Save Room for Dessert

There is a certain Americanism that shines through a Ray Bradbury story. None more so than in his delightful play, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit that opens the 2009 season at the Fremont Centre Theatre featuring actors from Mr. Bradbury´s own Pandemonium Theatre Company.

Brilliantly directed by Alan Neal Hubbs, and with marvelous sets by John Edw. Blankenchip, this frozen delight will melt your heart. And of course, Mr. Bradbury´s love of his fellow man radiates from the stage.

The story centers around five young Latino guys born to the streets of East Los Angeles back in what they call "Yestermorrow." It could truly be any time, any locale, with any group of guys who doubt their place in society. But these young men have a dream. The dream is to buy, to own, a magnificent white suit that hangs in Mr. Shumway´s Sunshine Suit store. For if they have this suit, they will truly be somebody.

Rudy Rodriguez plays the crafty leader of the group, Gomez, with zeal. He initiates the plan to buy the vanilla colored suit. He measures everyone to make sure they all are the same size, shape, and weight, and miraculously, they all are the same.

The suit is purchased and each guy gets to try it out for half an hour. Gomez test-drives it first and is transformed. The voluptuous Ruby Escuadrillo, played with statuesque beauty by Joy Nash, dates him.

Handsome and talented Adrian Elizondo who plays Dominguez, does a few impressive Bob Fosse moves once he tries on the suit.

Joaquin Garay III captures the quiet intelligence of Villanazul, the one who sees the world with a poet´s eye and who speaks with an orator´s wisdom.

Adorable Eddie Ruiz plays Martinez, the young man who pines for the unreachable Celia, the girl in the window, the girl who can´t see how much he idolizes her. But once he is in the beautiful white suit, Celia sees two shining objects: the suit and Martinez´s smile. Ah, young love.

Daniel V. Graulau steals the show with his rendition of everybody´s worst nightmare, Vamenos. Sporting torn jeans, a sweaty shirt, and scruffy beard, Vamenos wants his shot in the milky duds. How can his compadres dissuade him? Vamenos paid his share and wants to wear the suit. The others come up with rules he must follow if he wants his turn, but first it´s off to the bath to clean him up a little. From off stage someone yells: "The water is black!"

But Vamenos, too, is transformed, but this Cinderella just might turn back into a bumpkin and ruin the suit. The boys follow him to a dive downtown where they find him swilling red wine, smoking a cigar, and, Oh No, eating a messy taco. (You will be rolling in the aisles by this point.)

The scene culminates with a slow motion fight scene between Vamenos and a tattoo-covered biker played with hulking menace by Paul Renteria. Everybody joins in the melee as the stage lights flicker, instantly transporting you into an old Keystone Cop two-reeler. (Positively hilarious.)

Their magic suit and fragile dreams are threatened by splattered blood and taco sauce. And then comes the car accident. Everything is conspiring against the young men and that suit. But their biggest challenge is whether they should abandon the bumbling Vamenos or stand by him in his hour of need.

Five dreams and the magical/mystical suit "white as angel wings" will stay in your heart forever. It will show you that the best in each of us is the gift we give each other.

Mr. Bradbury spoke to the audience on opening night. He mentioned that seventy years earlier he had lived with a terrific Hispanic family in Los Angeles and the characters in his delightful play are the very essence of those cherished friends.

The play runs through February 15, 2009, at the Fremont Centre Theatre, 1000 Fremont Avenue at El Centro, South Pasadena, CA. Tickets: $20, Seniors $15, Students $10

Reservations: (323) 960-4451

On-Line Ticketing: www.Plays411.com/raybradbury