Two Shows Left: July 31st and August 1 2015 8:00 PM Macha Theatre, West Hollywood CA
By Elia Esparza
There is nothing like a really funny and super steamy play to liven up the historic Macha Theatre in West Hollywood—A landmark that almost met its demise until Odalys Nanin, the incredible playwright and businesswoman, rescued it and turned it into the Macha—which stands for Mujeres Advancing Culture, History and Art – pretty cool!
The revival production of “Love Struck” by playwrights Odalys Nanin and Marie Barrientos, directed and produced by Ms. Nanin, is an amusing and unexpectedly seriously funny adult romp—steamy more so than the title might imply. It is a classic tale of the bumps in the road most couples encounter.
In “Love Struck,” the couple happen to be two women—Laura portrayed by Lola Anthony and Rachel, played by Ivet Corvea—entering the third year of their relationship, when the hot chemistry that magically once brought them together seems to be fizzling.
The script is smart, the delivery flows, and 90-minutes seem to pass quickly. It’s a long show for just two characters, but both Anthony and Corvea vividly pull it off. Lola Anthony, the Cubana Laura and Ivet Corvea, the whimsical American Rachel— one desperate to recapture that sexy magic, and one who is unsure if what she has to offer is enough.
The sexy flashbacks and adult toys make for plenty of laughs, but there are moments of serious tiffs that are close to destroying Laura and Rachel’s love nest. Laura, however is not going to give up so easily and fights to hold on to Rachel at all costs.
Macha Theatre is Odalys Nanin. She also happens to be one of the most talented playwrights in the industry. In a recent interview with Steve Peterson, Ms. Nanin reviewed how “Love Struck” came about:
Tell us a bit about “Love Struck.”
Odalys Nanin: Marie Barrientos and I were in a relationship when we started writing Love Struck. The story developed as the relationship grew. It was wonderful teamwork, what Marie and I had back then. We still do actually. Just last night, Marie and I were discussing other possible re-writes. This play is like our child that we nurture and guide to be better and better each time. The opportunity to enhance the play with new ideas makes my directing it fresh and fun! (I speak for myself of course.) I’ve added media to the play and I’ve re-blocked it. I’m using the back screen throughout the play as a gauze that separates the two characters. This time around we have a beautiful new set as well, and new lighting. The two actresses that I’m directing, Ivet Corvea as Rachel and Lola Anthony as Laura, fell in love with the script and are thrilled to be doing it.
Odalys Nanin
When you first wrote the play, were there other playwrights in the LA theater community writing plays with specific to the lesbian experience?
ON: Not really. No one was writing culturally driven Latina Lesbian plays. In fact, what made us write it was the fact that there were none.
How has Los Angeles Theater evolved since you first wrote “Love Struck?”
ON: When we first wrote it, we were told no one would be interested in seeing a Latina Lesbian play as opposed to a white Lesbian play. I was told there are no venues or audiences for it. I laughed and decided to prove them wrong. I directed and produced Love Struck at the Hudson Theatre for the first time, and it was sold out every night! When there’s a good story, people will come and see it.
Don’t miss “Love Struck!” Only two performances left: Friday, July 31st and Saturday, August 1, 2015 at the Mache Theatre.
Gay, Straight or whatever, everyone will fall in love and find themselves swept away in a hurricane of love and lust. Mature material and sexual content (ages 18+). Admission: $30 Tickets/Info: www.machatheatre.org or (323) 314-6332 Macha Theatre, 1107 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood 90069. Free parking behind theater after 6pm; Public parking lot across from theater
About “Love Struck” Creators: Odalys Nanin (Co-Writer/Director/Producer) is an award-winning playwright, director, producer and founder/artistic director of Macha Theatre/Films. Having written ten plays to date, her favorites include Garbo’s Cuban Lover, Skin of Honey, Marilyn-My Secret (co-written with Willard Manus) and Love Struck (with Marie Barrientos)! Her plays have garnered Critic’s Choice in the LA Times, Critic’s Pick in Backstage West, and she has been nominated for both the Garland Awards as well as GLAAD Awards. She is a recipient of the Maverick Award from the Women’s Theatre Festival and the Pat Parker Award from Christopher Street West. Ms. Nanin is also an actress and recently co-starred with AJ Cook and Shemar Moore in “Criminal Minds.” She’s a graduate of The Drama Studio London and Rutgers University. For more about Ms. Nanin or the Macha Theatre please visit www.machatheatre.org.
Marie Barrientos (Co-writer) is a writer and performer with appearances at The Public, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Lincoln Center Institute. She has appeared in roles for TV and film, Law&Order, Seinfeld, Culture Clash (TV series), The Jury, Subway Stories; Please Give, Street Smart. Most recently she appeared in staged readings of new plays, Pretty and Snow. She participated as a script supervisor for HBO’s New Writer’s Projectand worked as script supervisor at HBOTropix and Fox’s Latino division. She has a B.A. with honors from The City College of New York. A native Californian, she currently lives in New York City.
About the Cast: Lola Anthony (Laura) is thrilled to return to the Macha Theatre. Her last collaboration at the Macha was in “The Lieutenant Nun” in which she played the deliciously devious Ms. Inez. Just recently she played Maya, a homeless war vet/spoken word artist living on Skid Row in the drama “Low Hanging Fruit” at the Zephyr Theatre. A classically trained actress from NY, she performed in numerous Off-Broadway stages and received an ACE Award nomination for her work in “To Catch the Lightning.” She recently acted in the IMAGEN-award nominated short Mediation opposite Freddy Rodriguez and Marley Shelton.Other credits include the Sundance Competition film Between, FX’s The Shield and daytime drama All My Children. Lola has studied with notable acting teachers Wynn Handman, Arthur Mendoza and Jenny O’ Hara.
Ivet Corvea (Rachel) is extremely proud to be returning to the Macha stage. Check out Ivet on the Pilot of the new season of True Detective on HBO. Her latest feature film out soon The Painting where she is playing the Witch Marie Lavaux.
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