Dispute in heaven creates hell on Earth

A little celestial anarchy goes a long way.

“Marisol,” Jose Rivera’s 1992 play now being performed at the Wells-Metz Theatre, offers enough to drape its viewers with the uncomfortably realistic urban nightmare of what happens when heaven undergoes a change of regime.

This tale of triumph in a hopeless world follows Bronx native Marisol Perez, whose monotonous, faithful life is turned upside down when her guardian angel reveals herself and announces that she is discarding her position.

A senile God is dying, and to prevent the end of the world along with Him, the angel plots to lead the charge into war. Marisol’s story lies in the struggle for survival amid the turmoil erupting on the earth.

Heavy in myth and biblical portents, Rivera’s script dares to ask the terrifying questions regarding mankind’s place in the ferocious world, with and without religious viewpoints. Among other themes, hysteria prior to Y2K, fear of death in the AIDS-rattled 1990s and barbaric intolerance between races are poetically threaded into the story. Rivera simultaneously weaves in a steady lining of humor as dark as the world he displays.

Director Sabrina Lloyd captures this world with image after home-hitting image: a group raising a cacophony of threats and complaints late into the night, an angel casting off her wings in preparation for battle, even a rendition of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” by a concert of the homeless at intermission.

MFA student Dawn Thomas in the title role makes Marisol’s journey relatable – a difficult feat given the play’s extraordinary circumstances.

The underused Shauna Burris notably distinguishes the angel, who could easily be forgotten after her first scene. The tragic June is excellently portrayed by Erin E. Ehlers. Her power onstage is amplified when she appears with the abundantly talented Henry A. McDaniel III, as the less-than-stable Lenny.

Although the cast makes the show, the work of costume designer Scott Anderson successfully launches the show back to a time when humanity felt nervous about the new millennium.

Those nerves and other emotions are beautifully rendered by Ryan J. Davies’s lighting. Hyunsuk Shin’s bland scenery serves well in conveying an anemic existence led by the residents of an apocalyptic New York.

While “Marisol” expectantly takes a preachy lean, the show respectfully and effectively directs attention to devils dwelling not in the spiritual realm, but in the harsh world of men and women. This, more than any other production in the first half of IU’s theater season, is a show worth paying attention.




‘Marisol’
When: 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday, and a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday
Where: Wells-Metz Theatre in the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center
More info: The cost is $20 for adults and $15 for those 30 years old and younger, students and seniors. Student rush tickets are $12 with a valid IU-Bloomington student ID during each performance day, and group ticket prices are also available. Tickets are available online at www.theatre.indiana.edu, at the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center box office or by phone from Ticketmaster at 333-9955.