“The Hunchback of Seville” at Trinity Rep

By Richard Pacheco

          “The Hunchback of Seville” by Charise Castro Smith Currently at Trinity Rep is a wild, wacky fun filled romp that is a retelling, both vivid and imaginative of the Spanish history as they ravage the New World in the name of God.

It opens with the bold Christopher Columbus played with wacky aplomb by Jessica Ko is wild and hilarious. She comes upon land after a precarious voyage with loads of thunder and lightening and does a merry little dance with her two crew members. The entire play is a wild  and wooly ride, full of comic twists and turns finding its roots in the remnants of Spanish genocide and racism in a cockeyed phantasmagoria of history in the New World. The antics are outrageous and silly, delightfully fun.

The actions then turns to the ailing Queen Isabella who is concerned about naming the successor to her throne. The pickings are slim to put it mildly. There is her daffy daughter, Princess Juana, who indulges in idiotic baby talk and  rambunctious tantrums wild enough to put anyone into fear for their life.

Or maybe it will be Isabella’s adopted hunchback sister, Maxima Terrible Segunda, who is voracious reader with an impressive mind who has been imprisoned to a tower for her entire life.  Isabella wants to draft her to be her crazed daughter’s trusted advisor, no matter what protestations her daughter my offer.  Anyone who has spent on second with the whacked out Juana knows this is doomed to failure from the first word.

In the midst of this madness, there is the meddlesome maid, Espanta who appears at times accented by dramatic lighting to let everyone know she harbors a dark secret germane to all this madness frolicking about at court.

The  performances here are top notch.  Jessica Ko is not only the wacky Columbus at the beginning, but also as a meek maid later in the play. Ko is incisive in both roles with impeccable timing and a flair for the absurd with zest.

Then there is Janice Duclos Queen Isabella, She is full of imperious bluster and little concern for the dark side of things in her reign. She prefers pageantry and pomp to the nitty gritty facts of her daily reign.

The hunchback sister is played with poise and comic finesse by Phyllis Kay. She is cynical and a bit aloof, with a keen eye to the situation she is in and what goes on around her on a daily basis. It is a performance full of poise and understated comic flair.

Anne Scurria is the meddling maid, Epanta who insinuates herself into everything at every chance she gets. It is a delightful performance, vivid and nuanced.

There is further fine support coming from Joe Wilson Jr.'s Talib Furozh and Omar Robinson as yet another Moor. Wilson is a delight as the Moor wanted by the government with little hope of escape or reprieve. Robinson is enjoyable as his friend and ally.

The costumes by Oliveira Gajic are striking and impressive, a bold mixture of old and new, vivid and impressive.

The direction by Taibi Magar is sharp and incisive, right to the point. He emphasizes the play’s points with finesse and vigor.

The Charise Castro Smith play is imaginative, at times ribald and always funny and intriguing. It is a dark comedy that never fails to entertain or amuse, not matter what extremes it has to get to accomplish that.

There are tons of surprises along the merry way of this play.
            "The Hunchback of Seville" runs through March 6 at Trinity Rep, 201 Washington St., Providence. Tickets are $25-$71. Call (401) 351-4242, or visit trinityrep.com.