It starts with a knock at B’s window late at night. G is there, cold, shaken by a rough night, looking for comfort from her best friend and a place to be that is anywhere but her home. Snippets of time across the ensuing weeks, months and years cascade from there and a chorus of moments where the two teens have no one but each other to lean on.
But as time, circumstance and the identities they want — and the ones they are kept from having — pull the two apart, they may no longer be able to provide the sanctuary they long for.
A fantastic capstone to Teatro Espejo’s 50th season, “Sanctuary City” is the kind of show that demonstrates how a well-tuned play can do more with less; the play needs just three actors, and the stage itself, particularly in Act 1, is just as sparse as the cast list. Despite the apparent leanness of the production, the play is continually captivating as it unfolds, thanks to an alchemical mix of powerful performances, strong direction, skillful writing and the intimate viewing experience offered by Fat Elephant Theatre’s small space.
Penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok, “Sanctuary City” opens in New Jersey just months after the Twin Towers have fallen. B (Noah Ramos) and G (Giselle Colmenares) are two teens in their final days of high school who have been best friends for years and have both been thrust into difficult times.
G’s mother is with an abusive partner, while B’s mother has decided to return to her home country, leaving B to decide if he should go with her. When G discovers her mother has secretly worked to become a naturalized citizen, she and B hatch a plan that might give him the chance to stay and pursue the life he’s wanted to live. But as the years go on, it becomes unclear if the secret parts of their lives — and hearts — will allow them to sustain the friendship the two hold so dear.
“Sanctuary City” can be an overwhelming experience; emotions run high, and the subject matter at hand — where B’s identity and existence places him at odds with government policy — can feel all too poignant in a country today beset by ICE raids.
The first act is a deluge of moments, never lingering more than a few minutes on almost any one scene, and often flickering from one conversation to another in a way that gives the feeling of being unstuck in time. In less proficient hands, the experience could feel jumbled or disorienting, but Majok’s script has been beautifully brought to the stage by director Nicole C. Limón and actors Colmenares, Ramos and Isaac Torres, who plays Henry.
The end result is a rapid-fire trip through time that creates an emotionally evocative experience by butting straight to the heart of dozens of small, personal moments.
Although it is a story that takes place in the 2000s, “Sanctuary City” explores themes — including queer identity and the psychological and emotional toll that the ever-looming threat of deportation creates for a person — that are of particular importance today.
The play runs for around an hour and 35 minutes without an intermission. “Sanctuary City” plays through Oct. 26; Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at Fat Elephant Theatre, 9845 Horn Rd #100, Sacramento. Tickets are available at fatelephanttheatre.com/box-office.
This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics, the city had no editorial influence over this story. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Hmong Daily News, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review and Sacramento Observer. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.
By Odin Rasco
