The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity is a dramatic comedy play by Kristoffer Diaz about a professional wrestler, "driven by narratives of the American dream and neoliberal capitalism."
Synopsis
Act One Macedonio Guerra is a professional wrestler at THE Wrestling. Despite being the superior wrestler Mace is delegated to playing the heel to the champion, Chad Deity. Everett K Olson, CEO of THE Wrestling, capitalizes on racial stereotypes to win support from the audience. Tired of being “the guy who loses to make the winners look good,'' Mace recruits Vigneshwar Paduar (VP) to THE Wrestling. Unable to fit the racially ambiguous VP into his show, Olson initially refuses. But with the help of Chad Deity, Olson brings VP on as The Fundamentalist, with Mace playing his partner, Che Chavez Castro. The pair, billed as anti-American extremists, quickly become fan favorite villains. Act One ends with The Fundamentalist calling out Chad Deity on stage.
Act Two
Epilogue VP watches the fight from his home in bed. He is happy to see Macedonio Guerra on stage, not Che Chavez Castro. In the final moments of the play, Mace is powerbombed by Chad Deity. Prompting his girlfriend to ask “Why are they rooting for the bad guy?”
Production history The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity had its world premier at Chicago's Biograph Theater on September 25, 2009 in a Victory Gardens Theater production starring Usman Ally (Vigneshwar Paduar), Kamal Angelo Bolden (Chad Deity), Desmin Borges (Macedonio Guerra), Jim Krag (Everett K. Olson), and Christian Litke (Billy Heartland, Old Glory).
Directed by Edward Torres, Designed by Brian Sidney Bembridge (scenery), Jesse Klug (lights), John Boesche (projections), and Christine Pascual (costumes)Year Zero and Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity Bloom at Victory Gardens, playbill.com, September 23, 2009 +Other ProductionsTheaterLocationDateRef.InterAct Theatre CompanyPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaOctober 2009Review of Chad Deity, By J. Cooper Robb, Philadelphia Weekly, November 3, 2009Mixed Blood Theatre CompanyMinneapolis, MinnesotaApril 2010The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Mixed Blood Theatre, By Janet Preus, howwastheshow.com, April 9, 2010Second Stage TheaterNew York City, New YorkMay 2010Geffen PlayhouseLos Angeles, CaliforniaSeptember 2011Actors Theatre of LouisvilleLouisville, KentuckyJanuary 2012Actors Theatre's 'Chad Deity' looks into world of wrestling, The Courier-Journal, January 6, 2012Woolly Mammoth Theatre CompanyWashington, D.C.September 2012Woolly Mammoth goes to the mat with “Chad Deity”, by Peter Marks, The Washington Post, September 12, 2012Curious Theatre CompanyDenver, ColoradoSeptember 2012Curious Theatre Company stages a smackdown with wrestling play "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity", by Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post, September 14, 2012Dallas Theater CenterDallas, TexasOctober 2012Like Wrestling, Chad Deity‘s Brawny American Allegory Isn’t Subtle, But It Sure Is Exciting, Theater Review by Lindsey Wilson, Frontrow Magazine, October 29thCarolina Actors Studio TheatreCharlotte, North CarolinaApril 2013Toppman, Lawrence (February 26, 2013) “CAST pins 'Chad Deity' to the mat”, Charlotte ObserverCapital StageSacramento, CaliforniaJuly 2013Bitker, Janelle "Capital Stage opens wrestling satire 'Chad Deity', Sacramento Bee, July 14, 2013Barebones ProductionsPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaFebruary 2017Play-PerViewOnline reading via ZoomAugust 2020Profile TheatrePortland, OregonOctober 2022Zach TheatreAustin, TXOctober 2022
Reception Variety (magazine) published a positive review of the original production at the Biograph Theater, complimenting the "vigorous physicality and wickedly intelligent humor." Critic Steve Oxman commented that "[Kristoffer] Diaz has found a vehicle to tell a much deeper narrative about how our culture digests racial identity, and how commerce, as well as commercial storytelling, is at its core about generating passion, with the exploitation of our baser instincts often the easiest means of doing so."
The New York Times said the production at the Off Broadway Second Stage Theatre "has the delicious crackle and pop of a galloping, honest-to-God, all-American satire."Theatre Review: Body Slam to the American Dream, New York Times, May 21, 2010 The New York Daily News called the same production, "flashy, fleshy and ridiculously entertaining".'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity' review: Kristoffer Diaz's wrestling ring packs a punch, New York Daily News, May 20, 2010 The Los Angeles Times said the play "leaps out of the proscenium frame at every opportunity, exhorting, drop-kicking and body-slamming its way into an immediacy that is more familiar to sporting events and rap concerts than to a traditional night of theater."Theater review: 'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity' at Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2011
Awards and nominations Winner 2008 National Latino Playwriting AwardPlaywright Diaz wins ATC's 2008 Latino award, Latino Perspectives Magazine, January 2009 Finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.2010 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Drama Winner 2011 Obie Award for Best New American Play.OBIE winners, 2010–2011 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award to Kristoffer Diaz (for Chad Deity) in 2011 Times’s Outstanding Playwright Award Goes to Kristoffer Diaz, New York Times, June 21, 2011 Henry Hewes Design Awards Nomination for Best Scenic Design Brian Sidney Bembridge Henry Hewes Design Awards Nomination for Best Production Design Brian Sidney Bembridge, Jesse Klug, Christine Pasquale, Peter Nigrini, and Mikhail Fiksel Chicago Jeff Awards (2010) for Best New Work, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Fight Choreography
References
External links
Reviews
BrianSidneyBembridge.com