April 28th saw the return of Manuel Oliver’s one-man show.
GUAC follows the life and legacy of Manuel’s late son, Joaquin ‘Guac’ Oliver, who was one of the 17 people killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Manuel and his wife Patricia founded their nonprofit, Change The Ref, shortly after their son’s passing, and have spent the last eight years using art as a means to demand change.
After selling out the Kirk Douglas last fall, GUAC’s second run opened to a packed house. Prior to the start of the show, guests were invited to learn more about Joaquin’s life, as well as the history of Change the Ref’s advocacy, through their exhibition Demand, a series of interactive art installations set up in the theater’s lobby.
Photo by The Knockturnal.
Co-written by James Clements and directed by Michael Cotey, GUAC is as funny as it is devastating. Manuel’s heartbreaking retelling of the events of February 14th, 2018-Valentine’s Day, a holiday that he describes as, at one time, being dear to his family-is juxtaposed with memories of the 17 years he spent with his son. Joaquin loved pepperoni pizza, and bacon, and soda, and Family Guy (And he LOVED eating pepperoni pizza with bacon on it, while drinking soda, while watching Family Guy,) Manuel recalls as well the experience of he and Joaquin scoring last minute tickets to see Guns N’ Roses, and finding a spot right in front of the stage just as lead guitarist, Slash, inexplicably began playing the theme from The Godfather (Joaquin’s favorite movie of all time. It was almost as if the band knew he was watching,)
It was these moments, more so than the recounting of a tragedy and its aftermath, that really seemed to stick with the audience-evidence of a life cut short. This show not only humanizes this social issue by acquainting us with someone who should still be here, but it is a stark reminder that Manuel and his family are no different than any of us; Joaquin played basketball, and had coerced his dad to coach their team, even though Manuel wasn’t confident he would be good at it. The Olivers have a dog named Banksy, one that dad absolutely did not want to bring home, but he eventually fell in love with anyway (A tale as old as time,) Manuel paints a vibrant portrait of their life before the shooting (Figuratively and literally, as he spends much of the show painting a portrait of Joaquin while onstage,) and what stands out the most is how normal their lives were, until they weren’t. This is the Olivers’ story, but it just as easily could be any of ours someday, too.
As the show began to wind down, Manuel asked the audience to pull out the programs we had been given as we entered the theater, and unfold them completely. Printed inside the playbills, initially hidden from view, are ready-to-go picket signs-our own personal advocacy tool to bring home with us.
GUAC at Woolly Mammoth. Photo by Cameron Whitman.
This drives home the overarching theme of the show, one that is echoed as well throughout the Demand exhibition, “Stay, look closer, don’t walk away,” This mantra challenging us not just to observe, but to truly engage, and to join Manuel, Patricia, and the thousands of others who are impacted by gun violence every year to demand a better tomorrow.
GUAC is at the Kirk Douglas Theater through May 17.
