Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The show is at its best when the cast - which contains the hilarious likes of Ella Saldana North and Eduardo Enrikez - is singing. A theatrical telenovela really demands music. There are several songs in the show, which features live piano accompaniment. This is one way to restore some Spanish without resorting to subtitles, of course, but it also made me think that, with some original songs, "Destiny of Desire" would make a good Broadway musical; one that might well expand the usual audience to the Great White Way. Did I mention 2 billion?"
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Karen Zacarias' zesty show, "Destiny of Desire" (subtitled "An Unapologetic Telenovela in Two Acts") is deeply rooted in the extravagantly magnified emotions of that serial television drama genre that originated in Latin America but has become a wildly popular form of entertainment in countries stretching from Europe to Asia."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...Dashed-off melodramatic plot twists involving babies switched at birth, prodigal sons and devilish divas are mainstays of Latin American telenovelas. And those bizarre storylines feel right at home on Goodman Theatre's distinguished stage thanks to the Midwest premiere of Karen Zacarias' "Destiny of Desire.""
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The occasional direct-address moments when actors step up to a microphone and cite statistics-about things like workplace sexual harassment, Latino buying power, and U.S. incarceration rates-mostly demonstrate how insubstantial everything else in the show is. The game cast clearly enjoy the unrelenting foolishness, including their swooning dance moves as they move scenery about, but Valenzeula encourages such broad, obvious overacting that precious little feels true. Change the social order indeed."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...None of this would matter, though, without the ensemble directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela and led by Ella Saldana North and Esperanza America as the long-lost "kissing cousins" retaining an unswerving grip on a text requiring them to shriek, roar and keen with an operatic fervor demanding the physical and vocal stamina of steeplechase-race horses. Be prepared to leave the theater so energized that you may want to bypass the elevator and instead bolt the stairs in the parking garage."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Both the provenance and the point of these PSAs remain a puzzlement, at least as far as their place in the play. These devices recede in Act II, as the craziness of the plot ramps up and the deft and appealing ensemble settles into the comedy. Perhaps this fourth-wall-breaking is, too, meant to echo that of playwrights past-to suggest, then, that this "low" form can have as much art to enhance as the stuff that endures."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...An exhilarating, over-the-top, floridly artificial romp, Destiny of Desire is as wonderfully hokey as its title. A Chicago premiere, Goodman Theatre's co-production with South Coast Repertory is Karen Zacarías' affectionate salute to the romance of the telenovela. Her stylized showcase is a giddy treat that quietly carries an exuberantly pro-feminist message, charmingly camouflaged in a feast of hysterical histrionics and enthralling excess."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Basically, this show is sweet and fun as it doesn't take itself seriously. You'll appreciate the cast especially Esperanza America, Eveina Fernandez, Castulo Guerra and Elisa Bocanegra. You not have any trouble following the plot twists and the good or evil characters and you'll appreciate how all the shows problems, desires and destinies come to completion at the end. Destiny of Desire is fun once you realize what is is trying to do. You'll laugh and admire the theatrically and the biting satire and smart social commentary. The show grew on me as it took me a while to understand what I was seeing. It is a major achievement to mount a telenovela onstage in tow acts. I now know why 150 million Latinx folks love these shows. Destiny of Desire is a unique and engaging theatrical experience worthy of an audience."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Anyone who has ever watched ( or perhaps become addicted to) television “Soap Operas” is aware that they can be very captivating. The Spanish versions, that one might see on Telemundo or another of the Spanish language stations, are even more “out there”, and of course, much sexier. The “soap” itself is about love, sex, incest and many other tawdry matters. The Spanish language Novelas are much more intriguing, with greater amounts of cleavage and sexual overtones than the American version ( I hear other countries also have their own patters) we are used to. Thus, watching “Destiny of Desire”, Karen Zacarias’ parody of the infamous Telenovelas of Mexico is two plus hours of pure fun."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Karen Zacarias’ highly entertaining play, populated with so many hilarious and lovable characters and peppered with toe-tapping Latin music and spicy choreography, has an abundance of memorable moments to savor. Once audiences, especially those unfamiliar with the TV genre, settle into the tongue-in-cheek style, the cheesy, melodramatic, over-the-top presentation, the outlandish characters and the priceless plot twists that come faster than the strumming fingers of a mariachi band, they’ll become new fans of the telenovela. Viva Destiny of Desire!"
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...The 11 members of the ensemble each take a central role along with a variety of walk-ons and cameos. They are all splendid, but pressed for a favorite I'd choose Esperanza America as Pilar, the healthy baby. She shrieks and agonizes over the terrible things that are happening to her and those she loves with an operatic intensity that is harrowing. That woman sure can rant, and she can act and sing and dance, too. But then there is Eduardo Enrikez as the contrite son returning home. His Sebastian can do suffering with the best of them, has a terrific singing voice, and survives a ferocious knife attack to get the 18-year old he loves."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...I left the Goodman with a couple of good laughs, and some immediate conversation topics. Overall an entertaining night at the theatre. However, if you’re not into over-the-top productions with little left to the imagination, I wouldn’t recommend this play. But if you’re ready for a night filled with laughs, then head on over to the Goodman where Destiny of Desire is ready to dazzle audiences until April 16."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...Income and gender determine destiny most of the time. Embracing its telenovela format, DESTINY OF DESIRE shows how individuals can subvert social norms and forge different futures for themselves through pluck, luck - and outfits that would make a peacock proud."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...“Destiny of Desire” is a witty, campy and very funny look at the phenomenon of telenovelas, a form of soap opera which also purports to deliver social messages. As written by Karen Zacarias, and performed at The Goodman Theatre, it’s an often zany but emotionally real romp through archetypes, also filled with great music and dancing."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"..."We are here to change the social order," the cast announces in unison at the beginning of the show. "Deal with it!" As a manifesto it seems like a prelude to the cheeky action to follow but upon closer inspection it speaks to the deeper aims of this production, namely: visibility. A deliriously enjoyable, addictively pleasurable show that acknowledges the dominant lens of Western culture by turning it back on itself, "Destiny of Desire" is an act of subversive trickery deserving of its subject."
