Roberto Escobar, left, watches Lauren Cristina Lopez, wearing her dream dress, with her father played by Rene Lavan in Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! Photo by Ivonne
by Raquel V. Reyes
Sweet 15 My Quinceañera!, written and directed by award-winning screenwriter Rick Najera, is billed as an interactive comedic experience. Although it doesn’t fully live up to that interactive promise. Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! is messy fun that serves up laugh after laugh.
The show’s premise is the perfect combination of whacky and plausible. Lauren Cristina Lopez, in the role of Sonora, had her original quince ruined by her father who has been on the run from a bad guy named Mascara. Now, with the bad guy in jail (or so he thinks), the father returns seven years later to make amends. He is throwing apology money at his abandoned wife, daughter, and mother-in-law. With a duffle bag full of cash, he hires an event planner to organize an elaborate do-over quince party.
What could go wrong? Everything!
Ruben Rabasa with Lauren Cristina Lopez, wearing her dream dress, in Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! Photo by Ivonne
The cast of actors deserves a standing ovation for their skill and talent. The legendary Ruben Rabasa is (as always) delightful. He plays a has-been telenovela star who is hustling for a paying gig. Rene Levan embodies the Latino father seeking redemption with a perfect combination of machismo and lovability.
Margarita Coego plays Chata, a mother-in-law who is still a party girl in Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! Photo by Ivonne
Roberto Escobar, as the bodyguard, is action movie caliber. Melissa Ann Hubicsak, as Eva, the wife, is sexy and confident.
But the MVP of the cast is Margarita Coego, who plays Chata, a mother-in-law who is still a party girl. She delivers one-liners like a comic on a Borscht Belt circuit revival tour. Another scene-stealer is Randy Garcia. He seems to have been born to play the campy event planner, Jorge.
If volume and frequency of laughter were the only barometer of success, then Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! should be a sold-out hit. The potential is there. The strength of the acting has the audience forgiving a lot of missteps, including one too many stripper jokes and mixing Mexican Quinceañera traditions with Cuban/Caribbean Quince traditions. (They are similar but not the same. Pick one, and don’t try to make one size fit all.)
Randy Garcia as the event planner in Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! Photo by Ivonne
But the most egregious lost opportunity was that there was no Quince décor only a sight gag with a less than glamorous Quince dress. In a comic twist, the event planner spent all the money so he had to get a dress that was sponsored. The overlay skirt had cards pinned to it with sponsors of businesses Latinos use.
There was no set or props to speak of either. If this interactive comedic event had been staged at an actual banquet hall or in a black box theater dressed as one, then it might have fulfilled its promise. It would have been wonderful to have had a playbill in the form of a menu. (Actually, it would have been wonderful to have had a playbill in any form.)
Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! is presented by Broadway Factor Productions, the team who presented Miami’s immersive hit The Amparo Experience.
This Miami version of Sweet 15 My Quinceañera! feels like a Vicky’s Bakery three-tiered cake missing its meringue frosting. The cake is still delicious, but it leaves the consumer yearning for the gorgeous display cake in the window.
Raquel V. Reyes is the author of the award-winning Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series. Her latest novel is Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal. Find her across social media as @LatinaSleuths and at www.LatinaSleuths. com.
Sweet 15 My Quinceañera!, an interactive play, will run through Sept. 22 at The Hub at Temple Beth Am, 5950 N. Kendall Drive, Pinecrest. Performances are 8 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays. Tickets begin at $49. Contact www.sweet15show.com or call 305-667-6667.
