Customer Reviews

Many Deaths of Danny Rosales and Other Plays

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Carlos Morton is probably the most insignificant figures in the world of Chicano Theatre. I have had the "honor" of personally meeting Mr. Morton and working with him on more than 3 occasions. I have also seen "Many Deaths..." performed at Universities in Texas and L.A. Without a doubt this was one of the most lackluster plays I have ever seen. The story (about racist cops and a lawyer trying to cover up the murder of a local Latino youth) is based on a true story, but Mr. Morton and his single-sided, flat characters do nothing to spark interest or even the rage that is typical in plays from other, more prominent Chicano figures such as Huerta (i.e. La Victima). The reader and/or viewer are bombarded by a range of cardboard characters set on a backdrop of a courtroom and everything happens in flashbacks...nothing new or original here with that courtroom plot device! I did a reading of of one of Mr. Morton's radio plays and it was pretty much the same "court room" scenario! I've read other of Mr. Morton's plays and the quality is pretty paltry. How he won all of his accolades and notoriety with such bland writing is beyond me. How "Many Deaths" has gotten so produced and seen is also something that boggles the mind because the play as a whole is nothing special because of the poor writing

Buy it if you have to read it for a Chicano studies class (of which Mr. Morton teaches). But if you really want to study Chicano Theatre, go with work by El Teatro de la Esperanza, Valdez's stuff, or even Josefina Lopez (even though I'm not a big fan of her stuff she is better than Morton's work). Edit Villareals' work (My Visits with MGM)is wonderful, too.

In short, someone seriously studying Chicano Theatre would not at all miss out on anything if they never even looked at the work of Carlos Morton.