Three wars, three generations of Puerto Ricans and the fight for one country that is not theirs: the United States. "Elliot: A Soldier's Fugue" and its up-and-coming Hispanic playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes give a voice to the loyal soldiers who cannot elect the president nor have voice in the congress but still join the US Army Forces with patriotism.
Elliot (Andres Talero) is a 19-year-old on leave from service in Iraq. He comes back as a hometown hero, but soon we learn about the war memories that hunt him. The joy of his return wears off as he attempts to cope with the nightmares of the first time he shot someone. One would think that having Grandpop (Norman Aronovic) and Pop (Manolo Santalla), veterans of the Vietnam and Korean Wars respectively, would provide Elliot with some support. But the two have their own ghosts.
The three stories interweave and develop a non-direct lyrical dialogue. Elliot wearing nothing but a towel prepping to go home goes to Pop resting in the barracks in Korea and to Grandpop sitting in his tent in Vietnam with his flute. They never talk to each other but the lines flow from one to another as the notes from Bach's fugue.
With the exception of Santalla, who seemed as rigid as the military code at times, the performances delivered an exquisite contrast between the settings and the personalities. Talero is the young boy who wants to impress the high ranks, with alternating seriousness and wit. Aronovic charms with his vivacious and energetic personality.
The trio is also joined by Ginny (Laura Giannarelli), an army nurse who met Pop when he received a leg injury. The dryness of war was irrigated by Ginny, this caressing nurse and garden lover. Laura's impersonation refreshes the play as she tells in a naughty tone how she made the soldier happy and finally fell for Pop. Ginny's chirpiness then turns to tears as she relates her own scars and the pain of having a son in Iraq.
Moving and touching on many levels, "Elliot" grabs the audience, takes them close to tears and then offers some comic relief, because that is the only thing left when nightmares rob one's sleep at night.
"Elliot" also moves from barracks, battlefields, hospitals and gardens in a fully imaginative way. An octagon formed with wooden planks connected in the middle with more planks and the props each carried in their duffle bags was all they had to transport the spectators. Soldiers do not carry much in the battle making the set design by Milagros Ponce de Le¢n even more fitting to the plot.
One key element to the story is Grandpop's flute. The military experience in the Ortiz family was passed as the flute was passed from one generation to another. Elliot looks into the effects of war on a familial and personal level, expressing the pain caused by yet another member of the family who would experience the same pain, same injury. However, the play fails to make a statement on war. "Dirt is expensive," Ginny said while planting. However, the overall feeling from the soldiers is "we did what we had to do" - that included looking for body parts in Korea.
Heartwrenching and funny at times "Elliot: A Soldier's Fugue," will be on stage at the GALA Theatre-Tivoli, Thursday through Sunday until May 6.
