Frida Kahlo play paints picture of her life

Frida Kahlo, issue 16, Kristin Williams, Miranda Eastman, Campus Life - By Miranda Eastman on Thursday, February 9, 2012 - 03:01

On Tuesday, Feb. 7, the Ruth B. Shannon Center opened its doors for Frida, a play about the prolific artist’s life and work, as interpreted by Ruben Amavizca-Murua.

The play, which has been showing all over the Los Angeles area for more than 15 seasons, features Minerva Garcia as Frida Kahlo and Richard Azurdia as Kahlo’s husband, Diego Rivera. Garcia has worked closely with the Frida Kahlo Theater in Los Angeles for several years, and Azurdia has many years’ experience working on stage. Together, they grasp the dynamic and turbulent relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

The play infused direct quotes from Kahlo’s diary and key parts of many of the biographies written about her. Unfortunately for some of the play goers, it was performed entirely in Spanish.

While this may have posed a problem for some in understanding content, many of the most important scenes required no understanding of the Spanish language. The scene that sticks out the most is the opening scene, in which the audience becomes part of Kahlo’s death. This haunting opening left the theatre with a sense of cold serenity, and the audience was notably still.

While Garcia barely looks like Kahlo, her eyes glare with enough passion and fury that one does not notice the physical inaccuracies. Every movement, stumble, and exclamation screamed “Frida,” and it seemed that Kahlo was on stage at every moment.

As stated before, the play shows frequently at the Frida Kahlo Theater in Los Angeles. Information is available on their website, wwww.fridakahlo.com, and the cast will begin touring again next season.