In Exal Iraheta’s Last Hermanos, a pair of Latinx half-brothers find themselves at a crucible somewhere in the hot, hostile wilderness of a Texas state park. The “pick-up” that was to ferry them to the next spot on their journey doesn’t show. Julio (Roberto Jay) and Miguel (Esteban Andres Cruz) are rapidly running out of food, water, and time as they embark on a journey that’s thematically evocative (but not derivative) of Waiting for Godot, True West, and Kiss of the Spiderwoman.
Anchored in sweaty, grimy realism, director Ismael Lara Jr.’s staging for A Red Orchid delves into the human cost of systemic racism. That sounds generic and vague, but giving away much more about the brothers’ circumstances would entail spoilers.
Last Hermanos
Through 6/12: Thu-Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 3 and 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; A Red Orchid Theatre, 1531 N. Wells, 312-943-8722, aredorchidtheatre.org, $30-$40.
Cruz is lovably charming as a self-effacing academic who wears a tidy button-down tucked into his khakis (nice work throughout by costume designer Johan Gallardo) even when making a perilous journey over harsh terrain. As Julio, Jay is wired and jittery, strutting like a bantam, shadowboxing in near constant motion as if the ground was scalding his feet.
When a heavily armed white man (Chris Sheard) shows up, the thrum of anxiety that underscores even the lighthearted moments in the production ratchets up.
The cast is solid, but seemed under-rehearsed opening night, the occasional line being repeated or awkwardly mistimed. More troubling is the lack of movement in Julio’s character. He starts out at frenzied peak intensity, leaving the character nowhere to grow. It’s a flat line rather than an arc.
Still, Iraheta has all the ingredients you need for a socio-psychological thriller at the intersection of race, class, and brotherhood. Clarify the motivations and prune the redundancies and you’ve got a script that will remain timely so long as issues of race, class, and family roil the world.
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