By Marilyn Jozwik
We all have our biases. Our likes and dislikes. It can be as simple as preferring vanilla over chocolate ice cream. Or as complex as to how we think our neighbors should live.
In “Native Gardens,” Waukesha Civic Theatre’s latest offering, playwright Karen Zacarias provides a fresh, clever and humorous microcosm of our culture wars. Julie Ferris Tillman directs a fine quartet of performers who create relatable characters.
In “Native Gardens,” we see Frank and Virginia Butley, longtime residents of an old Washington, D.C. neighborhood, welcoming their new neighbors, Pablo and Tania Del Valle.
The differences gradually become evident. What is obvious is that the Butleys are white and the Del Valles are Hispanic. As the neighbors talk about their backgrounds, we learn that Pablo is from Chile and grew up wealthy. He is hoping to make partner at his law firm and impulsively invites the whole staff to his new home. The fixer-upper has a sad-looking yard with an ugly chain link fence. In six days, Pablo’s boss and co-workers will inhabit his yard for a barbecue.
New to the neighborhood, Pabo Del Valle (Norgie Montes De Oca-Metzinger) and Tania Del Valle (Mireya Magallon) want their landscape to include native plants and be free of pesticides, unlike their neighbors in Waukesha Civic Theatre’s “Native Gardens.” Photos by Anne Kenny Creative
Pablo’s wife, Tania, is Mexican, but she and her ancestors have lived in New Mexico for generations. Yet, to the Butleys, she is Mexican.
The Butleys, Frank and Virginia, are English and Polish by ancestry, comfortably white collar. But their biggest differences are their gardening styles. Frank’s pristine garden – which he always hopes will be deemed the best in a neighborhood garden contest – contains beautiful flowering plants, with no regard to their origins.
Tania sees his garden as bad for the environment, a group of non-native plants not best-suited for the ecosystem with no consideration for attracting bees or butterflies and preserving the native integrity. Frank applies weed killer and pesticides to keep his landscape in step.
Tania is hoping to have a native garden and keep her space natural -- diametrically opposed to Frank’s.
The Del Valles’ (Norgie Montes De Oca-Metzinger and Mireya Magallon), left, and the Butleys’ (David Wise and Jacqueline Sanders-Allen) disputes turn nasty in a scene from Waukesha Civic Theatre’s “Native Gardens.” Photos by Anne Kenny Creative
All their differences float to the surface when the Del Valles decide to remove the unsightly chain link fence and put up a pretty wood one in time for the big barbecue. Everyone is in agreement, but when the Del Valles find out their property actually extends two feet into the Butleys – encompassing much of Frank’s flower garden – a nasty war of words erupts. Culture, injustices and a whole host of personal ammunition get tossed at one another, as well as the occasional cigarette butt and other detritus. Even their gardening styles are argued, Frank accusing Tania of “botanical xenophobia.”
Will these neighbors find the common ground to sustain their gardens and their friendship?
Playwright Zacarias has given us a situation and people that most everyone can relate to. And she’s done it with humor and wit. She leaves us with lots of questions. How do we react to people who look different than us living next door? How do we respond to others’ differing views, different priorities, different cultures? Do we dig in, stick to our preconceived notions? Or do we listen and try to understand.
Her characters’ arguments are well-formed and we find ourselves agreeing with one side one moment and the other the next.
I loved these characters and the four wonderful, engaging performances. Their realism – and the marvelous set – give the audience the feeling they are peeking out of their own window watching the public disputes.
Mireya Magallon gives “passionately rational” Tania lots of spunk and a can-do attitude. She pairs nicely with Norgie Montes De Oca-Metzinger as Pablo, who dials through a myriad of emotions, from a neighborly attitude to self-righteous indignation.
David Wise as Frank Butley displays his character’s gardening fanaticism with an almost childlike enthusiasm. His Frank goes toe-to-toe with Tania on their gardening philosophies, which end up in shouting matches. Jacqueline Sanders-Allen as Virginia Butley joins the fray with some fervent arguments. I really enjoyed how Sanders-Allen and Wise interact as the senior couple, sharing quiet asides as they move about their lovely patio.
“Native Gardens” is relatable on so many levels, giving audiences not only a great theatrical experience, but lots to ponder.
If you go:
Who: Waukesha Civic Theatre
What: “Native Gardens”
When: Through June 21
Where: 264 W. Main St., Waukesha
Info/Tickets: 547-0708/www.waukeshacivictheatre.org