"I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" Theatrical Adaptation Is A Huge Hit
The beloved 2017 bestselling young adult contemporary novel "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" made its debut in Chicago last week and once again breaks hearts.
According to a recent article, the theatrical adaptation written by award-winning Chicago playwright Isaac Gómez, retells the story of Julia who is grief-stricken by her sister's untimely death. Julia, who is always under her parents' watch, questions her sister's death and ta the same time deal with her own issues with self-esteem. In the midst of her suffering, Julia decides to defy her family's financially poor living conditions and pursues college outside of Chicago.
Gomez said he felt a powerful connection to the novel, and he allowed the emotions of the world the author created to guide his writing process.
"Instead of trying to put something on top of [the material]," he said, "I sat with it and thought 'what is happening here' and looked inward saying 'where have I felt that?' and went from there."
Julia is played by Latina actress Karen Rodriguez who admitted she fell in love with the book because of its relevance.
"I think the biggest thing that struck me the most was [Julia's] journey of discovering that she is not okay mentally. She is going through a serious bout of depression," Rodriguez explained to Teen Vogue. "I want young women that look like me and people who are outside of that experience to realize that Mexicans and brown people are not monoliths. It's important to relate to experiences that might feel outside of your immediate experience, but actually you can totally relate to."
In an interview about the adaptation of her novel, author Erika Sánchez shared her motivation for the book.
"I felt like I wanted to write the book I needed as a kid, [the one] young girls of color also need," Sánchez said explaining that she wanted to write a book that "makes [young people] feel less alone, that someone understands them and what they're going through."
"I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" will run through April 5. It will have a special Spanish captioned performance on March 13. You can buy your tickets here.
An article also said Steppenwolf Theater, the company behind the production, has improved diversity in terms of storytelling by actively recruiting actors of different identities to their famous ensemble.
In the case of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, it allowed Latinx cast members and creatives to mold the story which meant better results for the stage.
"Having an opportunity to work with fellow Latinx artists feels like a special kind of home experience...there is a kind of relief and familiarity in the room that is really wonderful to be a part of," said director Sandra Marquez.
Rodriguez agreed, saying it's "the safest place" to create.
"Sometimes, when I make acting choices, I have to really explain and make people in a room see me," said Rodriguez, "but when I'm with Isaac or Erika or Sandra, I don't have to do that because they know where I'm coming from."