“The Wolf At The End of the Block”

Recommended *** Because I write for several Spanish publications, and have for over 17 years, companies such as Teatro Vista, are very important to me (as well as my community). It is difficult to believe, but this company is celebrating over 20 years of bringing Chicago’s Latino community theater they can be proud of. Since their work is in English, what they offer is pure theater for all audiences, but with a Latino “flavor” (and it tastes good…in good taste). They are now in their new home, The Richard  Christiansen Theater at Victory Gardens (The Biograph), upstairs. This is the perfect venue for this company. It is smaller and far more intimate than the larger venue downstairs, making it perfect for the smaller works they offer.

Their current production is a “thriller” written by Ike Holter, “The Wolf At The End of The Block”, in its World Premiere. Smoothly directed by Ricardo Guiterrez. this thriller is the story of a young man, Abe (a powerful performance by Gabriel Ruiz), who has had a terrible experience down the street at a local bar that appeared to be closed up, but, rather is the local hang-out for off-duty cops. What happens and how become known to us during the next 90 minutes as the other neighbors explore the actual facts so that they can separate the fact from fiction and make sure they keep their neighborhood and its residents safe from the dangers they have been led to believe.

Abe’s boss, Nunley (deftly handled by Bear Bellinger) is a great character. While he is more “black” than Hispanic”, he is still brown and if what took place was actual, he is also in danger. Abe’s little sister, Miranda (the adorable Ayssette Munoz) is on his side, despite being unsure of his “story” and they bring in a local newswoman, Frida ( Sandra Marquez, one of Chicago’s finest Latina actors) who takes this story to the air. During this short time span, as the clock ticks away, the clues that we had become somewhat different and the pieces that appeared to be easy to understand become more like a jog-saw puzzle where we do not have the picture of the finished product.

Since the story is a mystery, I will not divulge a lot of the content so that each of you who are attending this thriller, can experience the same feelings that we had on opening night, as well as the pointed portions of th story that deal with race and ethnicity, which in today’s political world are even more prominent. The best way to describe what you are going to witness is, is a story that deals with 1. racial profiling.2. Media manipulation and 3. family relationships. By the way, there is one additional actor, James D. Farruggio who plays the non-Hispanic role, James. I will not get any deeper as this is a key role.

This mystery will continue at Teatro Vista’s new home at 2433 N Lincoln Avenue thru March 5th with performances as follows:

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  7:30 p.m.

Sundays  3 p.m.

Tickets range from $25- $30 OPEN seating and $15 for students/$18 for Seniors. They can be purchased at the box office, by calling 773-871-3000 or online at www.teatrovista.org

Parking can be tough in the Lincoln Park area, but there are still some spaces on the street (metered) and some IN the old Children’s Hospital Garage.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “The Wolf At The End of the Block”