Richard Can't Find His Meg Ryan

By Olga Espinal

The play I believe in marriage reminds me of the movie When Harry met Sally starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in 1989; They are chapters of encounters and disagreements of the same characters and their path to get together for life.
Regarding that “for life” could the following questions arise? is marriage a necessary state? are we all ready for marriage? Is it a matter of fate or a daily struggle? perhaps all these questions have a very individual answer. Each experience and each couple’s experience is unique.
Of course, as a member of a large community, it may be that many of us have similar experiences. But, who better than an artist to tell his story with grace, panache, ease and what matters most in a very irreverent way.
Here comes into play the technical experience and mastery of theatrical genres and subgenres of a veteran actor like Richard Douglas. Richard combines the theatrical monologue with Stand up Comedy and what are the differences and coincidences that we are going to see in these two modalities? The monologue is a play that obeys the rules of conventional theater. It is a one-person show in which the spectacular components of the theater are used, such as the scenery, the lights, the sound or the costumes. In this case, with references to painting (the first provocation to the public), cinema (actresses, characters like James Bond), popular music (Joaquín Sabina, Sergio Vargas, Aramis Camilo) and religious music. Also costume changes that help the actor to develop the narrative process of the work. The references are very epochal, the 80s, except for certain allusions to current vernacular politics.
Another characteristic of the monologue is its dramatic content. We not only see here the laughter, but also the human conflict that gives life to the dramatic action.
In the monologue, the interaction with an absent character is created, establishing the dialogical nature of the theater. In this work, the absent character is Vivían, a friend from long ago with whom the character, who represents himself, is going to go out on a date.
The coincidence with the stand up is the individual presentation in a dialogue with the public, which integrates and interacts with the character. Stand up is a genre of comedy in which black humor is used, casual, the resource of the personal is used a lot and creates a bit of annoyance in the viewer.
In this case, Richard’s stand-up is based on his personal experience with women and his narration is intimate and open. He leaves nothing to the imagination. Modesty disguised as hypocrisy has nothing to do with this work. There is no fear of being accused of being homophobic or sexist, for example.
It should be noted that a one-person work requires a great effort from the actor and a good direction to be able to share all that emotional load and content with the public. We salute and congratulate the actor who represents himself, who unfolds to represent the story of his own life, and his director who accompanies and guides him: Ramón Santana.
Richard uses the resource of intertextuality by introducing, as I already said, characters that had an impact on his life and the time in which the events occurred. That is why I return to “When Harry Met Sally” to divide this work into chapters that could be called: Daryl Hanna, Sandra Bullock or Mery Streep.
As it can happen to any other human being, Richard never got to know his Meg Ryan, the woman he would stay with for life, as happened with his parents’ marriage or with the characters in the film.
The women in his life are different chapters that allude to a sexual connection, but also to an emotional attachment. That expose a Don Juan but also a loving father and son. That exposes the unfaithful but also the one in love with his wife. That includes the one he deceived but also the deceived one.
In short, it is the individual and human story of a man who, despite having different experiences, good and not so good, has faith in relationships.