The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Opening Night: May 20, 2010
Closing: June 20, 2010
Theater: Second Stage Theatre
A comic powerslam of a play, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a theatrical event that dares to throw political correctness out of the ring. Macedonio "The Mace" Guerra is a middle rank pro-wrestler who may have discovered his ticket to the big time: a charismatic, trash-talking Indian kid from Brooklyn whom he recruits as the perfect foil to the All-American champion, Chad Deity. But when their rivalry is used to exploit racial stereotypes in the name of ratings, all three men find themselves fighting for much more than the championship title.
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May 22, 2010
The fights are fixed, and the man-crushing body slams are faked. But the energy that radiates from “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity,” Kristoffer Diaz’s crazy-like-a-fox comedy about television wrestling, is the real thing. This delightfully muscular production, which opened Thursday night at the Second Stage Theater, courses with the vital sap of an able-bodied satire enjoying a rollicking love-hate affair with its subject.
READ THE REVIEWMay 21, 2010
Famous for its shameless fakery, sorry, preset "storylines," pro wrestling isn’t the first place you’d go for a smart meditation on current events. Or the second. Or third.
READ THE REVIEWMay 21, 2010
Get ready to rumble! Kristoffer Diaz’s "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity" will body slam you to the canvas with a one-two punch of political satire and theatrical showmanship. It’s no wonder this high-impact gut punch of a play was short-listed for the Pulitzer. It’s got everything—politics, culture clashes, muscles, explosions, and hard-hitting critiques of the state of America and the world today.
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May 21, 2010
Early on in Kristofer Diaz’s vivid, viscerally exciting The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, now performing at Second Stage Theatre, we’re told that "professional wrestling is the most uniquely profound artistic expression of the ideals of the United States." That those ideals turn out to be the racism, nationalism, and xenophobia that are part of pro wrestling’s tools to rabble-rouse is the intriguing crux of the play.
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May 21, 2010
You can’t describe "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity" without resorting to exclamation points, and lots of them. There’s an actual pro-wrestling ring onstage! A video clip shows a woman in a burqa wielding a nunchuk! A beefy guy spins out a hilarious monologue about raisin bread! A wrestler named Old Glory gets a roomful of New York theatergoers to chant "USA! USA!"
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