Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...Aside from living in the Chicago neighborhood of Pilsen, Sandra Delgado's Medea has other differences from the infamously exotic, erotic and murderous Euripidean figure who both seduced and terrified Athenian males in the fifth century B.C. The (anti-?) heroine of playwright Luis Alfaro's zesty new play "Mojada" is a quiet Mexican seamstress, highly prized for her sorcery with fabric but reluctant to leave her neighborhood even for a trip to Navy Pier, lest her illegal status be discovered and she be sent back to crawl thirstily across the Arizona desert."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Alfaro has taken his inspiration from the ancient Greek tragedy of "Medea" by Euripides. But he has transformed that tale of exile and catastrophe into a powerhouse of modern mythmaking that now unfolds in the back yard of a shabby two-story brick building in Pilsen - one of Chicago's port-of-entry neighborhoods for Mexican immigrants. It is a new classic - one in which the border between two worlds, and two ways of life, have never seemed more impenetrable. And one of the greatest tragedies of all in Alfaro's story is this: Much of the greatest pain and havoc is generated as one immigrant turns against another."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...The scope mandated by tragedy is displayed in Yu Shibigaki's deceptively drab back-porch tenement that suddenly blossoms into desert frontiers patrolled by border guards, courtesy of Liviu Pasare's photo-projections. It is also evidenced in Chay Yew's direction, which draws forth appropriately extravagant passions from a cast featuring the powerhouse triumvirate of Sandra Delgado, Charin Alvarez and Sandra Marquez. They are flanked by Juan Francisco Villa's conflicted Jason and Socorro Santiago's earthy servant, who also assumes the duties of a chorus, commenting on events she compares to one of her lurid telenovelas, but which we can see reflected daily in our news headlines."
Time Out Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Alfaro's new rendering of the tale spends most of its first act laying foundations while keeping our attention with a few sharp jokes and some ominous foreshadowing; it isn't until a harrowingly staged, Santiago-narrated flashback to the family's journey across the border that Mojada-roughly translated, Spanish for "wetback"-really grabs you by the guts, with artful assists from Heather Gilbert's lighting design, Mikhail Fiksel's careful soundscape and Liviu Pasare's evocative projections."
ShowBizChicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Seeing a bit of Pilsen on display in the heart of Lincoln Park - although just a few miles apart - is a telling expose of how the larger, unmeasurable gaps that exist in Chicago's neighborhoods change the way we all experience life in the came city. Weather your interest is in its examination of immigrants in America, the local setting or the homage to a classic tragedy, "Mojada" is a production not to be missed."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...Luis Alfaro-whose Oedipus el Rey and Electricidad are also adaptations of classical plays, oriented toward the contemporary Latino experience-again demonstrates a keen ability to excavate the archetypal realities underlying modern-day experiences. For as alarmingly aware as Mojada is of the day-to-day realities of being a Mexican immigrant in today's America, its use of mythic forms serves to remind us in revelatory ways that perhaps we have been here before. And that in order to look forward, it may help also to look back."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...Alfaro’s Mojada casts a sympathetic eye on the immigrant situation in our country, but also joins immigrants and citizens through their desire to leave behind a lasting legacy. The characters continuously remind one another that in America sacrifices must be made to build and preserve your legacy. Victory Garden’s production will make you wonder what you are willing to sacrifice and more disquietingly what you already have."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow
- Recommended
"...MOJADA is compelling theatre. Alfaro’s transition from lighthearted to somber is abrupt. Scenes in Act 2 topple on top of each to get to the drama. Alfaro spends so much time establishing culture and community that the actual Greek tragedy is squished into an uneven Act 2. Still, MOJADO is an unforgettable expose on immigration and Medea. Knowing the backstory on both is an awakening to the truth behind the gossip."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Greek Tragedy! That is what Euripides' "Medea" is known as. Many theater audiences avoid attending these "downer" stories , but as proven by Luis Alfaro's sensational hit, "Oedipus el Rey", if the story is adapted to fit our world and the things that are familiar to us, the meaning becomes far greater to those watching the action on the stage. Based on this, Alfaro has taken "Medea" to a new level, transforming it to a story about a Mexican woman, Medea ( the powerful and always strong Sandra Delgado) who , with her boyfriend , Jason ( Juan Francisco Villa)and their son, Acan ( Dylan M. Lainez who alternates with Ricky Reyes), along with a housekeeper Tita ( deftly handled by Socorro Santiago) have left Mexico and made it to Pilsen on the south side of Chicago. Here, Jason has found work outside of the home and Medea has become a beloved seamstress, making clothes that the women of the area cherish."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Recommended
"...In my humble opinion, the play says something very special about Chicago. We are a city of villages. There are so many neighborhoods that make up this town, and that is a huge draw for those looking for a sense of community while maintaining the opportunities of a vibrant metropolis. In the play, a common phrase is "she is one of us," meaning that they come from the same kind of culture. It is a uniqueness to Chicago I think some people take for granted. There is still heritage and tradition here. That type of fellowship creates a sense of safety in the familiar, but also means there are still some of the stigmas that go along with those societies. The play captures that universal need to connect when you don't know how."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews
- Highly Recommended
"..."Mojada" is one of those plays that stirs the senses and stimulates the mind. It's stunning theater that gives the spectator much to ponder, especially the spectator only aware of immigration issues from newspaper headlines. The play does not preach, though its sentiments understandably reside with the individuals and families prepared to go to almost any length to reach the USA. It could be the best play to appear at Victory Gardens under Chay Yew's high-risk stewardship."
