Elliot, a Soldier’s Fugue

By Quiara Alegrìa Hudes

Teatro Vista and Rivendell Theatre Ensemble   

 

 

Elliott, A Soldier’s Fugue is a collaborative work between Rivendell Theatre Ensemble and Teatro Vista.  This collaboration is a perfect artistic match.  The two company’s missions greatly compliment each other - Rivendell strives to present plays written by women; Teatro Vista is committed to theatrically sharing and celebrating the riches of Latino culture.  As Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue is authored by a gifted female Latino (Quiara Alegrìa Hudes) and deals with a Puerto Rican family steeped in military tradition, this play is an perfect fit for the two companies, and they carry out the task with great skill and fervent spirit.

 

Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue tells the story of Elliott, a Philadelphia-raised Puerto Rican young man, as he is finishing up his marine tour in Iraq.  Elliott comes from a long line of military men, his father, Pops, fighting in the Vietnam War, and his grandfather, Grandpop, fighting in the Korean War.   Elliott’s mother, Ginny, is the matriarchal rock that holds the family together; her urban garden serving as a therapeutic symbol of shelter and serenity, a refuge from the nonsensical and violent world enveloping her and her family.  Elliott is wounded on the battle field, and returns home a war hero, interviewed by TV stations, throwing out first pitches - but he has been scarred inside and out from the war.  He does not feel comfortable as a war hero, and struggles with the fact that his only escape might be back in Iraq.  As the play progresses, we see Elliott confused and demoralized, desperately seeking a connection with his father, who has never spoken about his experiences in Vietnam.  But although Pops does not speak of his experiences, they are relayed to us through mesmerizing flashbacks.  These scenes, combined with flashbacks of Grandpop’s Korean War experience, successfully accentuate the utter brutality of war.  

 

A brilliant and moving thread throughout the piece involves Grandpop’s flute.  He carries it with him in Korea, and plays Bach to calm him and his fellow troops, playing as long as his freezing fingers allow.  Grandpops passes the flute down to his son when he goes off to Vietnam, who carries it with him wherever he goes.  The flute, along with mother’s garden, work beautifully to explore how people are still able to find beauty and solace among total chaos. 

 

The play’s best scene involves a monologue by Elliott’s mother Ginny (Meighan Gerachis), as she works in the garden.  The dialogue here is masterfully written, and Gerachis conveys it perfectly.  The rest of the performances are also noteworthy.  Juan Villa plays Elliott with a wise combination of naïve resolve coupled with fear and frustrating confusion.  Gustavo Mellado, playing Grandpops, is dead-on with his relaying the solace he gets from his flute.  Among the men, the best performance is seen in Edward Torres, playing Pops.  Through him one can powerfully see just how much war can play with a man’s mind after he returns from battle.

 

There are a few bumps along the road.  A series of scenes involving the mother, dealing with flashbacks of her experiences as a military nurse in Vietnam, fall flat.  Within these scenes, an angle of the animalistic sexual urges that occur during war are explored.  The actors seem uncomfortable with the scenes, allaying the possibility that the author was not fully engaged with the idea, or did not explore the intriguing scenario to its fullest.

 

As we have seen, the Iraq War has deeply divided this country.  The blustery rhetoric of “you’re either with us or without us” has successfully buried the voice of the actual soldiers as they are told that objecting to the war means they want defeat and are on the terrorist’s side.  Elliott’s director. Lisa Portes, has done a brilliant job finding that muffled soldier’s voice in this piece.  She has cast the play well, and gathered together a talented design team, bringing the piece to fine fruition. 

 

The tragedies that occur during and after war have often been portrayed on the big screen.  But as see in this production, movies do not give justice to the human suffering and day-to-day mental havoc projected on our veterans - this stark realization can only come from seeing it live.  Elliott, A Soldier’s Fugue is a true example of the power of live theatre. 

 

Rating: Recommended (3stars)