References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot

Sound Theatre Company is running References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot at the Center Theatre in the Seattle Center Armory through October 17. It opened on Saturday, October 3, and runs as part of the company's 20th anniversary season. The play is by José Rivera, who was born in San Juan in 1955 and became the first Puerto Rican screenwriter nominated for an Oscar; he writes in the tradition of magical realism, and this piece won an Obie Award in 2001.

The story is set in the desert of Barstow, California, shortly after the Persian Gulf War. It follows Gabriela, an army wife whose husband, Benito, returns from service forever changed. While he was gone, she built a surreal world of her own, populated by an anthropomorphized Moon who plays guitar and by a Cat and a Coyote who debate desire and freedom. The animals act as spiritual counterparts to the couple, and the play moves between their candid conversations about sex and passion and the strained reunion between Gabriela and Benito. Pilar O'Connell plays Gabriela, Rolando Cardona-Román plays Benito, Isabella Martinez is the Cat, Jorge Chacón is the Coyote, Malik Cantú plays Martín, and Raya Tuffaha is the Moon. Colin Hovde directed.

Burton Yuen's set puts a gigantic celestial backdrop against domestic trappings like a refrigerator, a coffee pot, and a bed, all bookended by two graffiti-covered pillars. The show runs two hours with a ten-minute intermission. If you're around on Thursday, October 8, there's a post-show talkback with Rivera himself that evening.

Tickets are $5 for the Inclusion Rate, $25 for General Admission, $50 for Patron, and $75 for Benefactor. The Center Theatre is at 305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109.