I was heartbroken to learn that The San Diego Repertory Theatre, known locally as The Rep, is suspending operations as of June 19, 2022. Performances by Hershey Felder will be relocated to other venues (tbd), but the rest of the lineup has been cancelled and their staff laid off. Reasons for this are many including the pandemic, a flooded theatre space just as things were recovering, noisy construction in the re-invented Horton Plaza, and a parking structure with prices so stiff they seemed designed to drive business away.
Sam Woodhouse, a founder and former Artistic Director at the Rep, said something at one of his pre-show Sam’s Salons that really stuck with me. In the early days of the company, he stopped at a 7-11 where he noticed that San Diego’s remarkably diverse demographics were not reflected in the theatre-going audience, which was mostly older, wealthy and White. And none of the other theatres in town seemed keen on changing that. That’s when he and co-founder DW Jacobs decided to produce theatre that would speak to broader, more diverse audiences.
As I read through my personal archives of Rep shows, I have to say, Mission Accomplished. The Rep has played host to Kuumba Fest, a celebration of African-American arts and culture with new plays by unknown writers, traditional West African dancing, Black Gospel choirs and more. Mountaintop portrayed a very private night with ML King on the last night of his life and Honky was a playful foray into a world of racism, guilt, stereotypes and confusion when we just don’t fit the boxes society assigns us.
As a border town, San Diego has one of the largest, most vibrant Latino communities in the nation. However, in our more affluent neighborhoods, Spanish is mostly relegated to commercial kitchens and construction sites. However, The Rep gave El Gente microphones and a stage in vibrant productions of Zoot Suit, In The Heights, Federal Jazz Project, Oedipus El Rey and many others.
Plus, Resident Playwright Herb Siguenza gave us poignant and funny original works like Steal Heaven, Beachtown, Weekend with Pablo Picasso (both stage and film versions) and others. My favorite is Manifest Destinitis, a Californio take on Moliere’s Imaginary Invalid set in San Diego in 1848, the year of the Mexican-American War. I can still hear John Padilla pontificating that what Mexico needed was a presidente who would “make Mexico great again” by building a big adobe wall to keep out the invading imigrantes and make the Yankees pay for it.
Of course, near and dear to our hearts is J-Fest, The Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival. Directed by Prof. Todd Salovey -who always looks like he just arrived at Ellis Island from a shtetl. J-Fest featured klezmer concerts, Chasidic horror stories like The Dybbuk, talks on Yiddish by Richard Lederer, and homages to local Jewish Women of Valor. In a culture that traditionally relegates women to the home and praying in the balcony, honoring accomplished local Jewish women is a real mechaiyah. Additionally, there were offerings from outside the Ashkenazi-American box including Flamenco dancers and a theatre troupe of Mexican Jews, Teatro Punto y Coma. Salovey praised this part of the festival when I interviewed him.
“In some ways, [the Mexican-Jewish community] is one of the most loyal constituencies of the festival. Bringing back Teatro Punto y Coma is very exciting because they’ve premiered many shows in the festival. I remember the very first time that I introduced them. … I came onstage and said, ‘Tomorrow’s show is by Teatro Punta y Coma, a group of Mexican-Jewish actors and their show is in Spanish.’ The audience laughed at me and I said, “Don’t laugh. It’s sold out.’”
Nevertheless, my most personal connection to the Rep was when I worked for them back in 2004-05. The Rep had been offered a grant by the NEA called Shakespeare in American Communities and their goal was to bring King Lear to underserved schools in South Bay. These were not schools with big budgets and well-established drama programs. The theatre was often a makeshift classroom and most of the kids were children of blue-collar immigrants. It was my job to distill King Lear into a 20-minute presentation for six actors that teenagers would get excited about. I also wrote the study guide, booked the tour, and drove the van.
We nailed it! We exceeded our goals in the number of people we reached and their responses to the NEA were exuberant. On the last day of our tour, a teacher in San Ysidro told two of his colleagues to set that day’s agenda aside because what we had to offer was just too valuable to miss. At the end, I got on my soap box and preached, “If you want more things like this, then you need to help make them happen. Our education system has mandates coming down from DC and Sacramento like they’re written on stone tablets. It’s up to you to make that conversation two-way. This is your education. No one has a higher stake in it than you. Contact your school boards and elected officials. Get involved in your PTSAs. Speak up for yourselves and make your voices heard.”
Their enthusiastic response told me that my words had struck a chord. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. Not to mention that it was by working for the Rep that I met Jackie, the Great Love of My Life whom I would later marry. That is why I am heartbroken to learn that the Rep’s curtain is closing. For forty-six years, they played an important role in the artistic and cultural landscape of San Diego and an important role in my life as well. Will the other producers of dramatic arts continue their legacy of diversity and inclusion? Will there be a 30th J-Fest and another Kuumba Fest? I certainly hope so.
And that’s Show-Biz!
Republished from San Diego Jewish World