Originally published on Onstage NTX

A flashy (and highly unreliable) young man falls hard for a pretty young woman he sees out shopping. Maybe he can “get her number.” Her house number, he means. For this is, as the play program tells us, “17th-century…ish” Mexico—and cell phones are a few hundred years away.

The quirky, meta, and time-traveling humor of Kathleen Culebro’s world premiere play The Amazing, Fabulous, and Spectacular Untruths of Juan Garcia gives this vintage Spanish comedy a remarkably engaging new lease on theatrical life—and director Evan Michael Woods goes for broke at Amphibian Stage, with a big cast that has fun all along the way, with romantic meet-ups (and put-downs), mistaken identities, notes gone astray, balcony scenes, and oh-so-clever servants.

This is show full to the brim with color and life, and scenic designer Paige Hathaway leads the parade. For the town center of Oaxaca, a city in central Mexico, she’s created a vivid swath of painted tile flooring (scenic artist Bella Barnett) that serves for the town plaza and the interiors of a pair of wealthy homes. At the back wall, more tiles surround windows, doors, and a railed balcony—lit up like a game show at exciting moments. One wall, so many comic uses. It may remind you of Shakespeare, and even more of Laugh-In.

Add the amazing period-plus costumes of Laura Anderson Barbata (embroidery and bejeweling, applique, feathers, and fascinating fabric pairings) and you have a play whose visuals enrich the storytelling—in the best heady, sensory overload way. “That was funny,” you think—and then, “What is he wearing now?”

Oh, and there is a plot, with as many twists and turns as we could want.

Second son Juan Garcia Beltrán (Danny Quintero) returns to his father in Oaxaca after the death of his much worthier older brother. He’s a poser, a party boy, an entitled sort who’s frittered away his time at the University. And he’s a compulsive liar. Always in trouble, he makes up stories to give himself a temporary “out”—not caring what chaos he brings to family, friends, and the community. Quintero is hilarious, giving JG a jittery, skittery body language that often ends in an extravagant pose meant for the ladies. Some are charmed; others roll their eyes. But comeuppance is on the way.

His father Señor Beltrán (David Lugo) has spent the family fortune on a funeral for his older son. It’s the first of many clues letting us know he’s almost as big a ditz as Juan Garcia. Lugo is a riot as the self-deluding Dad with a piercing voice and unshakable certainty. Judging that “the poor boy is useless,” he stalks off to find JG a good job…or a rich wife.

To save money, the Señor has fired all the servants but Consuelo (Gloria Benavides), who staggers on by impersonating the entire staff for her oblivious boss: cook, housekeeper, manservant, et al. Benavides gives an anchoring performance in this “Figaro” role—even talking to the audience at a moment or two. We’re fairly sure she’s the smartest person in the room…until events turn up another contender.

Two wealthy young ladies are involved, dazzling Jacinta (Amber Flores) and her straight-talking friend Lucretia (Amanda Reyes). But instead of dividing them into “the beauty” and “the smart one,” the playwright makes cannier choices: they’re both lovely, but sharp-eyed and practical too—with the shared sense of “it’s us versus the world” that childhood BFFs sometimes have. Jacinta is wooed by up-and-comer Fernando (Jovane Caamano), who’s in a constant state of nerves about her feelings. And he’s right to worry: there are strong women with strong opinions in Juan Garcia, and his almost-fiancée is one of them.

Jacinta’s fluttery aunt Doña Susana (Gigi Cervantes) hopes to marry Jacinta to a rich man who will take care of her as well. Servants Isabel (Bethany Mejorado) and Diego (Danny Lovelle) pitch in to help their mistress and master, usually with some pointed comments on the side. And the town plaza is alive with smiling vendors (Rudy Lopez, Samantha Padilla, Carrie Viera) who hustle a lot for a little—but who knows how life might change?

Characters crack jokes about the size of the cast—and an ensemble of 12 these days isn’t common outside of Shakespeare or musicals. But Juan Garcia wouldn’t be the same without every one of these fine actors crowding the stage—high-born talking to low, old to young, servant to master, rich girl to street vendor. How does it end? The rich interactions of the play keep us guessing—and we won’t know ‘til they get there.

It’s worth noting that the source play of Juan Garcia, La Verdad Sospechosa (1634) by Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, was lifted, changed, and recycled by several European playwrights—becoming Le menteur (The Liar) in Corneille’s French version (1644), and Il Bugiardo in Goldoni’s Italian reworking a hundred years later.

Kathleen Culebro’s fresh, funny (and more than slightly feminist) reimaging of this play should be a delight for audiences who enjoy classic stories with a splash of modern sensibility.

WHEN: October 11-November 3, 2024
WHERE: 120 South Main St., Fort Worth
WEB: amphibianstage.com