LIANA
Written by Maksim Tsvetovat, Sandra Flores-Strand; Directed by Yenny Sánchez
wild project | 195 E 3rd St, New York, 10009
April 3-7
Theatre festivals are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get.
The FRIGID Festival reflects approximately 65 shows will run in rep at 5 different venues. Shows will run a bit under an hour. There will be one-acts and bits of longer works in progress; dramas, comedies and musicals.
A coming of age story told across time, continents and musical genres, LIANA played a limited run at The Wild Project.
During a 60 minute showtime, the 6 person strong cast (and accompanying band) packed a great deal of heart, dance and music into the story of the titular young heroine from Queens. This is the story of a young Latina woman seeking her artistic voice to create music and transcend expectations of culture, society and family. LIANA, both the show and the character looks back in time to find inspiration in the form of LIANA’s great grandmother Pilar in 1930’s Spain. What results is an affecting depiction of how distant heritage has the ability to echo from the past to inform present day identity.
LIANA, who is trying to find her voice in jam sessions in the New York music scene is told early in proceedings by her father that she reminds him of her great grandmother Pilar. What follows is a parallel, occasionally surreal overlapping story in a modern day Queens, NY and 1930’s (pre-WWI) Granada as LIANA and Pilar strive to survive, make rent and create. The show examines this connection between artistic determination and practical survival as it takes us on an immigrants journey, transports us from a sailboat to a Spanish market via sevillanas folk music and dance to two talented, hesitant young people hanging out in modern day Queens.
While at times the narrative thruline of the story could have been expressed more concisely, the non-linear nature of the story, its heroines struggles in both creativity and survival in and across cultures was a central thesis that was also a pleasure to get lost in as it was told with such vigor and joy.
There is much to say about the thematic reach of the play. A memorable musical sequence fusing flamenco and rap encapsulates it best with the lyrics “When we’re spitting rhymes know we are weaving our past, we’re more than just labels, we’re the stories that last”. Overall, the cast and seamless stagecraft makes for a show of admirable ambition that equally convinces and entertains. LIANA, was a pleasure to spend an hour with and deserves a more extensive run and larger audience.
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Brian Connor.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on April 9th, 2025. All rights reserved.