REVIEW: North American Premiere of El Brote from Argentina October 2-5 at The Den Theatre

Chi, IL Live Shows On Our Radar

The North American premiere of 

El Brote 

   Roberto Peloni in El Brote, Compañia Criolla, Argentina, October 2-5 at The Den Theatre

REVIEW

By Bonnie Kenaz-Mara

A ghost light, two wooden chairs, a stage curtain backdrop, and 3 rows of footlights grace the otherwise sparse set, on the 2nd floor of Chicago's Den Theatre. Roberto Peloni has spent at least 11 hours on a plane, traveling 5,598.95 mi (9,010.64 km) from  Buenos Aires, Argentina to present his 1 man show, and we're here for it. 

As the footlights spring to life, a Latino man enters, and for a whirlwind 90 minutes, the action doesn't stop as Roberto Peloni plays a struggling actor in a traveling troupe, as his bit parts take a back seat to escallating real life drama. We were engrossed by his high energy monologue of life imitating art and recommend catching this short run. We won't drop too many spoilers, but El Brote embraces human nature, and runs the gamut of the best and worst of human emotions and actions. We're struck by how universal and entirely relatable this piece is. El Brote is for anyone who has ever experienced a love of performing, passion, jealousy, anger, fear, professional and financial struggles, questionable judgement, and/or unexpected success stemming from a catastrophic occurrence. 

Pros: Roberto Peloni puts on an engrossing, high energy show. He's mesmerizing to watch and the plot to his one man show is quite entertaining with universal appeal. 

Cons: This show is dialogue heavy with little action for context. It's presented in Spanish with English subtitles, projected on a screen that's unfortunately far stage left for this Chicago rendition
. If you don't understand Spanish well or speed read, you might want to reconsider catching this one. The extent of my Spanish is 1 year of high school and 2 semesters of college intro to Spanish classes, over 30 years ago, so I'm far from fluent at a conversational pace. Thankfully I do read quickly, and found this show entirely enjoyable, despite spending more time than I wished, reading the screen and not the actor's face. 
El Brote is the first show we're reviewing as part of Destinos 2024 - 7th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival and Chicago's so fortunate to have such a stellar lineup of world class, award winning productions right on our doorstep. Whether you speak Spanish or not, or are of all/some/no Latino descent, take a chance and embrace the multicultural. Destinos Fest is an excellent opportunity to explore traditions and immerse yourself in new and different perspectives from far-flung countries. Get out and see some shows!

Don't miss this. Check out El Brote and the rest of the 22 offering this year: http://chiilliveshows.com/2024/10/fest-alert-destinos-7th-chicago.html.

Bonnie is a Chicago based writer, theatre critic, photographer, artist, and Mama to 2 amazing adults. She owns two websites where she publishes frequently: ChiILLiveShows.com (adult) & ChiILMama.com (family friendly).

El Brote 
Presented by Compañía Criolla, Argentina. 
North American Premiere. 
Written and directed by Emiliano Dionisi. 
Starring Roberto Peloni. 
At The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Wicker Park
October 2-5: Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., four shows only.
 
Presented in Spanish with English subtitles
. 90 minutes. 
Ages 15+. 
Tickets: $21-$31
.

The lines between fiction and reality begin to blur for an actor, and now he cannot even be sure who is writing the events in his own life. What kind of character are we in this story? 

“Excellent, a creative beauty” -- Carlos Pacheco, La Nación Newspaper
“A show that takes your breath away!” -- Mercedes Mendez, Clarin Newspaper
“Sublime, theater at the highest” -- Victor Hugo Morales, AM750

Awards:
Premios ACE 2023 (Best Actor + Best Playwright)
Premios EEBA 2023 (Best Actor + Best Director + Best Playwright)
Premios ESTRELLA DE MAR (Best Director + Best Playwright)

La Compañia Criolla was founded in 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has performed shows including Huesito Caracú, Memories at Siesta Time, The Blue Bridge, Cyrano de más acá, El Apego, Los Monsters, The Comedy of Errors, Eyes that Don't See, Pocket Romeo and Juliet, Losing You Again and Short Legs. National and international awards and distinctions include ACE, ESTRELLA DE MAR, TEATRO DEL MUNDO, ATINA, CERTAMEN BARROCO (Almagro, Spain), FLORENCIO SÁNCHEZ (Uruguay) and HUGO. La Compañia Criolla participates in dozens of theater festivals, congresses, art fairs and official cycles. Since 2013, it has been carrying out the “Teatro Itinerante” program, performing shows in schools, prisons, neighborhoods, centers for the disabled and nursing homes. It also develops its own artistic training programs, which it teaches at different institutions both inside and outside of its country. ciacriolla.com. 
El Brote has the support of the Consulate General of Argentina.

El Brote is one of 22 productions being presented as part of Destinos 2024 - 7th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, Chicago’s annual, citywide festival showcasing local Latine theater artists and companies alongside top artists from the U.S. and Latin America. This year’s Destinos runs September 30-November 17, 2024, and features a diverse array of bilingual, Latine-themed shows, panels and student performances at marquee venues downtown, as well as storefront theaters and cultural institutions in predominantly Latine neighborhoods throughout the city. 



Destinos is produced by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance (CLATA). For tickets and information, visit clata.org or follow CLATA on Facebook, Instagram and Threads at @latinotheater.