VanLoan

vanloan@nyconstage.org


The play Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue brings to light a promising new playwright, Quiara Alegria Hudes. She has written a work that is an intelligent and poignant juxtaposition of both the political and personal. Using the current war in Iraq as a starting point, Elliot follows the military exploits of three generations of Puerto Rican men and their memories of their war experiences. The play opens with Lance Corporal Elliot Ortiz returning home to Philadelphia a war hero. At 19, he has been awarded a Purple Heart for bravery in the line of duty and is undergoing his "15 minutes of media notoriety". Ms. Hudes slowly interweaves Elliot's reminiscences with those of his father who served in Vietnam and his 'Grandpop' who was in Korea.

In the current climate of questioning the validity of military intervention, this play of the Ortiz men going off to war reluctantly yet voluntarily becomes both touching and affecting in its simplicity. Grandpop (Mateo Gomez) recalls the agonizing frostbite in Korea. His son (Teddy Canez) tells of trying to maintain his sanity in the drug-infused carnage of Vietnam. While recovering from a leg wound, he meets Ginny (Sheila Tapia) a nurse who will become his wife and Elliot's mother. Finally, Elliot (a charismatic James Martinez) comes to the belief that the service to one's country is in the Ortiz men's blood and the patriotism it imbues is neither shameful nor altruistic. All the performances are first rate and Davis McCallum's clean direction is graceful in its simplicity. Elliot... is a small gem and Quiara Alegria Hudes is a playwright worth keeping track of.

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