Four teenagers try to summon the spirit of Pablo Escobar in Our Dear Departed Drug Lord
How a bit of queer may help summon up a ‘Drug Lord’ at Second Thought Theatre
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
rich@dallasvoice.com
Second Thought Theatre’s current show, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord, closes this weekend, but there is still a chance to see how four high school girls summon the spirit of Pablo Escobar. Set in the late aughts, the play focuses on these characters finding their sense of selves, but also, according to director Ruben Carrazana, it’s about demanding more for their own lives.
“One thing we tried to explore is what happens when young women try to take up as much space and power when, their entire lives, they have been told not to,” Carranza said.
Add to the mix two characters — Pipe and Kit — who bring in their queer sensibilities to that search.
In the play, the young women convene in an abandoned treehouse to summon the spirit of the famed drug cartel leader. The time is pre-Obama, the place is Miami and the characters play around with the supernatural.
Almost like a gang, these women have nicknames — like Pipe who is Cuban-American, the Jewish-American Zoom, Kit, who has Colombian roots, and Squeeze who is Puerto Rican-Haitian.
Foremost for Carrazana is how playwright Alexis Scheer wrote these characters.
“We never forget that these are teenagers, but they are sometimes cruel and mean, and, to me, that’s such a compelling element. We expect teenage high school girls to be one thing, but here they are crass and mean and open like anybody else,” the director said.
The queer aspects are somewhat a sidebar but with interesting layers. When two characters are left alone, sparks fly. But this isn’t about two curious girls in high school. Carrazana wanted to subvert those kinds of expectations.
“Before an intimate moment, the characters accuse one of being gay. When two are left alone, they share a kiss. It’s surface level, but there is honesty here,” he said.
Pipe is closeted with family secrets that she guards with a strong demeanor. Kit, the new girl to the group, is more open and comfortable in their sexuality.
“What I think is true is that Pipe is attracted to power. The other girls are chasing that comfort Kit has, but for Pipe, she’s attracted to her,” Carrazana said.
The play reveals the dark secret Pipe’s family keeps, which may be what keeps her in the closet.
“It’s not explicit, but it colors everything she is saying and why she’s so interested in communing with the dead,” he said.
But what Carrazana really sees with Drug Lord is that, despite the comedy and the awkwardness and discomfort throughout the character’s interactions, the play challenges preconceived notions of young women — even if they are trying to summon up a dead drug lord.
For tickets, visit SecondThoughtTheatre.com.
