Facing Injustice Toward Women in ‘The Way She Spoke’

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Photo via Milwaukee Chamber Theatre

In The Way She Spoke, playwright Isaac Gómez investigates the disappearance—and, sometimes, murder—of hundreds of women living in and around Juarez, Mexico. This true story may help to explain some of the current uptick in Mexican emigration across the border into the United States.

Whatever one’s views about U.S. immigration laws, it is impossible not to feel compassion for the families who have seen their mothers, daughters and other female relatives simply vanish without a trace. Any witnesses to the kidnappings are silent, for fear of retribution. Sometimes, these women are sold into sex slavery. In other cases, the women are horribly disfigured, raped, killed, and dropped in a neighborhood dumpster.

When families report these disappearances to the police, their concerns reportedly fall on deaf ears. It’s possible that the police may even be involved in these disappearances. Or is this the work of rival street gangs? The family is left to wonder, and wait, and grieve.

This story, despite its importance, is not for the faint-hearted.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents the Wisconsin debut of The Way She Spoke in this virtual production. Although it may have been intentionally designed as an outreach to Milwaukee’s Hispanic community, MCT goes far beyond these limits to underscore some of the injustice women face all over the world.

The award-winning playwright, now based in Chicago, actually grew up in the border towns of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, where the story takes place. Although his name may be unfamiliar to Milwaukee audiences, his work has been presented nationwide. This is particularly true the Chicago general area, where Gómez’ work has been seen at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens Theater and Northlight Theatre. At least one of his plays also has been produced Off-Broadway in New York City. He is a young playwright to watch, that’s for certain.

The Way She Spoke is written as a one-woman play. The MCT production stars well-known actor Michelle Lopez-Rios, who returned to Milwaukee to participate in this show. As directed by Lisa Portes, Lopez-Rios uses all her many talents to create a variety of characters. Her main role is that of an actress who has agreed to read through a play by her friend, playwright Isaac Gómez. He supposedly “tells” her he wants to hear the play through a woman’s voice. While the playwright is never seen, Lopez-Rios speaks directly to the camera as if she was addressing the playwright. It is a fascinating cinematic device that works remarkably well in drawing viewers into the story.

As she reads the play, which is only a large sheaf of papers that she sometimes carries around the stage, Lopez-Rios “becomes” various characters in the script. Some of them describe the brutal killing of eight women in Juarez, ages 15-19. Lopez-Rios can barely get through the horrifying details, many of which she had not known. Addressing the playwright, she observes, “once you know (about these things), you can’t unknow, you know?” That’s true for the audience, as well.

While the 90-minute play is mostly in English, it also contains a hefty dose of Spanish. It is entirely possible to grasp the general meaning of the Spanish sections without knowing the language. But viewers have the option of clicking a button prior to watching the show that provides English subtitles. Since viewers are likely to hang on the actor’s every word, this may be a good idea for non-Spanish-speaking theatergoers.

One of the most chilling anecdotes involves a woman named Sandra. She used to drive a bus that delivered young women to and from the many factories located in a giant industrial park. She names off the types of factories: electronics, textiles and chemicals. They run three shifts of workers, so employees must come and go at all hours. Despite the relatively low pay (by US standards), the jobs are prized, particularly by young girls. The workers—more than a million of them – face danger both inside and outside of their workplaces, Sandra notes. She explains how women sometimes lose fingers in the fast-moving machinery. She recalls that, on the way home at night, women often begged her to drive as close to their homes as possible. The girls, fearing attacks, were afraid to walk the rest of the way to their houses in the dark. On buses where the bus driver was a man, Sandra said, it was common for the last woman on the bus to be raped by the driver before being delivered to her destination. Sandra tells why she eventually quit her job. She said she didn’t want to be involved in driving “a bus that would deliver women to their graves.”

As Lopez-Rios takes viewers through the scenes, the camera often shifts to show the entire stage. Projections and colors shift on the bare walls as she speaks, giving more emotional weight to her monologue. The scenic and projection design by Stephen Hudson-Mairet adds a great deal to the production, as does Ellie Rabinowitz’s lighting, Christie Chiles Twillie’s sound design, and videography by Studio Gear.

Throughout the play, Lopez-Rios gives voice to the Juarez women who have silently disappeared over the years. At one point, she recites a litany of victims, stating their names, ages, and the details of their deaths. As she reads, her voices quivers and shakes. Eventually, she stops before completely breaking down. Lopez-Rios expresses anger at the playwright, anger at the tragedy and anger at the futility of stopping this epidemic of violence that has claimed so many innocent lives. 

It is a feeling that the audience may experience as well, if they are brave enough to take the journey offered by The Way She Spoke.

The Way She Spoke continues on demand through April 11. To purchase online tickets, visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org