Edwin Sanchez's 1995 comedy, Clean, closes at the Washington, DC's Studio Theatre's Secondstage May 2. Performances began April 1. Jose Carrasquillo (Chay Yew's A Language of Their Own) directs.
In the style of a telenovela (Spanish soap opera) crossed with Pedro Almodovar's movies, Clean traces the saga of the Delgados, a Puerto Rican family living in the barrios of Brooklyn. Ten year old Gustavito is in love with a Catholic priest while virgin housewife Mercy falls for Norry, the drag queen. All discover facts about love, relationships and sexuality.
Clean marks the Washington debut for Sanchez. The winner of several prestigious writing fellowships, including the 1994 ASCAP Cole Porter Award and the 1993 Eugene O'Neill Scholarship, he and Clean were nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association Award for Best Play in 1995. Other plays by Sanchez are Unmerciful Good Fortune, Trafficking in Broken Hearts, Dona Sol and Her Trained Dog and Icarus.
The cast features Tim Marrone (the priest), Maurice Tscherny (Gustavito), Luis Caram (Kiko), Jaime Carrillo (Junior), Claudia Torres (Mercy) and Andy Torres (Norry).
Designing Clean are N. Eric Knauss (sets), Lonie Fullerton (costumes), Ayun Fedorcha (lights), Ron Oshima (sound) and Kimon Kermidas (props). Tickets are available by calling (202) 332-3300. The Studio Theatre is on the web at http://www.studiotheatre.org
-- By Christine Ehren