For some R and R, you might want to go see an off-Broadway show.
If you want to R, R and R, that would be, Rest, Reminisce, and Reirte, go see Growing up Gonzales.
Growing up Gonzales takes place mostly in the 1970’s, with just a
few minutes in present time, showing the older brother reading the younger
brother's, Cisco's, diaries.
This is a one man show played by Luis Antonio Ramos. By playing several roles, Luis Antonio Ramos shows his acting prowess as well as his comedic agility.
If you want to R, R and R, that would be, Rest, Reminisce, and Reirte, go see Growing up Gonzales.
Growing up Gonzales takes place mostly in the 1970’s, with just a
few minutes in present time, showing the older brother reading the younger
brother's, Cisco's, diaries.This is a one man show played by Luis Antonio Ramos. By playing several roles, Luis Antonio Ramos shows his acting prowess as well as his comedic agility.
Cisco grows up with Bruce Lee, as a hero, Old Spice as a
favorite gift for his father, Iris Chacon as the “original booty - J-Lo has
nothing on her”, baseball as his favorite past time, the Catholic church as
the mystical weekly production, and 'living off the land' vacations in Puerto Rico (who needed summer camp in the 70's? Ha!)
The references to 1970's mementos allow for many opportunities for humor. I dare say they did forgot Evil Knievel! However, as a whole, the
script needs more work to connect the dots. For
example, they mention a drug problem with the older brother. OK, it was the 70’s but then what happened to
his drug problem? In fact, the drug part is not necessary
to the developing story, if it’s a story mainly about the younger brother
Cisco.
Another missing part of the story- what happened to Cisco,
later on in life? There is a heavy void
of 30 years. NO mention of the 80’s, 90’s
or turn of the century. I don’t think it’s
necessary to include the last 3 decades but then… why did he have to die? If Cisco dies then what happened to him from
all those childhood stories of the 70’s until he died? I don’t think Cisco had to die in this story
to make this show a success. Then again,
I’m jaded because I’ve seen this show a few years back and Cisco did not
die.
One of my favorite parts was the story of Bruce Lee. It was
side-splitting hilarious. Cisco sees a Bruce
Lee movie and feels empowered and invincible, so much so that he thinks he can
take on his father. The details, down to how he made his own nunchucks was ingenous, vivid, and colorful. The whole Bruce Lee story was innocent child
play, reminiscent of a time when kids had imagination and lots of time on their
hands. The story tells how Cisco, this young playful boy, felt
confronting his father. Luis Antonio Ramos played each role seemlessly from the strong father figure looming over to the overly imaginative playful son. But again… why does his father have to die? If it brought something to the story,
fine. But it didn’t.
Therefore I would add a 4th “R”. I said at the start, see Growing up Gonzalez
for some R, R and R... to Rest, Reminisce,
and Reirte. But please producers, there
needs to be some Re-write as well.
Cisco’s father can be a strong figure, authoritative, hard working
man who still visited his mother every day.
Yes, he beat his son but didn’t they all, back in the 70’s. It was an accepted form of discipline, especially if Cisco’s brother was such a
bad-ass.
And producers, writers, etc, the reference to the age, didn’t
sit well with me at all. So you have an
8 year old girl laying down.... Really?
NO. Again, a side-splitting hilarious story
about a young boy with a vivid imagination, who again, his father zooms in and teaches
him a lesson about life and love.
And then the part of '12-years-old-let’s-make-a-man- out-of-you'? I think that it suffices to say “when I was
young my older brother picked me up from school because he wanted to make a man
out of me.” If he’s “in school” it can
be inferred approximately how old he was.
With a few Re-writes, Growing Up Gonzales can continue to grow.
Growing Up Gonzales is a hilarious comedy about a young boy growing
up in the 70’s, growing up the way young kids did then, no internet, no cable, with
active imaginations. Growing up with Bruce
Lee, baseball, and summer vacations in Puerto Rico. So if you want to Relax, Reminisce and
Reirte, go see Growing Up Gonzales!