Chicago’s Goodman Theatre has slipped into its archival vaults to develop a free on-demand streaming option dubbed Encore. For those hungering for theatre and are flexible in the way it’s presented, this entertainment oasis is for you. Launched over the winter, the current schedule will feature five productions. Now running through April 12th, Pedro Páramo by Raquel Carrío is an adaptation of the novel by Juan Rulfo and features a mixed cast of Cuban and local Chicago actors. The play was originally performed on the Goodman’s main Owen stage in 2013 as part of the theatre’s Latino Theatre Festival. Like the original production, the streaming version is also conducted in Spanish with the option to use closed captions.
A story of avarice, abusive power and the devastation both can leave in their wake, Pedro Páramo begins with a young man embarking on a journey to find his father, the title character. His quest leads through a continuous trail of loss and death. Beautifully poetic lyricism and cultural mysticism constitute the play’s most conspicuous building blocks. There are occasional pockets of lightness; but overridingly Pedro Páramo has all the marking of a Greek tragedy set in a long ago agrarian Mexico. The casts’ attire telegraphs a simplicity born of utility and want. Immaculate rags covering specters. Dressed in gauzy white and with their faces coated in powder, the bulk of the actors appear, move and function as a chorus of ghosts weighed down in perpetual misery and suffering. Acting as guides and anxious advisors, they warn and caution the pilgrim son on what he can expect to find at the end of his odyssey.
Death’s such a constant and pervasive presence in the play that it could be called its theme. Told as a tale of forewarning, it’s a morality play that emphasizes consequences. Here they cascade like water from a fountain because of the greed of a man who revels in watching others succumb to his will. With an all-consuming appetite, his lust for satisfying his wants destroys the town as well as the people in it.
Elusive and jagged, the play’s flow requires close attention. Combined with the challenge of following the plot through closed captioning made connecting with Pedro Páramo difficult. Its strengths though justified the effort. The energy, versatility and talent of the cast made watching the performance richly gratifying. For those who enjoy a great moral tale told with elegance and beauty, Pedro Páramo will prove rewarding and enjoyable.
Pedro Páramo
Goodman Theatre Encore Series
Through April 12, 2021