It was a rainy weekday, and I walked into the Rattlesnake Theatre knowing that a mundane and unexceptional play awaited me. I wanted to quickly jot down some important theatrical strategies, figure out the play’s message and rush out. Surprisingly however, Asuncíon consisted of that every element that held me back and forced me to stay. Engraved within the play was not only sidesplitting comedy, but a powerful message as well. Perhaps the reason Asuncíon was so impressive was because it managed brighten the mood and fill the room with laughter. The storyline gave the audience something to relate to as well. Unlike Bald Soprano, where senseless blabber is in fashion, or Intrigulis, where an undocumented immigrant’s sorrow is the topic of discussion, Asuncíon threw out a couple of casual characters who experienced the very contagious, racist preconceived notions that we all are guilty of.
Before the play even started, I began taking note of the stage and its accessories. I wondered how exactly each of the rooms and space would be used. I glanced over the dirty dishes, messy books, and random posters. I was quickly able to catch the normality of this house, for messy and dirty isn’t an uncommon trait in a house of men. Once the play was started, I worked to scrutinize the acting, dialogue, and costumes of the characters. I just felt obliged to notice these things because I knew Professor Healey would be noticing it. Despite standing inexperienced in the field of acting, I must say Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha were equally brilliant in their acting. Edgar’s facial expressions were crystal clear in portraying his weak character, desperate to gain Vinny’s acceptance and approval. Edgar’s frantic acting and dialogue compelled every audience member to painfully pity him. Vinny’s insensitivity and ridicule towards Edgar, and sexual interest in Asuncíon were visible in his dialogue as well as facial and bodily expressions. He was just that average man doing his thing in life, disregarding petty issues, unlike the very anxious Edgar who’s couldn’t help but try to concentrate and be perfect for Vinny all the time. In my opinion, the outfits of the characters were quite fit for their roles as well. Edgar’s older brother looked and dressed differently in reflection of his successful and wealthy career. Vinny dressed very casual, although his beaded necklace could’ve been put away. Edgar wore loose sweats and tees, and his body was pretty much lost in his clothes. This gave him a very scrawny and childish look, which worked for his child-like character. Asuncíon dressed according to her character as well, as she wore short dresses and night suits that not only attracted Vinny but possibly increased Edgar’s suspicion that she was a sex slave, as well. The dialogue of the play left the audience loud and laughing most of the time. At times I couldn’t understand what a character would be saying because the audience was still busy laughing, and I don’t blame them for that. I impatiently awaited the next joke, and constantly reminded myself how amusing and interesting this play was. It terms of comedy, Eisenberg did an outstanding job as a playwright as well as actor. Asuncíon was definitely effective in attracting the attention of audience and making them laugh.
In terms of labeling this play effective in getting its point across, I’m not quite sure how high of a ranking I can offer. Sure, it was a great idea to use comedy to convey the illness of racism that hurts our society today, but I’m not too positive in believing that the audience left the theater deeply touched by the guilt of every day racism that they indulge in. The play definitely touched the idea of false racist assumptions that we make everyday. Edgar was after all, an innocent and naïve guy and for him to make the assumption that Asuncíon was a sex slave, was pretty shocking and alarming. It only came to show that even the most harmless of people unintentionally throw people into racial stereotypes and commit hurtful acts of racism. This important message however, was however too covered by the comedic elements of the play. In the entirety of the play, the audience ended up laughing at everything including the misunderstanding of Asuncíon as a sex slave, by Edgar. The case of preconceived racial notions is too serious of a dilemma in society, and the play’s comedy seemed to take this societal dilemma too lightly. Perhaps today’s audience is too ignorant of these issues, and their attention can only be captured by presenting them with other sorts of entertainment such as comedy. Whatever the reason may be, despite being a very successful and funny play (one that I would love to go see again), it fell short on powerfully electrocuting its audience members, and making them aware of as well as prohibiting them from being racist and stereotypical.
Honestly, this play had me shackled down, on my knees, with my mouth wide open – wait… I shouldn’t go there. But really, right from the get go, I was enslaved by the complex set design and was forced by the social norms to sell myse– oh, I’m sorry I shouldn’t go there either. Ok, let me try again, I thought that this play was so real and interesting that it made me want to smoke a … ughh, this is getting annoying. These are some of the events and themes that were prevalent in Jesse Eisenberg’s Asunción.
In all seriousness, I thought that this play was fantastic from a comedic perspective as it was full of humor with Edgar’s ignorant comments to Vinny’s “Oh my God, please don’t do it” moment when he was about to… you know. The constant ignorance of Edgar as he kept saying that he has been to Cambodia and that he knows all about prostitution in the Philippines just made it all the more funnier to watch. Although the play was supposed to send a strong political message, I believe, as most of my classmates do, that the sheer hilariousness of it detracted and somewhat overwhelmed the political message that was trying to be sent.
Since we were so close to the stage, I could see that the set was soo complex and it did make the play more effective. There were numerous amount of books that were very disorganized on the left side of the stage and gave me the vibe that these people were well educated yet, did not have a sense of direction which proved to be correct as I met the characters and the play slowly went on. As the play goes on, everything, including the characters and the set, become full of chaos. These people, especially Edgar, are irrational as he immediately labels Asunción a prostitute just because she comes from the Philippines.
Not only do I believe that the scenic design was effective in adding to the comedy, just the acting itself did really resonate within me. We all know that Jesse Eisenberg is a tremendous actor but acting live in front of an audience is way different then acting without an audience. I believe that each character including the more minor character, Asunción’s husband, (sorry, can’t remember name) fit into their roles well. Edgar’s character as snobbish and dogmatic, while at the same time, a sycophantic and obsequious individual added to the play because it made his arguments more comical.
All in all, Asunción, for me, did prove to be effective because of the set, the acting, and just the hilarious comments that were made. Without a doubt, I thought that this play stood out the most, from the other play’s we have seen other then the reason that Jesse Eisenberg was in it was because of all the comedy as it made it easier to follow.
I have to admit, my initial expectations for Asuncíon were low. Although Jesse Eisenberg is a phenomenal actor, he has never written a play before, and I have never seen him act in a live performance. Having done acting off and on stage, I can say for a fact that performing live and playing a role in a movie are two completely different experiences. In addition to my doubts with Jesse, the title through me for a loop as I thought the play would be about a Spanish individual named Asuncíon trying to make a living for themself in America, which in all honesty doesn’t seem very entertaining. Thankfully, all my preconceptions were wrong!
Asuncíon is a witty, comedic, energetic, and slightly perverted performance that everyone, ages 17 and up, should experience. I have never seen a play that had me crying, laughing, astonished, and fearful all at the same time. Jesse’s writing blew me away. Incorporating sex slaves, drugs, and fellatio into a story that conveys important messages about stereotyping and self-perception was ingenious. Throughout Asuncíon, one could find hundreds of subtle and blatant displays of stereotypes. While Jesse’s character, Edgar, is believes his cell phone was stolen by a group of African American gangsters, perceives his Filipino sister-in-law to be a sex slave, or thinks his older brother is a corrupt business man that bought a foreign prostitute to be his wife, it makes me wonder how blind people are to their own stereotypes. People are always so quick to judge others, they sometimes forget to stop and give themselves some constructive criticism. It’s so easy to forget to take a step back and take look at ourselves, and Asuncíon does a fantastic job reminding us to do so.
In order to have a great show, one needs a cast to fit the part. Performing alongside Jesse were Camille Mana (Asuncíon), Remy Auberjonois (Stuart), and The Hangover’s Justin Bartha (Vinny). Although Jesse’s performance was great, it was Justin Bartha’s performance that really surpassed my expectations. An actor who tends to play second hand roles, I was interested to see how Justin would fare off taking on a main part, in a live play nonetheless. Surprisingly, Justin took the role head on and did a phenomenal job, equal if not better than Jesse’s. Anyone who could convince the audience to believe that he was about to make Jesse “suck his dick” on stage without actually doing so deserves a Tony in my book. Of course, I could not forget to mention Camille Mana’s and Remy Auberjonois’ performances as they were able to hold their own even among such famous stars like Jesse and Justin. The whole cast was able to create an atmosphere in which I felt immerged into the situation at hand and sympathize with the characters.
Overall I loved Asuncíon and I refer it to anyone who gets the chance to stop by the Cherry Lane Theater; and no, its not because I got to personally meet Jesse and Justin after performance to find out that they were more than happy to sign my playbill and take a picture with me. But I have to admit, it did make the whole experience a little bit more surreal. Thanks again Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Bartha!
If you were wondering, that is Jesse smiling
NYTimes Arts
