15th-century fall play well worth ticket price

By Kathleen Grohman

It is hard to imagine how a play set during the turmoil of war and dealing with the oppression of an entire town by a rapist tyrant could still be witty and, at times, very funny.

Director and professor Fred Tollini, S.J., has managed this feat in his translation and adaptation of Lope de Vega's "Fuente Ovejuna."

"Fuente Ovejuna," based on the real events in a small town in Spain during the 15th century, chronicles a town terrorized by their Chief Commander Farnan Gomez de Guzman.

At the beginning of the play, Guzman, played by Peter Dziuba, continually abducts and rapes the women of the town and he has his sights set on the brave protagonist, Laurencia.

Hayley Lovgren's stand-out performance as Laurencia helped the audience understand the plight of women in "Fuente Ovejuna," as she passionately and confidently delivered speeches imploring the townspeople to take action.

Laurencia's boyfriend Frondoso, played by Dylan Della Maggiora, defends her honor, but in doing so, insults the chief commander, who turns his rage on the entire town.

The play explores a wide range of themes, including gender issues, oppression, faith, love and honor. While the backdrop of the greater Spanish war is a little difficult for people with no background knowledge to follow, the story of the townspeople is intriguing and accessible.

Senior Natasha Ransom is a theater arts major who played Pascuala, Laurencia's best friend. Ransom explained that one of the changes Tollini made to the original script was to take out the black-and-white moral judgments that Lope de Vega drew.

"He wants the audience to make their own decision about what's right and wrong instead of the play just telling you. The play challenges you to have a new perspective," she said.

Tollini managed to make the play relevant and relatable for a diverse audience by poking fun at academia and college students with Barrildo, played by Alex Fiore, one of the few people of "Fuente Ovejuna" to graduate from university.

When explaining what people do at universities, Barrildo said, "We put titles in front of our name and letters after to let others know how important we are."

"Fuente Ovejuna" also includes many sexual jokes and puns that are not only entertaining, but help develop the conflict and hardship of the exploited women. When describing how she will not give into the chief commander's advances, Laurencia says, "I'm no little chick that will bend over to that cock." The astute listener and culturally savvy viewer will pick up on many more puns and ironies.

The humor is one thing that Ransom hopes the audience takes away from the play. "There's a lot of jokes from antiquity and old plays that Fr. Fred put in, and I hope people understand that," she said.

Ransom she said she is glad to have the opportunity to work with her friends from classes and apply what they have learned in class on stage. One of her favorite parts of being in the show is working with Tollini. She said, "Fr. Fred has so many great stories and the funniest anecdotes."

According to Ransom, getting the play was a very collaborative effort.

"I think it's important for people to know that, as students, we were really involved in the message and Fr. Fred's rewrites, and not just the acting."

The set is as nice to look at as it is pragmatic, with two buildings in the foreground and a functioning fountain. A noose hangs from a balcony from the start of the play, an ominous sign of things to come.

The background is a silhouette of the rest of the town that uses lighting to depict the time of day. One scene stands out in particular with fog and red lights that is choreographed very well and shows off the ability of the ensemble.

The play opened on Friday night to a crowd that almost filled the middle section of Mayer Theatre.

The play runs today through Saturday at 8 p.m. in Mayer Theatre. Student tickets cost $5.

Contact Kathleen Grohman at (408) 551-1918 or kgrohman@scu.edu.