Review: LAS COMADRES DE MORALES STREET at Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center

Our live theatre date night took us to a fun and charming space on Friday, the Jump-Start Theater. There, we settled in to experience the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s Teatro Salon 2025, Las Comadres de Morales Street. You can read more about this event in my interview with Irene Chavez and Ruby Ruiz. The play’s story took us to Morales Street in San Antonio, where we looked at life there through the lens of two aging women, who were also best friends. Along the way, we met the people they loved, the neighbors they gossiped about, and the “San Antonio” things that were such a big part of their everyday lives. In between scenes, videos of the area played, bringing a clear context to the specific location and culture, creating a strong connection with the audience members who knew these areas and these people so well. Even before the play began, we overheard so many conversations around us that sounded like, “I lived on this street,” and “I grew up there!” That connection continued throughout the play as people sang along to the songs or nodded to each other at every San Antonio-specific reference. 

Not only did the audience connect with the area, they fully connected to the characters. Characters who seemed less like actors and more like real people who were allowing us a glimpse into their lives. The relationships, especially between Dona Carmen, played by Cindy Rodriguez-Martinez and Dona Juana, played by Lisa Suarez, were so purposeful and believable. Lisa Suarez has to be one of the most authentic actors I’ve seen in this city. She simply became Dona Juana. Every nuance of her performance held us captive and took us on a realistic journey that reminded us of people we actually knew and struggles we had actually experienced. I could mention all of the actors, honestly, as they each stepped into their characters with such realism and truth. They worked so well as a cohesive ensemble, filling out this world and taking us on the most meaningful journey. This must also be attributed to such stellar directing by Ruby Ruiz, whose passion and heart shined throughout the production.

Congratulations to Irene Chavez for writing a play that told a story, rather than preached a sermon. We felt the whole gamut of emotions as we laughed and cried along with them. Felt their anger and frustrations. Sang along in their joyous moments and became absolutely still with familiar emotion as the Angel of Death, played by Esmeralda Ramirez, came to take some away. This hit home when she addressed the audience saying, “Am I not what you expected? Death never is.” How profoundly true and what gorgeous writing. We all need to keep our eyes peeled for what Irene Chavez creates next!

This play was the perfect piece for San Antonio, but it was also a universal story that anyone could connect with. Even though I didn’t grow up in this area, and I didn’t catch every reference, I knew these women. They were my mother and my aunt, and I felt their joys and their losses along the way. My only complaint would be that even though the run was completely sold out, this play deserved an even larger audience. I hope it continues to be produced and that more people are able to get out and see such a powerful example of what live theatre can do. What an amazing gift for the community and a great reminder of what is really important.