“Hail Mary/Maria” reviewed by Mark Reinecke

*** Hail Mary/Maria is an uplifting and at moments a touching story of a young man’s age-old struggle to be true to oneself.  “Kid” (a nickname for Kindness), is coming of age to face his same-sex attractions while balancing the pressures to conform and excel in his all-Catholic boy’s school. At the same time, Kid (played by Juan Sedonio) must face the challenging gender standards of the day within an immigrant, Filipino, single-mother family living in Skokie. Interweaving comedy, drama, farce and romance to tell this story, Nova Entertainment presents what is billed as a “wrestling theatrical spectacular”, a new play written by RJ Silva and directed by Adam Reed. After the cage matches on the South Lawn of the White House this summer, that’s a pretty tall order.

As for queer storytelling, coming out can be traumatic for many. And deadly for some.  It can fracture families and leave a young person on the streets to survive. Or if you have a more sophisticated family network, there might be unconditional love and acceptance and a strengthening of bonds that will endure a lifetime.  Clearly, there is a broad range of outcomes possible, as each queer kid’s path is different. And one’s ability to navigate the cultural and religious norms that now surround queer identity can still be confusing and often can impact one’s livelihood and happiness. Those expecting a deep and thoughtful dive into the courage required to become one’s “true self” might be disappointed. But then again, for some it’s not that difficult to come out as you will see here.

Kid is a focused, shy, somewhat isolated high school student with asthma, who must earn a scholarship if he wants to attend college. His applications appear stalled because he is having trouble articulating in writing what he hopes to achieve in life. You sense there is internal turmoil in Kid and a tinge of loneliness. It soon becomes clear, when Jack (played by Aidan Leake), who is a rather forward classmate, ignites an erotic and emotional spark in both. In walks the sexy, liberated, badass, crowd-pleasing woman wrestler, Maria (played to the hilt by Carina Lastimosa).  She riles and stirs the audience in what is billed as an “interactive show” to get that budding romance moving forward with strong encouragement from the raucous audience. She ultimately becomes the thread holding the story together.

There are strong religious elements to the play.  Kid and his hardworking and loving mom, “Nurse Marie” (played by Marie Treadway), sing in the church. There is a prominent Catholic identity in the home (realistic scenic design by Katelyn Montgomery) with a crucifix, religious statues and art work throughout. The Catholic faith is key to this family’s identity.  Kid reaches out to the Blessed Virgin Mary “Mama Mary” (also played by Carina Lastimosa) for guidance.  Mama Mary appears in a supernatural apparition to Kid. And it becomes clear that Kid is surrounded completely with love and support and much of the angst and burdens of exiting the closet are lifted.

Kid and Jack begin exploring, each for the first time, a mutual physical attraction. And they are massively egged on by the audience throughout with whooping and screaming in approval of any physical contact. In Silva’s script, there is an absence of fathers in the story.  Kid’s dad is no longer talked about, and one is only left to wonder.  Jack, who comes from a more affluent home in Wilmette, seems to know how to manipulate his father to his advantage.  Jack’s mother is rarely if ever mentioned. We don’t know if Kid’s dream to attend college is realized. The vulnerabilities in the two young men are left more or less unexplored. It’s the three Marys, though, who ultimately provide the maternal and spiritual comfort and life coaching in this story.  And there are some unexpected, positive and unusual twists.  Throw into the mix some highly entertaining acrobatics and well-received live wrestling (wrestling coordination by Axel Vargas-Irlanda) as the young men dive into love.

This is a play about becoming a fully actualized human being and striving to reach one’s potential.  The four actors clearly get that across each in their own way to a highly receptive audience. Circumstances might have to do with coming of age as a queer man, but the journey is a recognizable human journey: the search for connection and the longing is universal.

At the core of this work, there is an abstract meditation on love, including love of oneself. This play, 80 minutes with no intermission, has a very short run. So, do not delay.  At times the story is absurd. At times, there are moments of real tenderness. But most importantly, there is a good lesson to be learned: Love is love is love.  And try not to screw up the kids in the process of raising them.

Hail Mary/Maria

Presented by Nova Entertainment

By: RJ Silva

Directed by: Adam Reed

Theater Wit

1229 W. Belmont

Chicago

Through August 22

Tickets at www.theaterwit.org

$15-$60

Performances are:

August 17    7:30 pm

August 20    7:30 pm

August 21    7:30 pm

August 22    2:30 pm and 7:30 pm

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Hail Mary/Maria”.