Review: ESPEJOS: CLEAN at Studio Theatre

Top-notch bilingual production of Christine Quintanta's play of culture clash

By: Sep. 21, 2023
Review: ESPEJOS: CLEAN at Studio Theatre

It’s not new to have a Spanish language play in D.C. presented with English supertitles. 

Studio Theatre is doing that in their current production of “Espejos: Clean” but also offering Spanish supertitles for English dialogue. And sometimes they flash up at the same time.

It seems fitting in a play where different cultures collide just as the language does. 

Christine Quintana’s play (with a Spanish translation and adaptation by Paula Zelaya Cervantes) is a truly bilingual story about two women — one a manager of a cleaning staff at a Cancun resort, the other a North American visitor, English speaking only, with her own problems: the maid of honor at her little sister’s hyper-planed destination wedding, who is fully expected to mess things up and usually does.

As in the service industry, the two don’t really intersect — except for superficial greetings and the special clean-up required of a drunken guest who slices her knee open in a fall from a barstool. 

But when a sudden flood causes throws them together for a night, their exchanges draw out traumatic experiences from both of them, which in the end doesn’t really bring them together, but at least allows them a greater degree of mutual understanding.

The all-woman production is top-notch, from the vibrant cast to the sharp direction of Elena Araoz

Legna Cedillo gives heart and determination to Adriana, a woman from a small town who defies her family by joining the ranks of the resort cleaning crews of Cancun, quickly working her way to a no-nonsense management position that still allows her to pitch in as needed. 

Certainly, the daily chores are ground into her character such that she can repeat its endless cycles faster and faster, as she does in a dazzling second act scene. But she shows further dimensions as she shakes off her official attire and lets her hair down. 

Lauren Karaman is dynamic as the North American guest Sarah — a blowzy presence when drunk who is soon seen to be hiding insecurities and damages within. 

One of the first curvy models on “Project Runway,” Karaman is often seen in a bathing suit lathering up the sunscreen and trying out Spanish poorly. 

Despite her experience as a model, acting may be her strong suit. Not many can tear up on demand as she does freely more than once. (The bleeding, band-aids and scarring of her knee are all thanks to the detail-oriented costume designer Christopher Vergara, I’m supposing).

Sarah’s empathy toward Adriana is based both on recognition and misappropriation. Their imagined, sometimes disturbing fantasy encounters together that begin the second act can be at first a bit confusing, but offer a window into their shared fear and shadows from the past.  

Their parallel lives, told in near-poetic soliloquies, are well paced, as Araoz has one entering as the other is exiting on a clean, white-tiled set by Raul Abrego that’s the perfect surface to show and scrub the dirt that’s spilled. 

The wood paneling in the back suggests the long, lonely hallways of a resort hotel, with a thin line of light (lighting designer: Alberto Segarra) that is marvelous in its reductive simplicity: a cool blue for the ocean, and the hotel; a green for the Mexican landscape, a white for the lightning accompanying the storm. (Segarra’s also got a perfect pink light for the sunburning Sarah). 

Behind them, Luis Garcia’s expressive projections show reflect both the wash of the water, and the clouds of uncertainty as needed. 

Running time: Two hours with one 15 minute intermission.

Photo credit: Lauren Karaman and Legna Cedillo in “Espejos: Clean.” Photo by Margot Schulman. 

“Espejos: Clean” runs through Oct. 22 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets at 202-332-3300 or Click Here


BroadwayWorld Awards Voting

RELATED STORIES - Washington, DC

1
Interview: Theatre Life with Jeanine Tesori Photo
Interview: Theatre Life with Jeanine Tesori

Today’s subject Jeanine Tesori is a two-time Tony Award winning composer whose work spans the gamut from large scale and chamber musicals for Broadway to grand opera and beyond. Her holiday children’s opera The Lion, The Unicorn and Me premiered ten years ago at Kennedy Center as a commission for Washington National Opera (WNO). The work will be returning to Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater for a one weekend four performance engagement on December 8th through 10th.

2
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and Fairfax Ballet to Present Tchaikovskys THE NUTCRACKER at Ge Photo
Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and Fairfax Ballet to Present Tchaikovsky's THE NUTCRACKER at George Mason University Center for the Arts

Don't miss the beloved holiday tradition of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker presented by the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and Fairfax Ballet at George Mason University Center for the Arts.

3
Childrens Theatre Company To Hold Virtual And In-Person Auditions For 2024-2025 Performing Photo
Children's Theatre Company To Hold Virtual And In-Person Auditions For 2024-2025 Performing Apprenticeships

Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) is holding auditions for their 2024-2025 Performing Apprenticeships. Non-Equity Actors aged 19 and above can audition for this opportunity.

4
Young Performers Career Advancement Program 2024 Artists To Perform At Carnegie Hall On Ja Photo
Young Performers Career Advancement Program 2024 Artists To Perform At Carnegie Hall On January 15

The Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) announced today that five emerging classical music solo artists and a quartet of musicians from around the world have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall as part of APAP's Young Performers Career Advancement Program (YPCA). 

From This Author - Roger Catlin

Roger Catlin, a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, is a Washington D.C.-based arts writer whose work appears regularly in SmithsonianMagazine.com. and AARP the Magazine. He has a... Roger Catlin">(read more about this author)

Videos


Little Shop of Horrors in Washington, DC Little Shop of Horrors
Ford's Theatre (3/16-5/18)
Martha Graham Dance Company in Washington, DC Martha Graham Dance Company
Center for the Arts at George Mason University (4/13-4/13)
Funny Girl in Washington, DC Funny Girl
Kennedy Center [Opera House] (6/25-7/14)
Virginia Opera: Madama Butterfly in Washington, DC Virginia Opera: Madama Butterfly
Center for the Arts at George Mason University (3/16-3/16)
Victorian Lyric Opera Company presents Victorian Lyric Opera Company presents "Die Fledermaus"
F. Scott Fitzgerald Theatre (2/23-3/03)
Virginia Opera: Sanctuary Road in Washington, DC Virginia Opera: Sanctuary Road
Center for the Arts at George Mason University (2/03-2/03)
Mutts Gone Nuts in Washington, DC Mutts Gone Nuts
Hylton Performing Arts Center (4/07-4/07)
American Festival Pops Orchestra: American Icons in Washington, DC American Festival Pops Orchestra: American Icons
Hylton Performing Arts Center (4/06-4/06)
Peter Pan in Washington, DC Peter Pan
The National Theatre (4/09-4/21)
Public Obscenities in Washington, DC Public Obscenities
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (11/13-12/23)
VIEW ALL SHOWS  ADD A SHOW  

Recommended For You