Filomena Marturano: Un Matrimonio A La Caribeña Is An Absolute Hit!
Premiering at El Repertorio Español, and playing until August 24, this play is outlandishly funny and thrives off of its ability to plot twists in the heart of its character: Filomena Marturano. When it comes to men, Filomena knows them very well. Itching to be a wife and have a home, she understands that guys can be determined for sex but not for stability. Through laughs, wisdom, and pure charm Zulema Clares builds a humorous character piece on womanhood.
Zulema Clares makes Filomena the most charismatic, oddly “innocent” manipulator you will ever meet. Men screw women: literally and figuratively. They play us for fools, and, even if we know better, our hope can let us be played. FILOMENA IS NOT GOING TO GET PLAYED! Waiting around Domenico to, finally, love her and decide to be her husband has not gotten any closer to “the rock.” Instead, years have passed, and the idea that he will marry a younger, “hotter” woman is not fathomable to Filomena. Hence, she does what anyone would do; pretend she is dying and trick him into a marriage. EASY!
FILOMENA MARTURANO – UN MATRIMONIO A LA CARIBEÑA
Clares is so funny and smart as Filomena that you hope her plan works out. Honestly, you have to be a good actor to make a character doing wrong feel so right. She represents, in a deranged sense, how, sometimes, we cannot let ourselves be wronged again. Clares justifies the lengths a person will go to simply not be “at the bottom” again, especially as someone’s choice. In this, she breeds a understanding for women and the pressures of their social “role” when matched by their human desire. We want a family and demand to be treated well by the man we choose. Yet, the stern, “playboy” of Domingo is not, necessarily, a “bad guy.” He is simply aloof to her or others’ desires and pleasures.
Sandor Juan makes Domingo’s journey in finding out which of Filomena’s sons is actually his fascinating because he makes it a trip into other-centeredness. His obsession to find his “bloodline” ends up leading him to clarity and seeing love is love. When you choose your wife, you choose your family and he ends up loving Gilberto Gabriel Díaz Flores’ Humberto, César Augusto Cova Burguera’s Ricardo, and Bryan Cortés’ Miguel. He could not decipher, which one was “his” because your child is not someone “revealed” to you as much as received by you. Thus, from Filomena to her sons, he learns the power of giving opens you up to receiving from yourself.
Alright, I got very deep for a play that is hilariously light-hearted. Its plot twists played out like a starry novela, and people were INTO it. At 2 hours, with 2 ten minute intermissions, the play did feel longer. If it started at 8, it almost ended at 11. Yet, it was hard to say goodbye to its characters and the fun. A telenovela plays out in 80 episode over 4 months, but, somehow, director Leyma Lopez packed all that punch and pizzazz into 2 hours. Viewers were riveted as they cheered for the deliciously devious Filomena, and she became a symbol of how we all wish we could play back against the “roles and trolls” of love. For More Information On Filomena Marturano ~ Un matrimonio a la Caribeña Click Here To Buy Tickets
