If I were grading on good intentions alone, then J Quiroz and Asdru Sierra’s ¡Pasaje! would earn high marks. Unfortunately, this musical salute to la vida latina in South El Monte is no In The Heights.

That’s not to say ¡Pasaje! doesn’t attempt to do for its San Gabriel Valley residents what that Broadway smash did for la gente de Washington Heights, beginning with an opening number that introduces us to la comunidad we’ll soon be getting to know.

Still, if you’re looking for anything close to Lin Manuel Miranda’s hook-filled melodies and ingenious rhymes, Sierra’s show-opening “Todo Mundo” (“Here we all live together as a community. We all get along somewhat indisputably.”) suggests that they won’t be found here.

And it doesn’t help that the first locals we meet are a pair of young con artists (Karol Avila as Hustler Uno and Daniel Moises as Hustler Dos) bent on fleecing the out-of-town tourists they’ve chatted up outside Disneyland with promises of a guided tour of “the quaint, culture filled town of South El Monte,” and so what if their unsuspecting marks are being targeted for being “fundamentally tied to their ignorance, prejudice and their stereotypes.” Do they really deserve to be robbed?

Cut to Flagstaff, Arizona, where 17-year-old Andy Martin (Seth Keller) has just discovered a letter addressed to his single mother Angela (Sandra Dar) from someone named Miguel, who writes: “Dear Angie. This is about Freddy. I know you wish you could forget about him, but he has not forgotten you and right now he needs your help. I know he still loves you. If you can find it in your heart to come visit, perhaps you can save what you once lost. Miguel.”

Believing that said Miguel must be the father he never knew, Andy hops on an Amtrak train heading off towards distant, exotic South El Monte.

And guess who’s waiting there upon his arrival and ready to scam Andy out of his hard-saved cash but Hustlers Uno and Dos, though gracias a Dios who should show up to rescue our naïve young hero but Don Miguel (Joshua Duron) himself, who promptly invites Andy to his home at precisely the return address on the letter sent to Andy’s mom.

Who is Don Miguel? What is his relation to Andy and Angela? And if Freddy is Miguel’s runaway son, then where exactly is he and who exactly is he to Andy?

These and other questions will be answered over the course of ¡Pasaje!’s hefty two-hour-forty-five-minute running time as we get to know all of the aforementioned characters and others, most significantly the initially antagonistic-to-Andy Marcelina (Ixchel Valiente), a dancer with Broadway dreams she fears she can never obtain as a Latina because apparently she’s never heard of Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, Ariana DeBose, Mandy Gonzalez, Vanessa Hudgens, or Eden Espinosa.

That’s not to say that ¡Pasaje! doesn’t have its entertaining moments and engaging performances. 6’4” Keller is a bona fide charmer opposite the petite Valiente, it’s hard not to like Avila and Moises regardless of Hustlers Uno and Dos’s criminal acts, and Noah Peralta is a smart-alecky delight as Marcelina’s younger brother Guicho.

Benjamin Perez (who has directed multiple productions of In The Heights to thrilling effect) does the best he can with the material he has been given, though it gets especially challenging when Act Two enters ABC Afterschool Special-meets-Mexican telenovela territory with the arrival of Angela at Don Miguel’s doorstep, the appearance of the mysterious Freddy (a charismatic Maximiliano García), and the shocking discovery of just how ¡Pasaje! four main characters are connected.

Andrew M. Garcia, Itzel Ximena Gonzalez, Luzma Ortiz, Pablo Milla, and Lisa Rodríguez (Beatriz Gonzalez) complete the multitasking ensemble, who are at their best when executing choreographer Tania Possick’s infectious Latin moves.

Greg Poreé scores points as music director in addition to providing terrific live backup on guitar alongside Joey Navarro on keys and Adan Alonso on bass, though the trio would be better served with catchier song licks to accompany.

 Tiffany Anguiano’s set, Damian Charkiewicz’s projections, Joy Healy’s props, Diana Gomez’s costumes, and Grace Berry’s lighting will have you almost believing you’re nine miles south of Sierra Madre in the city ¡Pasaje!’s characters call home.

Rae Shrum is vocal director. Alex Luu is script doctor. Additional music by Gary Pickus. Joshua Payuan-Cruz is stage manager and Sophia Riley-Diaz is assistant stage manager.

 If nothing else, ¡Pasaje! provides much needed representation for its Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné cast and the cultures they represent. Just don’t expect it to be following in In The Heights’ Broadway footsteps any time soon.

Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre.
www.sierramadreplayhouse.org

–Steven Stanley
October 12, 2024
Photos: Luque_Photography

Tags: Asdru Sierra, J. Quiroz, Los Angeles Theater Review, Sierra Madre Playhouse