Life’s Not Always Clean and Tidy in the Rep’s ‘Espejos: Clean’

Christine Quintana’s bilingual play tells the story of Adriana, the head of housekeeping at a Cancun resort, and Sarah, a guest who’s there to be maid of honor at her sister’s destination wedding.

by

Theater

Espejos translation: “mirrors.” Clean definition: “free from dirt, marks or stains.” The two words are together on the title of the new production in the Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Studio. They symbolize the accidental and transformative encounter between two women in this complex drama.

Written in Spanish by playwright Christine Quintana, Espejos: Clean is a bilingual play that uses Spanish and English supertitles. It tells the story of Adriana, the head of housekeeping at a Cancun resort, and Sarah, a guest who’s there to be maid of honor at her sister’s destination wedding. Sarah’s “plus one” is the cocktail that always accompanies her as she deals with the tension and drama surrounding the pre-wedding activities.

For Adriana, it’s all business; she’s worked herself up from cleaner to manager over the years, leaving her small-town life despite her family’s protestations. “I make clean what is dirty,” she simply states. But hotel rooms are a quick turnaround; her own life not that easy to tidy up. 

Shine and Gleam

With a Spanish translation and adaptation by Paula Zelaya Cervantes, Espejos: Clean is told through a series of monologues in Act I, as the two women meet briefly and exchange pleasantries. It’s all “surface level” niceties, like the shine and gleam of a bathroom faucet. But Sarah’s excessive drinking has labeled her the black sheep family member and Adriana’s “escape” from her family. It’s a torrential downpour and flooding at the end of Act I that throws the two together, facing each other as they “mirror” traumatic events in each other’s lives and, in a way, “washes them clean” to move forward.

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The challenge in any bilingual play is to be able to read supertitles and watch the drama unfolding onstage. When Sarah speaks, Spanish is onscreen. For Adriana, English. At times, both appear. And at other times, the emotion says everything. 

Remarkable Performances

The play confuses us at the start of Act II when three dream sequences are presented, once of which is very violent and out of character for the two women.  But it’s the remarkable performances of the two actors that really make Espejos: Clean fascinating to watch regardless of the languages. And Director Juliette Carrillo has directed this intimate drama with a natural yet focused flow, much like the watery allusions conjured on stage.

As Adriana, Regina Carregha simply shines, giving Adriana shaded layers of vulnerability and toughness that make her completely three-dimensional and realistic. The emotions that she deftly demonstrates speak volumes while at times, nothing is verbally said.

And Dylan Brown is just as good as the insecure Sarah, trying to just hang one and get through the next moment, glass (always filled) in hand. It’s a challenging role to play and she navigates it all beautifully—drunk, sober, anxious, determined. Together, the two create a synergy that elevates the story into something more than cultural and bilingual dualities. 

In Espejos: Clean, Adriana and Sarah are each other’s “mirrors.” And as they see their reflection in the other,” they are able to “wash away the dirt and stain” of their secrets, becoming “clean.” Once again.

Espejos: Cleans runs through May 11 at the Stiemke Studio. For tickets, visit milwaukeerep.com or call (414) 224-9490.