Dream Theatre: La Gaviota (1 review)

La Gaviota is the Spanish adaptation of Anton Chekov's The Seagull. It was adapted by the artistic director of the fledgling Dream Theatre Productions, Fabián De Cárdenas. It opened at New Theatre in Coral Gables on June 5th, and runs through June 14th.

Chekhov’s classic exploration of love and rejection, desire and dissatisfaction, tragedy and time is vividly re-told in Spanish, retaining the essence of the original yet modernized to identify with the Latin experience.

Ricky Martinez directs a cast that includes Nattacha Amador, Fabián De Cárdenas, Ramon Gonzalez Cuevas, Jorge Hernandez, Leandro Peraza, Ibetti Perez, Mario Salas Lanz, Carla Sánchez, and Gleybert Tesman.

Mia Leonin reviewed for the Miami Herald:

While playwrights often adapt classics in order to take creative liberties, Fabián De Cárdenas, artistic director of the new company Dream Theatre Productions, offers audiences a Spanish-language adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull that is deliberately faithful.

Martinez and De Cárdenas have assembled a seasoned troupe to take on this challenging play. As Adriana, Nattacha Amador has a magnanimous smile that belies her character's narcissism. Adriana's steely gaze and throaty laugh may easily dissolve into melancholy, but she never lets down her guard.

On the other hand, Nina, played by Carla Sánchez, is an open book. Her transformation from starry-eyed initiate (in love and in theater) to a wild-eyed woman delirious with heartache and disappointment is believable, but the experienced TV and screen actress needs to bring more physicality into her portrayal to fully deliver Nina's character.

De Cárdenas' nuanced portrayal reveals a Gabriel equally driven by anger and love.

In the past couple of years, local companies Teatro en Miami and Teatro Abanico have staged Chekhov-inspired plays to critical acclaim, but this is Miami's first full-length Chekhov production in Spanish. De Cárdenas -- already kicking around names like García Lorca, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller for his next show -- is betting that Miami's bilingual theatergoers won't tire of a good thing. If he can continue to pull in this level of talent, it's a bet worth making

The Dream Theatre production of La Gaviota ends its brief run at New Theatre on June 14th.