Review: Emiliana: A Revolution Cabaret by Ground Floor Theatre
by Michael Meigs

 

Emiliana - A Revolution Cabaret shouldn't have had three weekends of performances at Austin's Ground Floor Theatre.

 

Jessica Peña Torres and her gang should have had more. In fact, I could imagine them at the center of a long-running band of gleeful Latino/a artists, establishing a "Revolution Cabaret" brand as powerful as that of Esther's Follies. 

 

Oh well. Maybe not just yet. But I spent a delicious evening with them at the Ground Floor Theater during their last weekend's run. Hadn't been able to get there earlier, but if I had, I'd have gone back another night for more.

 

Peña Torres, both author and performer, plays a clever bit of prestidigitation with the title. That and the poster with the lurking mustached figure in the background suggest that this evening's going to be a recounting of the exploits of revolutionary hero Pancho Villa  the one who defied the United States, among other forces. There is, indeed, a mention or two of Villa, and Jessica dons both sombrero and mustache for a thrilling, stamping, ferocious dance. But the story she tells with the help of compadre Rai González Cartagena and comadre Diana Patrica Guizado is of a different revolution. 

 

Sylvia is from a good Catholic family with strong family values. Her stereotypical upper class parents expect her to circulate in the correct circles and await the proposal of an appropriate suitor. After all, she's already thirty years old! Sylvia is dutiful but she's duplicitous too She endures the daytime obligations of her family during the day, but some nights she frequents dark side of town, the one with bars, prostitutes, taverns, and . . . cabarets.  Those are where her existence comes alive.

 

Peña Torres is a firecracker. In the cabaret setting enhanced by the tables set around the slightly raised GFT stage, she comes into her own. Performing draped in silk and wearing black boots, she strides the stage, sings, comes to the tables and he audience to joke, converse, tease, and see that everyone's having a good time. The gleam in her eye and the slightly exaggerated attitudes of cabaret scenes make her terrifically desirable. The polish of her actions and mannerisms is impressive. She and director Mateo Hernandez give Sylvia the star quality of an Evita. Sylvia's stage name is Emiliana, taken from the alluring world of black-and-white Mexican movies of the 30's and 40's. 

 

 

Problem: the cops who patrol and live off the zone know who she is.

 

Rai González Cartagna, dressed in voluminous underwear including a shirt that resembles a camisole, plays multiple roles, ever aware of the audience and often interacting with them. He's a big actor, and not just in his volume. With a brown skirt and top, he's Mama; with a suit coat, he's Papa; with a tunic and a uniform cap, he's the cop on the beat who has recognized Syliva and is blackmailing her. "How would her parents like to learn about  your escapades . . . ?"

 

Diana Patricia Guizado, most of the time at the piano, comes across as a bit of a sober mouse in contrast, but that's intentional. She caresses, eventually pounds the music out of that upright piano. And she too can sing—in a  lively ranchera she cut loose with a shrill howl/yodel that shivered your spine.

 

Oh, and that revolution? It becomes clear that Sylvia/Emiliana is far more attracted to Violeta her pianist that to any of amiable, uninteresting boys or the machos of the barrios. Sylvia's flamboyance contrasts with Violeta's simple white shirt and gray trousers. What's being overturned in the hostile world of early twentieth-century Mexico? Norms of sexuality and gender, values of a patriarchal society society. This revolution cabaret is fun, it's detemined and in your face. Join in Sylvia's cry Viva la revolución!

 

Looking around, I was surprised to see that the GFT audience seemed to be about eighty percent female. Then, following the action portrayed in a plot made all the spicier by the musical performances, the dislodging of the patriarchy, and Rai's deliberately ambiguous clowning, I wasn't surprised at all.

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Emiliana: A Revolution Cabaret
by Jessica Peña Torres
Ground Floor Theatre

August 13 - 29, 2026

Ground Floor Theatre, Austin