Recent Carnegie Mellon grad Gerardo Navarro gives a charismatic, moving, star-making performance in Brian Quijada’s Fly Me To The Sun, but at the very least this Fountain Theatre West Coast Premiere could use some major pruning.

It was just over a year ago that Quijada played himself (or a version of his preteen self dubbed “BQ”) in Fly Me To The Sun’s initial incarnation as a 75-minute-long autobiographical solo show at Washington D.C.’s Logan Festival of Solo Performance.

Between that engagement and its arrival at the Fountain, that initial production has seen its director Raymond O. Caldwell assume the role of Fountain Theatre artistic director and its playwright-actor transform his performance piece into a considerably longer play while continuing to pay loving tribute to Quijada’s beloved Salvadoran grandmother with puppetry and panache.

Under Caldwell’s imaginative direction, Navarro’s BQ shares the stage with Noé Cervantes as his deejaying older brother, the duo backed by a great big bunch of colorful video effects by media designer Deja Collins in a production that adds an another 25 to 30 minutes to what originally clocked in at about an hour and a quarter.

 What hasn’t changed is Quiroz’s/BQ’s love for his Abuela Julia, whom the instantly likable Navarro voices while manipulating a Jim Henson-style puppet in a series of “TV shows” starring an elementary school-aged BQ and featuring beats and remixes by Quijada and his real-life older brother Marvin.

Along the way, BQ and Abuela Julia read aloud from children’s books (One Upon A Time fairy tales and Ancient Greek myths), recall a cross-country road trip to Disneyland, and do some baking in BQ’s Easy Bake Oven as BQ transitions from adoring elementary school-aged child to the 30something adult whose memories are the heart and soul of Fly Me To The Sun.

The trouble is that in giving Quijada’s play so many extra minutes, what probably worked quite perfectly as a Fringe-style performance piece even without a Fountain-worthy production design ends up a case where less would probably have added up to more.

 That’s not to slight scenic designer Michael Navarro’s Chicago-apartment set with walls painted to surround the entire Fountain interior, or the design contributions of Andrea Allmond (sound and original music), Alison Brummer (lighting), Jeanette Godoy (costumes), Jenine MacDonald (props), and most especially media designer Collins for her inventive use of LED screens throughout the show.

They are all top drawer, and there’s no denying the emotional impact of Fly Me To The Sun’s powerful final moments or Navarro’s powerhouse star turn even if I did find myself looking at my watch as the production began exceeding the 90 minutes promised in preshow announcements.

Still, after having seen and raved about most of the three-dozen Fountain Theatre productions I reviewed during Stephen Sachs’ decades-long tenure as artistic director, Fly Me To The Sun (the only production in the Fountain’s 2025 season to interest me in the slightest) fails to live up to what I’ve come to expect from this Los Angeles treasure.

It’s okay stuff, but far from the Fountain’s tradition of finding truly great plays like If I Forget, Daniel’s Husband, Cost Of Living, My Mañana Comes, and In The Red And Brown Water (to name just five)  and turning them into must-see theater.

Additional program credits:
Kimberly Sanchez Garrido (production stage manager, Jacob Padilla (assistant stage manager), Scott Tuomey (technical direction), Nelson Tynes (electrics), Marine Walton (scenic painting), Lucy Pollak (publicist)

The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles.
www.FountainTheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
September 19, 2025
Photos: Areon Media

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Brian Quijada, Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review, Marvin Quijada