Review: LOTERIA: GAME ON! at Magik Theatre

I always appreciate heading out to Magik Theatre and witnessing their dedication to educating San Antonio’s children about live performances. The educational opportunities go beyond just that, though, as the productions also enhance literacy skill, while also promoting family and community connection. 

We were able to check out their currently-running show, Loteria: game on! On Saturday for the opening performance, and as always we left with a smile! If you came early to Saturday’s production, you could listen to music and play your own game of Loteria as you enjoyed the beautiful weather out in Hemisfair Park. Magik Theatre does such a detailed job of creating a fun and educational event for their show openings. 

The production itself told the story of a father, played by Gabriel Itzcoatl Luera, trying to connect with his daughters, played by Lucero Garcia and Maryann Valerio, who, like most kids today, were more interested in their social media and video games than connecting with their parent. He tried to hold a family game night where they would play Loteria, but the girls wanted none of that.  The story took a magical turn when Dad got transported into a real version of the game, and the sisters embarked on an adventurous rescue mission to save him. They found that their own personal strengths and the strong bonds of family were the keys to bringing him home. Such an important and poignant message that catered to both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking audience members. 

It was also a fun and exciting adventure, because, as always, Magik Theatre brought the spectacle! Expert Lighting, puppetry, video, and other special effects filled in the story, along with a gorgeous interactive set created by the wildly talented and creative Set and Prop Designer, Lucian Hernandez. He created fun puppets and wonderfully larger-than-life props for this show that brought bright energy and had the audience laughing and playing along! 

The concept was perfect for San Antonio culture and community, and the audience seemed to fully connect with the large loteria game board, as well as with the family dynamic portrayed in the show. The educational efforts continued beyond the end of the show when the cast did a talk-back with the audience, where kids could ask questions and find out how things worked on stage and even backstage. The actors had great audience-interaction skill which made the audience feel like they were really a part of the action. 

This is a show that all ages can enjoy, and I hope the San Antonio community will head out and enjoy playing Loteria with Magik Theatre! 

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