Two plays by local playwright Herbert Siguenza are opening tonight in San Diego County

calico 12/01/2023

San Diego playwright Herbert Siguenza has premiered many of his plays locally over the years, but tonight he will open two of his plays at theaters 42 miles apart — one is a world premiere and one is a play that debuted in San Diego seven years ago.

Playwright Herbert Siguenza of San Diego.

OnStage Playhouse in Chula Vista will present the world premiere of Siguenza’s “Star of Ocotillo,” a twist on the traditional Mexican posada (shepherd’s play). And Palomar College will open a student-cast production of Siguenza’s “Manifest Destinitis,” a wacky comedy about the battle for territory between Spain and the U.S. in mid-19th century. It premiered in 2016 at San Diego Repertory Theatre.

Siguenza, a founding member of the popular Chicano theater troupe Culture Clash, was San Diego Rep’s playwright in residence from 2016 until the theater shut down last year. In recent years, three new Siguenza plays have debuted at OnStage.

“OnStage Playhouse has become my artistic home because they produce the most provocative work in San Diego, and ‘Star of Ocotillo’ is my most provocative play,” Siguenza said.

A man fastens a necklace around his wife's neck in a living room.

“Star of Ocotillo,” which will run tonight through Dec. 23, is an alternative Christmas play. OnStage artistic director James P. Darvas, who is co-directing the play with Siguenza, describes it as a “dark Chicano comedy with miraculous consequences.” Set against the backdrop of a luxury home on the U.S.-Mexico border constructed by a Hollywood producer and his TV star wife, the play is about a young undocumented girl who arrives carrying the hope of a new world. The cast will include Teri Brown, Adriana Cuba, Maya Sofia Enciso, Javier Guerrero, and Dave Rivas.

“It’s beyond a privilege to be working with Mr. Siguenza on our third collaboration,” Darvas said. “Mr. Siguenza has outdone himself with this nuanced and thoughtful play. To be given his trust in my interpretation is something I will continually be grateful for.”

As part of its ongoing fundraising efforts to produce future seasons, OnStage is offering all tickets to the playon a “pay what you wish” basis, with a minimum $15 contribution.

Ashley Amadaro, left, and Johnny Sanchez in "Manifest Destinitis."

Palomar College theater director Michael Mufson will direct Siguenza’s “Manifest Destinits in the campus’s Studio Theatre in a production running tonight through Dec. 10.

The play is a reinvention of Moliere’s 17th-century French farce “The Imaginary Invalid.” Set in mid-19th-century Alta California on the eve of the U.S. annexation, the play revolves around Don Aragon, a Spanish landowner who rules over his family with the iron will of a conquistador. However, his dominion is threatened by a profound anxiety stemming from the imminent U.S. invasion. When his unscrupulous doctor diagnoses him with “Manifest Destinitis”, the stage is set for a cascade of absurd and paranoid antics that upend the once-peaceful household.

“I have found this play to be a comic inoculation against the ills of colonialism,” Mufson said. “It’s the perfect blend of splendid physical comedy, verbal wit, and insightful perspective on our foundational myths. As the world seems to be unraveling around us, ‘Manifest Destinitis’ enables us to find humor and humanity in the historical events of the past and the present.”

The cast of “Manifest Destinitis” includes Rueben Renteria Jr. as Don Aragon, Ashley Amador playing both of Don Aragon’s two daughters and Johnny Sanchez in the cross-dressing role of the meddling maid Tonia, a role Siguenza played to much hilarity in the San Diego Rep premiere.