REVIEW: Siegmann's THE FENCE at NHCC

A chain link fence 50 feet high, 50 feet deep, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico in order to close the border between Mexico and the United States is some people's idea of a solution to the immigration question. For playwright Johanna Siegmann, it's an idea that made her want to take a closer look at the lives of people who might be affected by such a Draconian measure. The result is a new play, "The Fence," a smart, funny look at people on both sides of the border whose daily activities come to an abrupt halt when such a fence suddenly appears one day on a rural stretch of the US-Mexican border.
Gina, who lives with her husband, 3 month-old baby, and extended family on the Mexican side of the border, goes to work in the US one day and can't get home because The Fence has appeared with its array of high tech cameras, lights, laser beams and Officer Wilcox, the disembodied voice of the US Border patrol officer over the loudspeaker. Soon Gina's family and an amazing array of other people arrive at the site with all kinds of reasons for being there, ranging from the practical to the scurrilous to the hilarious.
Director Michael Blum and set designer Antonio Aragon have created the perfect opening for the show as the audience watches the fence being constructed right before our eyes. Blum then finds creative ways to deploy his actors on a stage now divided in half by the fence. He has cast many Teatro Nuevo Mexico regulars, including Amy Archuleta who turns in a convincing performance as Gina, and James Chavez, whose highly nuanced performance as the unemployed husband, JoJo starts out as broad comedy but becomes quite moving as he reveals his true feelings in the second act. Clinton Chadwick's voice performance as two border patrol officers and Santiago Candelaria's comic turn as an unconventional priest also deserve special comment.
"The Fence" has an amusing surprise ending that should leave audiences both chuckling and thinking, perhaps some new thoughts, as they leave the theater.

"The Fence" can be seen on Friday and Saturday nights, July 6 and 7th, at 8:00 p.m. and on Sunday July 8 at 2:00 pm in the Albuquerque Journal Theater at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque.
By Linda Lopez McAlister for KUNM