THE CART OF LOVE/EL CARRO DEL AMOR (Ana María Ruimonte/Owlsong Productions): Fringe review 52

Carro_amor_interior THE CART OF LOVE/EL CARRO DEL AMOR is an ambitious art project that seeks to combine multimedia, puppeteering, a baroque chamber orchestra and the singing of mezzo-soprano Ana María Ruimonte in a bilingual presentation. In many ways the admirable ambition of the production is also its biggest downfall. As a result of a complicated concept the show suffered from numerous and repeated technical difficulties that distracted from the actual performance. And even putting technical difficulties aside, the show felt like it was trying to do too much at the same time when focusing on the Baroque music and one other thing would’ve served the songs themselves better. With so much going on – and going wrong – it become difficult to concentrate on the music, which supposedly was the main point and purpose of the production.

This sense of overload is unfortunate, since it probably makes many audience members miss the beauty and talent also present in the show. The story behind the baroque songs is as fascinating as the songs are charming, even though in Ana María Ruimonte’s singing she seemed frazzled by the interruptions and difficulties. She soldiered on and delivered a satisfactory performance that improved as soon as she chose to shed the multimedia and just sing. [Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S 18th Street] September 12, 2015. fringearts.com/the-cart-of-love-el-carro-del-amor.

 

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