[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of “Masks” written and performed by Mann Alfonso and Terryl Daluz at the Whitefire Theatre through August 19.
Mann Alfonso and Terryl Daluz’s “Masks” is a powerful, emotional story of two friends who meet as children in the juvenile justice system. How they got there may have been on different roads, but once together they formed a fierce comradeship born from the lack of love and understanding in their lives and in the system. They bonded. Fully. The play follows them as they navigate their lives. One determined to succeed, one determined to have fun and DJ. But both their dreams were repeatedly dashed by the crime and the drugs all around them and the story shows us just how that landscape intrudes no matter how hard you fight against it.
“Masks” could be a bleak tale, and it is full of heartache. But, just like Shakespeare, the knocks make the bliss all the sweeter. But this is not your usual drama. This is based in fact and on actual lives lived. And so it’s not to be taken lightly or twisted into entertainment. Although, they have made this play very entertaining. But the story is graced by darkness and by light. The darkness of prison and drugs and rape. The lightness of their beautiful bond and the love they find in all this chaos and how it saves them both…even when one of them could never really be saved.
It is such a wonderful story, which might sound strange given the topic. But I found so much love in it. A lot of laughter too. And that’s a gift from them to us. Stories like this one must be told. They must be shared and shared big. If we are to really understand and help to change this terrible poverty stricken world they are in, so that young men, children really, are never afraid or hungry or looking for an artificial high to escape the lowness of their daily existence.
“Masks” is also beautifully written. Poetry really. And the performances are remarkable. I cried… a lot and I laughed out loud. I was utterly mesmerised by them. Drawn in by this epic, classical timeless story of a friendship formed in a sea of sadness.
“Masks” won an NAACP Theatre Award for Best Playwright-Local. It has been made into a short film, “The Fighter and the Clown,” starring Enrico Colantoni (“Flashpoint,” “Contagion”), and was an official selection of the Hollywood Film Festival in 2010.
Alfonso and Daluz met while working in group homes in Los Angeles and wrote the story together while still working in the same homes that inspired these vivid and heartbreaking characters. “Masks” is a way to honor all those who pass through the doors of the juvenile justice system and to bring us into their world. They do this brilliantly and with artists’ eyes. It’s really an astonishing piece and well worth our support and your time.
Get Your Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/award-winning-play-masks-coming-to-the-whitefire-theatre-tickets-613068784237When:
Through August 19. Every Saturday at 6pm.
Where:
The Whitefire Theatre
13500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423