Sargento, a Tour de Force in ‘The MEN-TI-RAS Experience’
The annual MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) concluded last week in New York City. How fun to read the list of winners and recognize three of them from their performances this season in Vallarta: Nicolas King (Major Artist), Tracy Stark (Best Song), and Natalie Douglas (Major Recording). Previous Mac winners David Sabella and Musical Director Mark Hartman live here full- and part-time, respectively. Congratulations to everybody; we impatiently await your return!
Speaking of impatience – we have to wait another month before the last show of The Men-Ti-Ras Experience, starring Sargento Dan at Nacho Daddy, happening May 18.
The brainchild of Sargento, who figured out how to condense and modify Mexico’s longest-running – 16 years and counting! – Jukebox Musical into a one-man show that made sense (the plot line is, um, complicated and convoluted), and translate it into English and sometimes export it in Spanglish.
And, let’s throw in a sex-change just to add to the intrigue and chuckles and then make it a Tribute to the Sacredness of All Women for the finale. (The caps are mine.)
Any sensible artist would walk away from such a formidable task, but Sargento was adamant, and theater-goers should get tickets for the last show before they evaporate.
Not quite a year ago, Sargento gave us a taste of Mentiras at Casa Karma as a work in progress that has gone from zero to sixty in that time with learned input from coaches Rob Burton and Jan Dorland. A funny aside – the three of them met in Mexico City last September and went to see the production together. In Spanish, but at least it gave Rob and Jan the visuals they needed to help Sargento achieve his lofty vision.
In the Men-Ti-Ras Experience, Sargento plays four women all in love with the same man, Emmanuel, who conveniently never appears onstage. Sargento cleverly created four life-size color-coded lighted mannequins on wheels, each wearing a matching colored jacket to portray the characters.
If that is not enough, the play takes place primarily in a funeral home where the four women gather for the first time, and a message is read from the recently deceased Emmanuel accusing one of the women of – yup, you guessed it – murder. Sargento cannot pronounce the word correctly in English, which makes murder very funny, indeed. And, there is a great deal of money from Emmanuel’s estate that can be split among the three remaining loved ones if they can figure out whodunnit.
Sargento sings Mexican pop songs from the 70s and 80s when he is not explaining the plot line in English.
It is a 90-minute tour de force monologue set to live music, with laughter popping out of the audience about every two minutes on average. Sargento can do more with his facial expressions and body language than Marcel Marceau and Red Skelton combined.
Get your tickets as soon as Nacho Daddy reopens after their Easter break.
Mister Lady Zen is at the The Palm Cabaret tomorrow at 9 pm, singing their songs, house music and spinning their tales as only Zen can. A classically trained mezzo-soprano and natural storyteller, actor, activist, and lover of cats, Zen is mesmerizing in concert. See you there, and Garbo’s afterward for Sargento’s Broadway singalong.