s a three-time Kennedy Center’s Award for Latino/a playwrights winner. He’s a finalist for the John Cauble short-play competition. He is also the LatinoWorks winner for the Association for Theatre in Higher Learning.
And he happens to be one of the best actors you’ll ever see.
Madrid last starred as a detestable, domineering ringmaster in Blackout’s, “The Circus Plays.” Like all Blackout shows, the acting was phenomenal, but Madrid shined brightly.
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In “The Sparrow’s Daughter,” Madrid gets quite a bit to do, which is better for the audience. He plays Leos’ father, and the scenes between the two flow beautifully.
Their chemistry is pure, and their love for each other is palpable.
Without ruining the detail, there’s some sublimely heart-wrenching stuff onstage, and it’s hard not to be sucked in.
But then you add Lauren Poole as a comic mother losing her identity and you have the best stage family you could ask for.
Expect plenty of humor in the cultural tags of New Mexican life, such as characters who speak with an Española accent or a character referred to as, “the creepy lady from church,” that will tickle New Mexico natives and longtime transplants.
To top it off, the tickets are cheap, half the price of other theater tickets around town.
So what are you waiting for? If you’re a fan of amazing things, you’ll probably want to see the second and final weekend of “The Sparrow’s Daughter.”
You won’t regret it.
