Displaying items by tag: Wendy Mateo

I went into Adirondack Chair Circle wondering what a new play about book bans could add to a conversation whose arguments most of its audience could probably already recite. A world premiere at Steppenwolf seemed worth giving the benefit of the doubt; perhaps it would serve as an accessible way into a larger examination of attacks on education, parenthood and the politics of protecting children. By the end, I was still wondering what, beyond an opportunity to laugh at Republicans, this new play felt that it had accomplished.

Written by Stephanie Alison Walker and directed by Pam MacKinnon, Adirondack Chair Circle gathers a group of affluent suburban mothers in Banna’s backyard, where their social circle doubles as a planning committee for getting books removed from school libraries. Leading up to the important school board vote, Banna (Katrina Lenk), Libby (Sadieh Rifai) and Winona (Wendy Mateo) have their comfortable routine disrupted by neighborhood liberal Evelyn Grace (Caroline Neff).

There is plenty to laugh at, and the cast delivers those laughs with precision. But the script spends so much time rehearsing familiar right-wing arguments – abundant references to acronyms like CRT and SEL, and willy-nilly use of buzzwords like “gender” and “grooming” – that it leaves little room for original examination of what lies beneath them. Statements likely to strike a Steppenwolf audience as outrageous are presented as though their outrageousness alone makes them satire. I wanted the play to do something more with them; exposing hypocrisy can be satisfying, but satire falls flat without anything new to say about its targets.

The most frustrating missed opportunity is Banna’s relationship with her child, Charlie, who has recently begun using they/them pronouns. This comes up repeatedly, but the play gives Banna little space to move beyond a longing look or an exasperated admission that she does not understand. Here is a conflict with the potential to complicate everything she claims to believe: the distance between an abstract political position and the actual person she loves. I wanted to watch her negotiate that distance, whether she managed to cross it or dug herself further in. Either could have revealed more than another familiar exchange about what children should be allowed to read.

Lenk inhabits Banna’s tight-faced suburban-housewife composure so completely that even her expressions feel practiced. There is a particular kind of control in the performance, a sense of someone carefully maintaining her public facade, à la Kardashian-Jenner. The writing rarely gives her enough room to explore what happens when it slips, although Lenk certainly seems capable of delivering more complexity. All four women feel pulled directly from an affluent suburb, and their interactions are among the production’s greatest strengths. The warmth comes with a biting undertone; belonging to this circle clearly requires knowing which disagreements can be spoken aloud.

(left to right) Wendy Mateo and ensemble member Caroline Neffin Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s world premiere of Adirondack Chair Circle. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Outside of the inner circle, Neff is especially good as Evelyn Grace, capturing the bubbly awkwardness of someone who wears her politics openly and sincerely wants to have conversations that the people around her would prefer to avoid. Her performance is so appealing that it further exposes the imbalance in Winona’s dilemma. Mateo has the difficult task of making her character seem torn between two sides when the script gives the conservative position so little persuasive weight. The audience is given little reason to share Winona’s uncertainty, leaving Mateo straining to supply tension the writing has not fully earned.

Possibly the most compelling performance, however, belongs to the crow. David Darrow plays the bird that frequents Banna’s backyard, serving as narrator, occasional instigator, and a rotating cast of additional characters. His physical acting is remarkable, shifting between avian movement and instantly differentiated human figures, sometimes with barely a moment between them. The device often works beautifully, giving the story a playful perspective beyond the women’s immediate circle.

At the climactic school board vote, though, that flexibility becomes a limitation. With Darrow jumping rapidly from person to person, MacKinnon’s staging prioritizes the comic momentum of the transformations over the reactions of the women whose campaign has brought us here. The scene feels muddied and rushed, and the small interactions that might have made the vote consequential get lost. There was room to let the moment breathe without sacrificing its comedy.

Todd Rosenthal’s scenic design is clean and thoughtfully organized, with smart places for props and an effective use of the backyard’s different spaces. Yet the Ensemble Theater’s arena configuration, with the audience looking down into the action, does little to alleviate the growing feeling that we are watching conservatives in a zoo – gawking as much as observing. The production gives us a comfortable vantage point from which to observe and laugh but does little to make us question that position. Some of the staging also invests more time in various jokes than it earns, particularly the recurring bird-dropping effects. The variety of ways to make bird poop appear does not justify the time spent moving between them.

Spoiler warning: The following paragraph discusses the ending.

The conclusion crystallizes my frustration. After more than two hours spent building Banna’s campaign and its personal consequences, the play leaves her alone and unhappy. Libby arrives to explain that Banna’s unhappiness comes not from regretting her actions, but from having “never actually cared” about the cause she was pursuing. I found this infuriating. Whether Banna’s conviction was sincere matters less than what the play gives up by resolving her behavior this way. There is something much more difficult, and potentially revealing, in examining a person who believes she is doing good while causing harm. People can love their children, think they are protecting them, and still be profoundly misguided. Reducing Banna’s investment to insincerity lets the play sidestep that contradiction just when it might finally have confronted something in a novel way.

I do not expect a comedy to change the mind of every person who sees it, nor does a play even necessarily need to persuade political opponents to justify its existence. But Adirondack Chair Circle offers little to challenge the people already on its side, either. The relationships contain opportunities to examine how people arrive at these beliefs, what sustains them, and what might make them reconsider. Too often, however, those opportunities, the very things I look for in theatre, are discarded in favor of another chance to laugh at those we disagree with.

And, for what it’s worth, did I laugh? Yes. Did I recognize members of my extended family in what I was laughing at, and find some catharsis in that? Also, yes. But I left without feeling that I understood those people any better or had gained much beyond the satisfaction of knowing we disagreed and perhaps a little more vindication. Adirondack Chair Circle finds easy laughs with an audience already on its side, and its cast makes those laughs stick. But humor can coexist with something more, and I wanted a world premiere at Steppenwolf to offer more than just the satisfaction of being in on the joke.

Adirondack Chair Circle is running in Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s Ensemble Theater and has been extended through December 13, 2026. Tickets are available at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Teatro Vista Productions, the Midwest's only Latine-led Equity theatre company, led by Executive Director Lorena Diaz and Artistic Director Wendy Mateo in collaboration with Associate Artistic Director Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, announces its 2026-27 Season. The season opens with the groundbreaking live looping hip-hop musical Mexodus, November 7-21, 2026, presented by Studebaker Theater, P3 Productions and Audible, in collaboration with Teatro Vista Productions. The musical, making its Chicago Premiere, is written and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson, choreographed by Tony Thomas, and directed by David Mendizábal. The season continues with Luis Alfaro's Mojada, March 12 - April 11, 2027, directed by Wendy Mateo and Denise Yvette Serna, presented in partnership with Court Theatre. Concluding the season is the Chicago Premiere of Reggie Hoops by Kristoffer Diaz, directed by Khanisha Foster, and presented as part of Teatro Vista Productions' multi-year partnership with Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

As part of its commitment to community engagement, supporting its artists and creating new digital projects, the TVP Season 36 includes the launch of a new In Process: Podcast starting in October featuring in-depth Artist on Artist conversations. The first episode will feature TVP Artistic Collective members Max Arciniega and Paloma Nozicka. Live Mexodus Listening Parties, on October 11, 18, 25 and November 1, will be held in locations throughout the city and strategically en route - from Teatro Vista Productions' homebase at The Exchange in Jefferson Park to where Mexodus is playing at the Studebaker Theater downtown - with each stop mirroring a chapter in the play's journey. TVP will also continue workshopping plays to live audiences with In Process Live; presenting La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny, by Carmen Rivera  and directed by Cándido Tirado, on January 23, 2027.

The 2026-2027 season includes:

Studebaker Theater, P3 Productions and Audible,

in collaboration with Teatro Vista Productions present

Mexodus

Written and performed by Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson

Choreographed by Tony Thomas

Directed by David Mendizábal

Studebaker Theater, 410 S Michigan Avenue, Chicago

November 7-21, 2026

Press Opening: Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 7:30pm

Creators Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson perform this groundbreaking hip-hop musical, using live instruments to build a soundscape live each night incorporating looping to layer rhythms, melodies, and harmonies to create full arrangements on the spot at each performance.

Told through bold storytelling and sick beats, Mexodus reimagines the Underground Railroad heading south to Mexico—unearthing a powerful, untold chapter of American history. Called "thrilling" by The Washington Post and "genius in motion" by the San Francisco Chronicle, this is theatre you feel in your body and your bones.

Tickets available at: https://www.fineartsbuilding.com/events/mexodus/.

Mojada

By Luis Alfaro 

Directed by Wendy Mateo and Denise Yvette Serna 

Presented In partnership with Court Theatre

Court Theatre, 5535 S Ellis Ave, Chicago

March 12 - April 11, 2027  

Press Opening: Saturday, March 20, 2027 at 7:30pm

An adaptation of an ancient classic tale of revenge, sacrifice, and the high price of pursuing freedom, Mojada renders Euripides's Medea myth urgently and achingly alive in the city of Chicago.

Medea survived a treacherous journey from Mexico to the United States in search of a better life, but the promise of the American Dream is quickly unravelling. She sews exquisite garments in her backyard, suffocated by fear. Her son sheds tradition as fast as he can, trading huaraches for Vans. And her husband grows distant, seduced by ambition and proximity to power. Trapped between who she was and who America demands she become, Medea finds herself in a standoff with the very dream she risked everything to reach. 

Co-directed by Teatro Vista Productions' Artistic Director Wendy Mateo and Artistic Collective member Denise Yvette Serna, Mojada confronts the contradictions at the center of American identity: opportunity and erasure, belonging and betrayal. Both a love letter and a searing indictment, this electrifying production asks: What are we willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of liberty?

Tickets are available at https://www.courttheatre.org/season-tickets/2026-2027-season/mojada/ .

The Chicago Premiere of

Reggie Hoops

By Kristoffer Diaz

Directed by Khanisha Foster

Co-Presented with Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater, 1700 N Halsted, Chicago

May 2027

Reggie was one of the NBA's most promising young executives and one of its most compelling characters: a queer Afro-Latina with a gift for structure and a keen appreciation of the art of on-court sacrifice. After an abrupt firing, she finds herself back at home navigating suburbia, parenthood, and her parents' anything but revolutionary past. An unexpected visit from a one-time fling forces her to reconsider what really matters and how far she's willing to go to succeed at the only things she's ever loved.

Reggie Hoops is a sharp, funny, and modern story about parenthood, generational pressures, and the pain that comes with chasing your passion, from the Tony-nominated writer of Hell's Kitchen and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity.

Reggie Hoops is the second production presented as part of the multi-year partnership between Teatro Vista Productions and Steppenwolf. With Teatro Vista Productions in residency at Steppenwolf, both companies are modeling a relationship that they hope will inspire further collaboration in Chicago's iconic theater community among organizations of all sizes.

Tickets will be available soon at steppenwolf.org/.

Community Engagement and Special Events

In Process Podcast

Episode 1 featuring Max Arciniega and Paloma Nozicka
October 2026

Mexodus Listening Parties

Cafecito and Loops: A Mexodus Listening Tour headed South

October 11, 18 and 25, November 1, 2026

Mexodus will host four listening parties featuring excerpts from the Audible Original, each stop acting as a chapter in the experience. This series of events turns a night at the theater into a greater story. These listening parties will be scattered throughout the city, strategically en route from Teatro Vista Productions' homebase to the Studebaker Theater.

Sunday, October 11: The Exchange, home of TVP - Jefferson Park

Sunday, October 18: Magnifico Coffee Roasters & Coffee Shop - Avondale

Sunday, October 25:  Caña - West Town

Sunday, November 1: Groundswell Coffee Roasters - Fine Arts Building - Chicago Loop 

In Process Live: La Lupe: My Life, My Destiny

By Carmen Rivera

Directed by Cándido Tirado

Starring Melissa DuPrey as La Lupe

January 19-23, 2027 - Workshop

January 23, 2027 - Presentation with invited guests

Teatro Vista Productions will revisit this groundbreaking script 25 years after its world premiere with fresh talent and an evolved understanding of Afro-Latinidad in American pop culture.

Before there was Janis Joplin, Patti La Belle, and Madonna – there was LA LUPE.  Best known for her powerful voice, electrifying performances, and controversial life, La Lupe gained fame as one of the first Latin cross-over musical superstars. She was born Guadalupe Yoli Raymond in Santiago de Cuba in 1936, and became one of the most influential Latin performers of the 20th century.

After a fall from grace, La Lupe - now far from the spotlight and living in the Bronx - receives an "F" on an essay about her own life from a skeptical professor, igniting a struggle to reclaim the truth of her extraordinary musical legacy in a powerful story of defiance, passion, and redemption.

About Teatro Vista

Teatro Vista is a non-profit theatre and production company dedicated to multidisciplinary artists of color whose artistic expression on stage and beyond is rooted in the transformative power of owning and telling our own stories.

When the Chicago theater world wasn't ready for us, Teatro Vista Productions made space. For 36 years, we've told true stories that reflect our community. We're not just building on this amazing legacy; we're strengthening and expanding it for the future. Today we continue to actively engage in advocacy that seeks to increase the authentic representations of us on stage and screen.

Teatro Vista Productions believes we are stronger together — across disciplines, across experiences, across mediums, across diasporas. We center our collective of artists at the heart of everything we do. We empower our artists to create with their own authentic voice by providing the tools and resources they need to thrive in the industry. Our work is timely, relevant and authentically reflects our community. Now, as always, We Are Theater With A View.

The company is led by Executive Director Lorena Diaz, Artistic Director Wendy Mateo, and Associate Artistic Director Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel.

Follow TVP on social media & YouTube to experience the multidisciplinary talents of our Artistic Collective and stay connected. @teatrovista

Based on the novel by Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao follows neurodivergent and perpetually lovelorn college student Oscar as he fixates on the fukú – a generational curse he believes has haunted his family’s love lives for decades. Oscar’s college roommate and his sister Lola by his side, the trio journeys to Santo Domingo, uncovering more about Oscar and Lola’s family history and the fukú than none of them bargained for.

At the heart of the story is the trio of Oscar (Lenin D’Anthony Izquierdo), Yunior (Kelvin Grullon), and Lola (Julissa Calderon), who are as messy, spirited, and loving as three college kids can be. Their chemistry feels genuinely lived-in: the easy humor, the sharp edges, the quiet loyalties. Their dynamic perfectly captures the complexities of chosen family, blurred boundaries, and sibling devotion, all while keeping the audience constantly laughing. 

While often sharp and funny, Oscar and Lola’s mother, Beli (Yohanna Florentino), delivers the production’s most devastating performance. She embodies the tension of someone trying – fiercely, desperately – to do right by her children, yet repeatedly falling short. Florentino’s performance is astonishingly intimate; even in a full theatre, she makes it feel as though her pain is being shared one-on-one with each audience member.

The show – especially in its first act – is funny, self-aware, and unabashedly camp. Although set among college-aged characters in the 1990s, Director Wendy Mateo has made the show feel timeless and accessible to audiences of all ages. The script incorporates a significant amount of Spanish, most often through colloquial phrases and biting insults, yet the cast’s physicality and clarity ensure that no translation is required to follow the emotional stakes. It’s a compelling reminder that audiences don’t need to speak Spanish to fully appreciate bilingual storytelling when the performances are this grounded.

Where the production occasionally stumbles is in its visual storytelling, particularly once the setting shifts to Santo Domingo. The scenic design’s abstract, college-forward aesthetic serves the first half well, but meshes less cohesively with the production’s second act shift into heightened spiritual and video game-inspired imagery. This evolution also introduces more disruptive set transitions – unlike the fluid, almost invisible shifts of Act One, several Act Two changes require full stops in the action, interrupting momentum and dampening the pacing. At its best, the projections and gaming motifs cleverly mirror Oscar’s inner grasp of reality and the story’s mythic foundation. At their weakest, however, they overtake the truly human stakes at the center of the narrative.

One moment in particular – a key story from Beli’s past – is partially rendered through animation and projection rather than live performance. Given the emotional precision already established onstage, the stylistic shift feels jarring and unintentionally distances the audience from what should be an intimate revelation. The production’s reliance on heightened, game-like aesthetics resurfaces in later confrontations as well, occasionally pushing character choices toward exaggeration at moments that call for gravity. The result is a tonal imbalance that slightly undercuts the weight of the story’s final turns.

While the stage adaptation diverges in notable ways from the novel, the production stands strongest when viewed as its own interpretation rather than a strict retelling. That said, the emotional core of Oscar’s story remains intact and, by the final moments, the theatre is silent enough to hear a pin drop – a testament to the emotional weight the cast ultimately earns.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is running in The Goodman’s Owen Theatre through April 12th. Tickets are available at https://www.goodmantheatre.org/show/the-brief-wondrous-life-of-oscar-wao/.

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