There’s a talking, dancing jaguar onstage at the ZUZI! Theater.
There are also coatimundi who transform into birds and fish, a moon that swings from a trapeze and watches over the jaguar, and a couple of stunning masks by the Phoenix-area’s Zarco Guerrero.
This is “Jaguar!”, the Latina Dance Theater Project ‘s Tucson debut and the world premiere of Dawn Costello Sellers play inspired by the death of Macho B, who succumbed in 2009 after he was illegally snared by Arizona Game and Fish subcontractors.
The Tucson playwright doesn’t hide the fact that she has an agenda: She was deeply impacted by Macho B’s death, and feels strongly that that’s what wild animals should remain — wild.
So it isn’t surprising that “Jaguar!” has an air of proselytizing about it.
But it does not hit us over the head with the message.
And Sellers has a knack for rhythmic language.
She employs magical realism to tell her story of the jaguar who roams free in the Southern Arizona desert, guided by a loving moon. Their conversations infuse the play with humor, as do the always-silent but always-active coatimundi. They serve as an appreciative audience for Macho’s antics.
Sellers’ Macho is a confused cat — he plays with the coatimundi, rather than eating them. His instincts for hunting and finding a mate seem weak. But Moon, who has watched over jaguar since the beginning of time, helps keep Macho on the right path to becoming a righteous cat.
Moon also tries to guide young Maya, a girl who catches lizards to satisfy her curiosity, about what makes them what they are — wild. She longs to catch a jaguar for the same reason. Maya grows into a biologist who finds herself part of a team of researchers looking for Macho. She has some hard lessons to learn on her path to enlightenment.
Eva Tessler, one of the founders of Latina Dance Theater Project, which operates in Tucson and Los Angeles, directed this one-act. Tessler’s keen eye for movement is evident in this production: Almost every move, from the jaguar’s pouncing to the coatimundi’s tail-wagging, has a grace and rhythm to it.
Christopher Johnson‘s portrayal of Macho is mesmerizing as he stalks the stage, muscles rippling, low to the ground, sometimes on all fours, other times standing tall on two feet. He embodies this young, complex and questioning jaguar. And Avis Judd‘s Moon exudes just the right amount of maternal warmth to make her relationship with Macho real and shimmering.
While there were riveting moments in the play, there were more moments that just didn’t do the script or the production justice.
Tessler’s actors spoke in an almost staccato manner, often robbing the language of its music and its meaning.
And there was this: Milta Ortiz‘s Maya. Maya is a key character in the play, as it is her journey that the audience should most deeply understand.
We first meet her as a young child. There’s a danger when adults play children acting as children and incorporating childish voices. It can come across as disingenuous, as it did with Ortiz’s performance. The memory of her as young Maya colors the audience’s perception of adult Maya. Ortiz may be a fine actress, but it is missed in this production.
There are so many gorgeous elements to “Jaguar!” And its message of conservation is an important one. Plus, this is a new play by a Tucsonan, and a theater company’s first foray into the Old Pueblo. It may not be perfect, but there are enough reasons to get out and go see it.
