The CIA enlists the most improbable of assassins to rid Chile of its democratically elected president in Mark Wilding’s edge-of-your-seat hilarious Our Man In Santiago, an incisively directed, pitch-perfectly performed World Premiere from Theatre West.

Nick McDow Musleh stars as CIA newbie Daniel Baker, whose hotel room overlooking the Presidential Palace proves the ideal vantage point for Wilding’s fictionalized take on Salvador Allende’s last day in office.

Enter veteran operative Jack Wilson (George Tovar), whose mission (to inform Daniel of his role in the latest CIA government overthrow scheme) could either make him a shoo-in for CIA Deputy Director or have him wearing a chauffeur’s cap like the unfortunate agent who spearheaded an aborted coup three years earlier.

Not that bookish Daniel has any idea of the role he’ll soon be ordered to play, his only previous posting having been in New Zealand, a country whose only real concern is feral cats and not a Marxist president whose presence in office has already prompted one failed CIA assassination attempt.

Daniel’s assignment (to head across the street and convince Allende to step down by any means possible, even if that means using a gun) is just the first of multiple surprise twists playwright Wilding has up his sleeve.

Presciliana Esparolini shares the stage with Tovar and Musleh as feisty hotel maid Maria Troncoso, with Steve Nevil and Michael Van Duzer completing the cast as President Richard Nixon and Secretary Of State Henry Kissinger, whose occasional phone calls from the Oval Office are a reminder of strings being pulled from afar.

Comedy suspense thrillers don’t come any finer than Our Man In Santiago, and with director Charlie Mount eliciting razor sharp performances from the most stellar of ensembles, Theatre West audiences are in for a long-awaited treat.

Musleh’s nebbishy, noble Daniel and Tovar’s hard-edged, hard-ass make for the most perfectly mismatched of duos, and Presciliana Esparolini gives Maria a droll deadpan delivery that never fails to delight. (“I will miss my only meal of the day but it is worth it for you to have a new bar of soap.”)

In smaller roles, Nevil’s Nixon and Van Duzer’s Kissinger deliver comedic turns to do Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, or Tim Conway and Harvey Corman proud.

Jeff G. Rack’s terrific scenic design gives us a meticulously appointed Santiago hotel room with balcony view and a secret window on the White House, all of the above impeccably lit by Yancy Dunham.

Mount’s sound design combines mood-establishing music and some highly realistic gunshots and explosions, with Mylette Nora’s just-right costumes completing the design mix and Joe Nassi’s fight choreography meriting well-earned gasps.

Our Man In Santiago is produced by Benjamin Scuglia. David Mingrino is production stage manager and Liv Denevi is assistant stage manager. Chloé Rosenthal is assistant director. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

Originally set to open in March of 2020 only to find itself “postponed” after just two preview performances, Our Man In Santiago took a good deal longer than expected (18 months to be precise) to finally celebrate its Opening Night.

As laughter-and-suspense-packed as it is filled with unexpected twists, Our Man In Santiago proves more than worth the wait.

Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Los Angeles.
www.theatrewest.org

–Steven Stanley
September 24, 2021
Photos: Charlie Mount

Tags: Los Angeles Theater Review, Michael Wilding, Theatre West