Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Rich in specificity, Danny Tejera’s Madrid-set TOROS unpacks post-collegiate toxic masculinity and existential crises

• By drediman
• August 14, 2023
• No Comments

Also this past weekend, I attended the penultimate performance of Danny Tejera’s Toros, which was presented Off-Broadway at the intimate McGinn/Cazale Theater in the Upper West Side (the production concluded its run last night). Set in Madrid, Spain, the new play — which was previously seen as a part of the 2022 Judith Champion New Voices Reading Series —depicts the post-collegiate growing pains of three former high school classmates who come must come to terms with adulthood and their place in an unsteady world as they strike out to carve a path forward for themselves.

There’s a lot that’s refreshing and distinctive about the play. First of all, there’s wonderful specificity to Tejera’s setting and established set of circumstances, which lends a vivid lived-in quality to the characters and the play’s proceedings. Given that the work’s title literally translates to “bulls” in Spanish, it’s not surprising that the play spends a good chunk of its 90-minute running time dissecting toxic masculinity, particularly machismo culture in Spanish/Latinx culture. Additionally, Tiera’s exploration of the troubles faced by his flailing characters admirably attempts to unpack certain mental health issues faced by today’s youths as they enter the “real world” (in an inspired touch, their blurred sense of reality is theatricalized by how one of the character’s dogs is manifested onstage). That being said, the work suffers from a few tics that suggest that Toros is the work of a still-developing playwright — e.g., the haphazard way scenes start and end results in some jerky and awkward moments.

Luckily, director Gaye Taylor Upchurch did well to smooth out the work’s occasional bumps with a staging that relies on a good dose of naturalism, as well as a beguiling dash of absurdism. Special mention must go out to the production’s design team, especially Arnulfo Maldonado for his deceptively ultra-realistic set design. Besides the thoughtful work by b and Tony-winner Frank Wood (who disarmingly doubles as the aforementioned dog and one of the character’s fathers), the bro-bent acting was pitched at a decibel that rendered Tejera’s play on the brink of melodrama.

RECOMMENDED

TOROS
Off-Broadway, Play
Second Stage Theater at the McGinn/Cazale Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Closed