It makes no sense to adapt a beloved novel for the theater. In fact, it’s absurd—basically the same as saying, “I’m going to take this thing you enjoyed, throw out the parts I can’t use, rearrange the rest, maybe add a bunch of other stuff I made up myself, pour it all into a completely different format, and invite you to go see the results out of respect for what it was before I started slapping it around.”
The tactic failed, however. Partly because “no woman in town would give up her refrigerator, her electric fan, or her electric iron,” but far more devastatingly because Tres Camarones got caught up in Mexico’s economic crisis. With no work at home, the men went looking for it in el norte, the United States.
Still, things work out pretty well overall. I suppose we tolerate the absurdity of stage adaptations because we want—apparently at all costs—to reach across the words and get physically close to the folks we’ve found in novels. We want the chance to view them in motion, from the side and back as well as the front. This adaptation achieves that. Slips notwithstanding, the cast accomplish the essential business of bringing Into the Beautiful North beautifully into the room. Esteban Andres Cruz’s Tacho, Brandon Rivera’s Atomiko, and Laura Crotte’s Irma, Nayeli’s force-of-nature aunt, are particularly engaging, but everybody on Joanna Iwanicka’s clever set contributes energetically to a solid sense of ensemble. v
Through 6/17: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 4 and 8 PM 16th Street Theater 6420 16th St., Berwyn 708-795-6704 16thstreettheater.org $18-$22
