Review: ONE OF THE GOOD ONES at The Old Globe

Gloria Calderón Kellett’s “One of the Good Ones,” now onstage at The Old Globe, is like a live taping of your favorite sitcom—complete with fast banter, heartwarming family chaos, and the kind of well-meaning disaster that can only be caused by bringing a piñata to a dinner party.

Ilana (Angelique Cabral) and her husband, Enrique (Benito Martinez), are excited and a bit apprehensive about planning a dinner where they will meet the boyfriend, Marcos (Nico Greetham), of their daughter, Yoli (Cree), for the first time.  Yoli hasn’t told them much since she has been back home after graduating from college, so they know this dinner will be full of surprises, if only they knew just how true that would prove to be.

As the final touches are added to dinner and they await their guests' arrival, the audience learn a lot about this family. Ilana is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, but self-conscious that her family didn’t teach her Spanish so that she could be more American. Ilana made it a priority for Yoli to learn Spanish so that she can speak it with her father, Enrique, but this means that Yoli also has to jump in when Ilana starts awkwardly trying to speak Spanish to others.

Yoli also has the air of a patient, if presumptuous, teacher, as she tries to teach her parents about things she feels they need to know about the world. Her assumption that they don’t, or won’t, understand drives many of her choices throughout the evening.

When her boyfriend Marcos arrives, her parents find that he is thoughtful, fluent in Spanish, born in Mexico, pairs wine with papier-mâché as a welcome gift, and is White.  The collision of cultural expectations, generational values, and well-intentioned awkwardness is both hilarious and, at times, intentionally uncomfortable.

Directed by Kimberly Senior, the show is fast-paced and knows what beats will hit with the audience.   On opening night, the audience reacted with laughter, “awws,” and gasps on cue, just where you would want them if watching this on TV.  Senior makes good use of Cabral and Martinez’s talents, both of whom have strong TV backgrounds and know how to make the most out of this setup.

Angelique Cabral is very funny as Ilana, Yoli’s mom, who’s charmingly self-conscious about not speaking Spanish but deeply proud of her heritage. She wants to be the cool mom, but is just a few awkward hugs, a bottle of Chardonnay, and one surprise reveal away from a meltdown. 

Benito Martinez, as dad Enrique, is equally sharp, stern but funny, the classic sitcom dad who just wants a moment where Marcos is at least slightly afraid of him. Unlike his wife, he would like Yoli to share fewer personal details, and he doesn’t understand what her job as an “influencer” means, but he wants to support her.  He is proudly Latino, with a Cuban and Spanish background, but when meeting Marcos, he finds some of his beliefs on how people claim their heritage to be challenged.

Santino Jimenez gets big laughs as an over-involved (against his will) flower delivery guy.

Nico Greetham as Marcos is very funny, if awkward, a bit too emotionally open for the parents' comfort, and has a quirky sense of dinner party gifts (wine and a piñata, anyone?), but is a supportive partner for their daughter.

The character that strains the most credulity, though, is Yoli. Cree plays her with fire and conviction, but the character as written is insufferably self-righteous, and somehow both the most intelligent and least considerate person onstage, even to her beloved Marcos. At a certain point, the show stops asking us to root for her and starts daring us to try.

The set, designed by Takeshi Kata, is a stunning Pasadena living room that glows under Jaymi Lee Smith’s lighting.

The script is filled with reveals and reversals, and just when you think you’ve hit peak drama, another twist lands.  Still, the play succeeds in what it sets out to do: delivering laughs while exploring race, identity, and family expectations with sincerity and comedic timing. 

How To Get Tickets

“One of the Good Ones” runs through June 22nd at The Old Globe.  For theatre ticket and show time information, please go to www.theoldglobe.org 

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