LatinUS production of ‘Vuela Alto, Mamá’ takes mad capped to new heights

In Patricia Suarez’s play “Vuela Alto, Mamá” (“Fly High, Mother”), produced by LatinUS and on stage at the Pivot Center at 2937 West 25^th Street, Cleveland, Ohio a solemn gathering unfolds. Surviving family members of the matriarch, Mamá Dalia Sanjuan, have gathered to pay their respects and to send her on her way to heaven. Gathered at the wake are the two daughters Ana Julia (Monica Torres) who is working on her second marriage with the current one doing quite well financially, Omara (Luisana Saturna) a baby planner, their father, Guildo (Reinaldo Garcia) who has a bit of a gambling problem, the decease’s kleptomaniac hairdresser/care taker, Zully (Gloria Ossa) and two ex-husbands, Patricio (Kenny Santiago) a rather successful actor married to Ana Julia and Salvo (Luis Galicia) who makes a meager living as a doorman and lives under a bridge and is Ana Julia’s ex-husband.

It begins with the hair dresser making the final touches for the wake. Two lloronas (weeping women) enter dressed all in black and between the wailing and gnashing of teeth manage to clean out half of the food (carefully spirited away in a Tupperware container) as well as an expensive bottle of Tequila.

Husband Guildo has a painfully dislocated shoulder from holding up his rather hefty wife as she passed on. Salvo finds the remaining booze and after filling his flask hides the bottle for later refills. Patricio launches into an elaborate acting sequence to show his sorrow and Omara spouts liberal radical doctrine blaming everything on the political system and complaining that her current baby parent clients have named their daughter ‘Crepe Suzette’.

At the beginning of the gathering, all in attendance suddenly realize that the woman in the coffin is not Dalia. Later, Salvo recognizes the corpse as a woman who lived under the same bridge as he did. He reveals that she was a top drug dealer in the area and was probably killed by a cartel linked nurse. Repeatedly, Guildo tries to reveal a deep dark family secret but is constantly interrupted. Zully disappears along with Patricio’s American Express Card and truth be told, none of the family members actually held Mama in any high regard. As the wake unfolds little bits of truth leak out.

First all, the set design by Micaela Barrett and Tito Ramos is awesome. A full metal coffin with very realistic looking corpse is prominent. Chairs are arranged for the mourners with a small alcove with a sofa, shelving with memorials to the deceased and a food cart and coffee maker. On the right is the sign in table with candles, book and portrait. Religious paintings decorate the walls including a Mona Lisa who is holding her nose. Bravo!

Inda Blatch-Geib has dressed everyone in relation to their various roles and the costumes help reinforce the realism. Reinaldo Garcii’s light and sound design works extremely well for the tight space. Most important is the English translations by Sarah De Marchi that are projected through the efforts of Pablo De La Vega on the back wall. The show is artfully directed by Kivin Bauzó.

As for the actors, they are superb. The frantic mad cap comedy farce is pulled off magnificently. Each and every one works themselves into a lather as the emotions build. It is truly an ensemble effort. The 90 minutes with no intermission flies by.

If you have not seen a production at LatinUS, this would be a great time to experience a truly funny show that illustrates that “family crazy” crosses over into all cultures. Absurd situations keep building but with a degree of belivability that pulls you in. No knowledge of Spanish is needed as the lines are translated and clearly projected on the back wall. Bring the family.

The LatinUS production of “Vuela Alto, Mamá” (“Fly High, Mother”) will be on stage at the Pivot Center, 2937 West 25^th Street, Cleveland, Ohio through March 8, 2026. For tickets and more information go to https://www.latinustheater.com/ or call (216) 369-7158.