I saw 'El Che' play with theater full of teens, and it wasn't what I expected

As a self-admitted crusty old theater critic, watching a play with a couple hundred teenagers isn’t my usual idea of a good time.

Certainly not after sitting through “Romeo and Juliet,” years ago, surrounded by high-school students gossiping and poking each other and completely ignoring what was happening onstage. Their teachers seemed too exhausted to even try shushing them.

But that’s not at all what happened on Thursday, Aug. 25, when I attended the final dress rehearsal for “El Che,” a new bio-play about Marxist revolutionary and Latin American pan-nationalist Ernesto “Che” Guevara.

Busloads of high-school students

The audience at the Phoenix Center for the Arts had been bused in from the Tolleson Union High School District. They were almost all Latino — a demographic that makes up 30 percent of Arizona’s population but rather less than that of the theatergoing public, which tends to be older, whiter and wealthier than average.

These kids weren’t seasoned theatergoers. But they didn’t talk through the show. They didn’t text or send selfies on Snapchat. They watched with intense focus. And after the inevitable gunshot that ended the play with an explanation point, they stood for a standing ovation that didn’t seem at all obligatory to me.

No doubt they engaged with the play in a way different from my own. I was focused on how well the playwright (and star), Marcelino Quiñonez, traced his character’s arc from young idealist to full-fledged zealot, unrepentant for the blood on his hands. (Let’s just say I might have a few notes on the script.)

The students, on the other hand, seemed more focused on the personal relationships playing out onstage. When the married Che started making romantic overtures to a fetching young Cuban revolutionary, the buzz of outrage from the young women in the audience threatened to drown out the PA system.

Looking for connections to their own lives

In more ways than one, they were looking for connections to their own lives.

I posted about my experience on Facebook and had a great discussion with some of the artists involved in the production.

“That was one of the best audiences I've ever performed for,” wrote actor Joe Kremer, a veteran of the Valley scene who was also the only Anglo in the cast.

Director Matthew Wiener added, “The looks on the students’ faces throughout the show, as they realized these were their stories being told onstage by people who look like them/sound like them/are like them. Magical.

“And not just onstage but artists of color in key production/design positions for the entire project. Notice should be taken.”

Reach the reporter at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheaterand twitter.com/KerryLengel.

Keep it relevant, and they will come

Indeed it should. Latinos have long been underrepresented in Valley theater, both onstage and in the aisles. But maybe there just hasn’t been enough of an effort to represent Latino stories. So kudos to Quiñonez and his producer, Benny Morel, for stepping up to the plate.

But this isn’t just about Latinos. It’s about young people, too. With the explosion of digital entertainment options, there’s a lot of fear that live theater may be a dying art form. But Thursday’s experience showed me that the next generation is ready to engage with material that feels relevant to them.

If we can only figure out how to get more of them through the door.

Reach the reporter at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheater and twitter.com/KerryLengel.