Mount Holyoke College’s production of Marisol by José Rivera offers an intense look into an unrecognizable, yet all too familiar, apocalyptic life. Marisol explores how people cope—or don’t cope—with a terrifying, ever-changing world. The characters in the show deal with mental health struggles, nihilism, the anxiety and fear that come with a dying world, and Nazis. All of this is given to the audience both beautifully and heartbreakingly by the actors.
Directed by Liz Almonte ʼ24 and led by Cristina Lopez Mendoza ʼ27, the cast of Marisol immediately immerses the audience into the world of the play. It’s New York City, it’s the 90s, the world is ending, and no one is safe. Almonte brilliantly utilizes the whole of the theatre space and the entirety of their cast throughout the play. The ensemble actors are the audience’s view into the heart of the city and fill every moment perfectly. Actors like Magnolia Ton ʼ27, Geraldine Louis ʼ24, and Adjoa Baidoo ʼ24 portray developed characters without names or lines. Don’t be surprised if sitting in an aisle seat leads to a few audience-character interactions.
The whole cast is brilliant. Syd Hart ʼ25 is both endearing and disturbing as June. Maggie Brown ʼ24 is, come to think of it, also endearing and disturbing as Lenny. Maelyn Brade ʼ25 looms powerfully as The Angel. Mads Nicholson ʼ24 absolutely embodies the essence of Man with Scar Tissue in the second act. They are all incredible. But one performer really stands out, maybe in part because she is in every scene of the play. Cristina Lopez Mendoza shines as the titular character, Marisol Perez. Mendoza runs the emotional gamut throughout the course of the show, and yet each high and low is played with the same effort and intensity. In that same regard, Mendoza’s Marisol elicits strong reactions from the audience. In many scenes, I feel intense sympathy and sadness for Marisol, while in other moments, I find myself frustrated with her naïveté. However they may feel in the moment, the audience never feels disconnected from Marisol, the rest of the characters, or the world of the play.
Almonte’s direction ensures that, while this world is clearly not the one we live in now, it has enough touchstones and connection points that it is not a stretch to imagine living there. I certainly do not have to jump any mental hoops to imagine a sky hazy with the smoke of fires hundreds of miles away or the installation of additional security measures in places previously thought to be safe. I am always struck by the line Antara Tripathi ʼ26 delivers in the second act as Woman with Furs: “A lot of things that can’t happen are happening.” That certainly rings true in these last few years.
I have to give a quick shoutout to everyone who worked behind the scenes on this production. Set designer and assistant technical director Lee Heintzelman ʼ24 created an incredible set that was beautifully executed by technical director Nathan Lee, scenic charge artist Jill Kovalchik, and scenic painter Fiona Rogers ʼ24. Heintzelman’s set, as well as the rest of the production, was elevated by the lighting and soundscape of the show which were both helmed by Lara Dubin, who was assisted in design by Yuqiao Zeng ʼ27 on lighting and Hadlee Li ʼ26 on sound. Sydney Bloom ʼ26 put in a lot of good work as props master, scrounging up all sorts of things for the actors to work with, and, importantly, cleaning the trash. I can not give enough praise to costume designer Jensen Glick, assistant costume designer Mariana Considine ʼ25, and the rest of the costume team on this one; they truly delivered for every single character in the show. Our amazing stage manager Caroline Lamb ʼ26 has kept this show running smoothly with assistant stage managers Melissa Geller ʼ27, Max Paster ʼ25, and myself, Maria McAlexander ʼ26. Everyone on the lighting, sound, scenic, and costume prep crews did such important work! And finally a shoutout to everyone on the scenic run crew, wardrobe run crew, board operation, ushers, and house management who truly make the show happen each night.
Marisol runs at Rooke Theatre at Mount Holyoke College March 6 through 9 at 7:30 p.m. and March 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for the general public and are available now at https://mhc.ludus.com/index.php. Content warnings for the show: contains depictions and/or graphic discussions of violence (including sexual violence).