When our cousin, Tammy Green, told us about her new vignette premiering at the NY Theater Festival Summerfest 2019, we were excited for her. Since Tammy retired from her teaching profession, she’s been following her dream to write plays, short stories, and poems. Her latest venture, El Campeon – Politics con Pollo.
The production was held for three nights from August 15 through the 18. We saw El Campeon – Politics Con Pollo on the last night.
El Campeon – Politics con Pollo
El Campeon takes place in El Rinconcito, a Honduran restaurant on Long Island. The show focuses on the restaurant owner, Sal (played by Peter Celos) and his employee, Maria (played by Cristina Contreras). The restaurant had been struggling but served its immigrant community well.
One day, a blogger, named Paul (played by Dante Fuoco), came into the restaurant and told the owner that he plans on writing about the restaurant. At first, the owner was excited. But, the employee didn’t like it. She told the owner that if Paul wrote about the restaurant, “a lot of people will see it” and then “you will have to raise your prices.” The customers will suffer because they won’t be able to afford it…
The audience realizes that Maria (the worker) is illegal. This is especially apparent when the blogger takes a photo of her and she hides under the table scared for her life.
Makes you think…
El Campeon: Politics con Pollo, the one-act play, brings up some important issues faced today in our society. It made the audience stop and think.
According to the World Report 2019, Honduras is in complete turmoil. Police brutality is rampant. The country has one of the highest crime rates in the world. The government is corrupt and the people of Honduras have been trying to escape and find a better life for themselves and for their children.
This thought-provoking show was written and directed by Tammy Green. My only complaint was that I wanted to see more!
Look for her upcoming production, Lobster Pancake at St. Paul’s UMC in Northport on September 22.
