The Many Uses of Enchantment

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Leyendas de Duende, presented by Boxtales. At the Marjorie Luke Theatre, Sunday, January 14.

Reviewed by Bojana Hill

Boxtales conveys the universal appeal of fairytales faithfully and playfully in its latest production, Leyendas de Duende: Magical Tales of Latin America. In both of the stories dramatized, “La Calavera” and “Paco and the Witch,” the main characters are drawn to the power of the unknown. They flirt with mystery, danger, and temptation, and they don’t always end up living “happily ever after.” These stories, deeply rooted in Latin American folk culture, invite reflection on life’s mysteries, beyond a neatly summed up moral at the end of each.

Director Sigfrido Aguilar truly employed the versatility of the Boxtales troupe. In the pursuit of cultural authenticity, the actors spent several weeks in Guanajato, México, absorbing the local energy and flair. The end result is a dynamic interplay of three fine actors — Michael Andrews, Matt Tavianini, and David Guerra, all of whom play multiple roles and don many different masks. In the first story, “La Calavera,” which is from Mexico, the most imposing presence onstage is a 10-foot-tall Lady Death, her black lacy veil softening the stark image of her white skull. As strangely elegant as she is imposing, Lady Death is literally larger than life — she has the power to take it. This is surely a delicate balance for Andrews, who manages to move gracefully on stilts. In the role of the young godson endowed with the gift of healing, Guerra makes a convincing transformation from innocent boy to grasping, proud man.

The second tale, “Paco and the Witch,” from Puerto Rico, is a light-hearted warning to heed parental advice. In a dark wood hides a bruja (witch), and the only way for Paco to escape her stew pot is to guess her name. Predictably, animals come to his rescue — not the birds or the mice as in Cinderella — but rather one Señor Cangrejo, a crab!

Fantastic masks and the sounds of Afro-Cuban drumming both help express the rhythm and pulse of primal human nature. The enthusiastic audience was comprised mostly of families with young children, and they participated not only by singing as prompted, but also when the “princess” in “La Calavera” was selected at random from the audience to make a brief appearance onstage. Boxtales is promoting an interactive and diverse style of dramatic expression, one which is well suited to young learners who need stories that teach, not preach, about life’s choices.

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