Mary Sands

 

Living Out

Living Out is a play written by Lisa Loomer about a woman from El Salvador who searches for and finally finds a job as a nanny in the Santa Monica area. "Living out" refers to the type of nanny who has her own family and home and doesn't "live in" with the family whose child she takes care of.

Although the play is primarily a comedy about the clashing personalities of Latin nannies and Anglo women who hire them, there are plenty of serious moments, including a few that are downright full of despair. The message behind the play is a serious one. In this play, nanny Ana Hernandez and her husband Bobby are desperately trying to earn a living in East Los Angeles and save money to bring a son Tomás up to the states to live with them. Tomás is being raised by his abuela (grandmother) in El Salvador. Another son Santiago, who lives in L.A. with his parents, must shuffle through various hands as their tight schedules are the only possible way that they can earn money to pay rent, become citizens, and take care of some legal work arising from Bobby's dark past.

Throughout the play, it is evident the hard choices that must be made among Latina nannies who put up with not only Anglo employers but others--in fact, much of the play is very funny as stereotypes are jokingly cast on all sides. During all the characters' tough decisions, despite lighthearted ploys to keep the audience laughing, there is a growing tension about Ana being a nanny to baby Jenna, whose parents are busy lawyers, versus needing to work more hours to pay off a loan that will help her family. Increasingly, she is not able to be around Santiago as much as she would like. In comes Bobby needing to readjust his work schedule as well as even question a new job opportunity.

Meanwhile, the cast of characters flourishes. There are three nannies in the play, all of Latin origin, who meet in the park often to discuss the women who hire them as well as to insult tofu as being part of a baby's diet and encourage the consumption of donuts. The three employer mothers, all white and rich, also have a few park meetings to gossip about the "dangers" of nannies who might not be trustworthy. These conversations are hysterical and dramatic, leaving me to laugh so much that I had tears. The men in the play are also key characters, including Bobby Hernandez and Jenna's dad Richard Robin--a total geeky lawyer who has only a small role in his daughter's life so far and still likes to see Rolling Stones concerts and play air guitar.

Jenna's mother, Nancy Robin, who hired nanny Ana, is a very hard-working Jew (and the play makes sure you know it) intent on re-establishing her law career before she is dumped on the "mommy track." Her relationship with Ana grows so successfully that you think the women will eventually become lifetime friends. Perhaps they do, but the play does not tell you that or focus on what happens later. What the play is centered around is how mothers of different cultures must make the choices that they do when options are often limited when it comes to outside work versus taking care of children. In the end there seems to be no right or wrong, but instead of a series of decisions that lead each family to evolve.

The play's music, including a CD of a popular Cuban band, Buena Vista Social club, and lighting were very distinctive of the L.A. area and offered a somber but sometimes uplifting ambience to the play.

I saw the premiere at the Missouri Repertory Theatre on June 9, 2004. The play, already acclaimed in Los Angeles and New York, had just come to Kansas City and was directed by Sharon Ott. The cast included Stephanie Diaz, Cheryl Weaver, Leslie Law, Cheryl Graeff, Paul Morgan Stetler, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Minerva García, and Maria Elena Ramirez. While I was impressed with the entire cast, I thought Ramirez gave an outstanding performance. Her sulky gossip and bouts of comedic dissension in the role of nanny Zoila Tezo created automatic applause and laughter from the audience.

Playwright Lisa Loomer also wrote The Waiting Room; A Crowd of Two; Birds; Expecting Isabel; Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria!; Accelerando; Looking for Angels; Chain of Life, Broken Hearts; and Bocón! She is an award-winning alumna of New Dramatists and has written for television and film, including her first script Looking for Angels, chosen by Sundance for its collaboration with the Latin American Film Institute in Cuba, where she worked with Gabriel García Márquez.