reviews - THE RIVER BRIDE - Arizona Theatre Company

Leandro Cano, Hugo E. Carbajal, Sarita Ocón, Dena Martinez, Paula Rebelo, and Sean Burgos
photo by Tim Trumble

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through December 3rd.

"Almost every community has legends, superstitions, folklore, and old wives' tales that are passed down from generation to generation. In The River Bride, Marisela Treviño Orta took a brief fact she saw on a TV show concerning Amazonian folklore to craft a magical and mysterious story of the power of true love. The play won Arizona Theatre Company's National Latino Playwriting Award in 2013 and ATC presents a beautiful production of this tale, after its world premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last year, that's infused with hope and heartbreak....Marisela Treviño Orta's play is full of sincerity, imagination, and defined characters. However, while it only runs a brief 90 minutes, it does take a little while for the elements of the story to truly come into place, it is slightly predictable, and, not once, but twice, it uses overheard conversations as a slightly sloppy shortcut to provide conflict and intrigue. But once the plot kicks into gear, the way the pieces of the story, and the pasts of several of the characters, are woven together is beautifully portrayed and it becomes a spellbinding story that gently pulls you in...Under Kinan Valdez's thoughtful direction, the entire cast deliver clear and reflective portrayals. As Helena, Sarita Ocón evokes a deep sense of beauty and care beneath this young woman's profound hurt and heartbreak, while Paula Rebelo is full of eagerness and excitement as the careless and spontaneous Belmira. ...Regina Garcia's lush scenic design and the evocative lighting and animated projections of David Lee Cuthbert and Emiliano Valdez's imaginative sound design combine to create a magical, mystical landscape of sight and sound. ...While The River Bride may have a few small shortcomings, Marisela Treviño Orta has written a beautiful and original modern fable that portrays how jealousy and regret can sometimes sidetrack a person's quest for happiness and how, if you believe you've found true love, you should act upon it as quickly as you can. " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

" In Marisela Treviño Orta's THE RIVER BRIDE, the order and apparent tranquility of life in a fishing village on the Amazon is disrupted by an unexpected visitor. In the wake of his arrival, two sisters of markedly different temperaments are compelled to confront their assumptions, aspirations, and choices....In Arizona Theatre Company's reprise of the work that it first honored four years ago with its National Latino Playwriting Award, director Kinan Valdez conveys Orta's allegory into a vivid sensory experience. Gifted with a choreographic sensibility, he masterfully marries the emotions of the characters with the mood of their environs. Whether it's a sudden downpour, a curtain of tropical foliage, or the changing tones of the river, David Lee Cuthbert's projections and Emiliano Valdez's sound effects create a lush and seductive frame for the action on the stage....There's an artistry to Valdez's direction as he moves Orta's characters through a dreamlike voyage to a destination that has its own bank of ironies and in whose wake an audience may espy familiar reflections." - Herbert Paine, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)