TRIO LOS MACHOS: 58% – BITTERSWEET

Roberto Garza, Miguel Santana, Henry Aceves Madrid, Larry Costales and Andrea Santana in “Trio Los Machos” at Casa 0101 Theater. Credit: Martin Rojas.

BITTERSWEET
Although the production feels bumpy and under-rehearsed, its portrait of the trio glows with a deep and memorable sympathy.
Margaret Gray – LA Times

SWEET
The cast members are stronger musicians than they are actors, and the gifted guitarists and impassioned singers carry the play to its greatest emotional heights.
Sara Taylor Ellis – LA Weekly

SWEET
Although the play explores aging and prejudice, the treatment is not heavy handed. The actors are convincing. Edward Padilla’s direction keeps the audience on its toes and original music by Dannie Weinstein with additional lyrics by Claudia Duran add to the old favorites.
Marilyn Tower Oliver – Los Feliz Ledger

SWEET
To find out what happens you’ll have to watch the play. You will laugh, cry and learn about a struggle rarely talked about.
Annabell Romero – Neon Tommy

BITTERSWEET
The play is somewhat marred by a miraculous ending in which Lalo spontaneously awakens from his coma and every trace of his paralysis has inexplicably disappeared. But then again, perhaps asking for realism would be missing the point: the heart of this play is its music, not its plot.
Marianne Fritz – LifeInLA

SWEET
And the music. There is so much music that it’s thrilling, lovely, and as much a part of this compelling story as the characters themselves. And you can understand and enjoy it even if your seat-mate is quietly singing along.
John Farrell – Random Lengths

BITTERSWEET
The contributions of other musicians, including Roberto Carlos and Jesus Martinez, are also strong points of the production. Design and technical aspects are less successful; the new theater’s large performance space feels cramped, and on opening night, a flickering slide show seriously distracted from the story of the braceros—a potentially fascinating tale that is not yet stylistically integrated into this new work.
Jennie Webb – Backstage

BITTERSWEET
But, though Casa 0101′s new space is as beautiful as the best small theatres in LA, the acting in this production often veers toward soap opera and the singing is not consistent.
Brian Sonia-Wallace – LA Theatre Review

BITTER
Yes, it is spirited and generous to open up wide one’s artistic doors, but that doesn’t mean to just anyone, lest the final goal remain unrealized.
Andrea Kittelson – LA Examiner

TRIO LOS MACHOS
Casa 0101 Theater
2012 E. 1st Street, Boyle Heights
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays; Ends July 8, 2012
Tickets: $20; (323) 263-7684
Running time: 2 hours