In preparing her version of a telenovela for the stage, Mexico-born playwright Karen Zacarías reacquainted herself with these much-loved Latin American soap operas.
“I saw something about the melodrama that is so delicious and engaging, so ridiculous and human,” Zacarías said. “This is the most popular form of storytelling in the world right now. A lot of it is because people in them feel things so strongly.”
Playwright Karen Zacarías.
(Courtesy of the Old Globe)
Zacarías’ “telenovela” is the deliciously named “Destiny of Desire.” It premiered in 2016 at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., where she was the company’s first playwright in residence. Now a new production of “Destiny of Desire” is set to open at the Old Globe Theatre, under the direction of Ruben Santiago-Hudson.
“It’s been rebuilt for this idea that the production could go to Broadway,” said Zacarías, whose “Native Gardens” was produced at the Globe five years ago. “We’ve approached it with that in mind.”
In the high drama tradition of telenovelas, “Destiny of Desire” tells the tale of two baby girls in a fictitious town in Mexico. One is born into privilege, the other into poverty. When the newborns are intentionally switched at birth, a device seemingly right out of Mark Twain or even Shakespeare, complications follow and vivid characters of intense emotion swirl around the two girls’ destinies. There’s music, singing and choreography.
Zacarías emphasizes that “Destiny of Desire” is not a farce.
“There’s a lot of humanity going on,” she said. “I write all of my characters with a lot of affection. Even the villain — it’s not just mustache twirling. If I see them as people and not just plot points then they become that.”
A fan of actor/director/writer Santiago-Hudson’s play “Lackawanna Blues,” Zacarías calls working with him on “Destiny of Desire” a “joyous” collaboration.
Ruben Santiago-Hudson, director of the Old Globe’s “Destiny of Desire.”
(Courtesy of the Old Globe)
“He’s approached it with curiosity, bringing his lived-in experience to it. Getting to see it from his eyes and explaining it in a different way has been really healthy,” she said.
Santiago-Hudson’s experience includes being an actor himself on American soap operas including “Another World” and “Ryan’s Hope.”
“It was my bread and butter for many years in New York before I could get to L.A.,” he recalled.
A Broadway producer introduced him to Zacarías’ play.
“She sent me this piece and I literally fell in love with it,” said Santiago-Hudson. “It was exactly what I felt I needed in my career right now. First of all, it was by a Latin writer, and I haven’t done a lot of Latin work. I wanted to pay more respect to my Latin culture. It was incredibly well written and immediately captured my imagination: How could I deal with absurd and the deepest of realities?
“Those contradictions in the writing were very attractive to me,” he said.
It’s true that “Destiny of Desire,” like the telenovelas that inspired it, is not all zaniness.
“As crazy as the stories get in telenovelas,” said Zacarías, “they’re always grounded in something truthful that happens in real life. I think that theater exists to entertain but also to remind people that there are things that can be done about issues.”
For Santiago-Hudson, who has occupied the worlds of television, film and theater, the latter is where he feels most comfortable and most gratified. He last directed “August Wilson’s Jitney” at the Old Globe in early, pre-pandemic 2020.
“Onstage is where you absolutely can give everything its most powerful and vulnerable moments,” he said. “It gives me every dimension of who we are as people.”
Like Zacarías, it’s his desire that this play’s destiny be Broadway.
“That’s my goal,” he said, “but we can’t look beyond this incredible theater and this production. We know that we want bigger and more, but first of all we have work to do and to do it on the highest level.”
It’s special, said Zacarías, to be staging this play right here in Balboa Park.
“To do a play about the Mexican telenovela in San Diego is perfect,” she said. “I hope people from across the border come and see it. Who doesn’t like to be on the edge of their seat to see whether someone’s going to live or die? But it’s also a celebration of our culture.”
Coddon is a freelance writer.
‘Destiny of Desire’
When: Previews, today through May 25. Opens May 26 and runs through Jun 25. Showtimes: 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through June 25.
Where: Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park
Tickets: $29 and up
Phone: (619) 234-5623
Online: theoldglobe.org