‘Melt’ Boils Over with Sentiment and Hope

'Melt' Boils Over with Sentiment and Hope
By Elizabeth Amore
February 21, 2010

Have you ever met someone for the first time later to realize they had been in your “extended network” all along? This seems to happen a lot for Miamians. Everyone knows everyone. It is the Facebook and ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ phenomena combined.

True to these concepts is the work by local playwright Michael McKeever – Melt. McKeever has written over 10 plays (including Hand of God, Charlie Cox Runs with Scissors, Open Season, and The Garden of Hannah List).

Taking place in 2007, Melt centers on Miami’s development boom. While some see the advantages and opportunities of this change, many citizens are at risk of losing their homes – along with their heritage, history and hope. Three families and cultures – one African American, one Cuban, and one Jewish – undergo conflict and eventually unify amidst the landscape.

Stuart Meltzer directs a cast that includes John Felix, Teresa Maria Rojas, Nicholas Richberg, Reiss Gaspard, Javier Siut and Lela Elam. Meltzer’s recent work includes him serving as Artistic Director of City Theatre in Miami, where he oversaw and expanded the always-delightful Summer Shorts Festival for two years.

Melt tells the story of three pairs: an African American brother and sister, a Jewish father and son and a Hispanic mother and her son who find their lives surprisingly simmering together over personal issues as seen from the perspective of each culture.

Two role reprisals from the Coral Gables’ New Theatre cast (where the play first debuted in 2007 winning McKeever the Carbonell Award for best new work) are John Felix as Isaac Chasen and Javier Siut as Luis Ribada. The two actors exhibit confidence in their characters and deliver both believable dialogue and monologues. Most moving is Felix’s transformation from an able, elder father to a frail, confused stranger to the world.

Marta Ribada as the Cuban mother figure can only make one laugh inside – in realization that almost everyone in Miami knows someone like her.

Probably the most heated dialogue occurs between brother-sister characters Jackson and Adelle Thomas. Lela Elam plays the lawyer who argues with her brother regarding issues ranging from gay adoption to black identity loss. Elam’s portrayal of Adelle shows the sister’s confusion about her own place in Miami’s Overtown now that she has moved out.

Though Elam is new to the play, she still comes across as a masterful actress with poise. She is replacing Tara Vodihn, who had to leave the cast because of a medical emergency.

Making the world of these three pairs come to life is the simply designed stage. Small tables and chairs are set in an array of commonality. This gives off the impression that these people are everyday individuals – like you and I – trying to make sense of the city we live in.

The lighting helps with singling out which pair is the current focus of the scene, while the remaining cast members remain onstage in a still motion. However, the sound at times was confusing, as it ran from an audible, instrumental melody to sporadic sounds.

The staging of this play is the fruitful endeavor of a diverse group of Miami residents and Leadership Miami participants. They wanted to bring back a play they considered a poignant reflection of Miami's cultural and racial diversity.

A 2008-2009 Leadership Miami team previously presented Melt on a day proclaimed by Miami-Dade County Mayor Alvarez and the Miami-Dade County Commission as “Diversity Through the Arts Day” at the Gusman Center to almost 900 high school students. That showing raised community awareness and exposed the audience to thought-provoking art. At the conclusion of that presentation, community leaders stated that Melt should be seen by every member of the South Florida community.

And with this, I agree.

The group's effort, known as “One Community, One Play,” presents Melt one more weekend through February 28, 2010 at the Miracle Theatre at Actor’s Playhouse (280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables).

The Leadership Miami Alumni Association will underwrite a significant number of tickets in order to provide wide-spread access to the important messages of Melt and in particular to make the play available to South Florida youth.

For information or tickets, visit the Actors' Playhouse web site (www.actorsplayhouse.org) or call the box office 305-444-9293. For more information on the play, visit www.meltmiami.com.