The Dumbwaiter and Los Vendidos

The Dumbwaiter and Los Vendidos at the NAU Theatre-The Studio Theater.

By Harold Pinter and LOS VENDIDOS by Luis Valdez Directed by Jaclynn Jutting

The Dumbwaiter** is best described by the New York World-Telegram & Sun : "In the basement of a long-abandoned restaurant, two [men] nervously await their next assignment. Barred from daylight and living public contact by the nature of their work, they spend their waiting time bickering. So eerie is the situation that everything becomes comic, or grotesque, or both.” Pinter’s classic One Act play employs the ideas of Comedy of Menace which is described as “highlighting the play's use of fear and a sense of unease to create humor.” Pinter’s play transcends the fourth wall without ever breaking it.**

Los Vendidos** was first staged by El Teatro Campesino in 1967. The play is set in Honest Sancho’s Used Mexican Lot and Mexican Curio Shop. Miss Jiménez, who represents the governor's office, is there to see if she can find a "Mexican type" for the governor’s gala event. Sancho and Miss Jiménez tour the shop as he demonstrates the “floor models” such as farm worker, Mexican revolutionary, pachuco, lowrider and none are acceptable until she is introduced to the newest model, “fresh, clean Mexican American” in a business suit and glasses. Miss Jiménez purchases the automated floor model and the two drive off to attend the Governor’s event. In the silence following her exit, what will happen?**