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The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity

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The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity
Written byKristoffer Diaz
CharactersVigneshwar Paduar
Chad Deity
Macedonio Guerra
Billy Heartland
Old Glory
Everett K. Olson
Date premieredSeptember 25, 2009 (2009-09-25)
Place premieredBiograph Theater
Original languageEnglish
Genredramatic comedy

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."[1]

Synopsis

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Act One

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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

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THE Wrestling begins building a rivalry between Chad Deity and The Fundamentalist. Mace and VP begin working on a finisher for The Fundamentalist, settling on a superkick title the Sleeper Cell. After initially freezing, The Fundamentalist KOs Billy Heartland with a single kick. Next week he does the same move against Old Glory, becoming more arrogant with every win. Olson picks The Fundamentalist to become the next Champion but, to Mace’s dismay, VP decides to leave THE Wrestling. Needing Mace to step up in his place, Olson allows him to perform as himself.

Epilogue

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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?”[2]

Production history

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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).[3]

Directed by Edward Torres, Designed by Brian Sidney Bembridge (scenery), Jesse Klug (lights), John Boesche (projections), and Christine Pascual (costumes)[4]

Other Productions
Theater Location Date Ref.
InterAct Theatre Company Philadelphia, Pennsylvania October 2009 [5]
Mixed Blood Theatre Company Minneapolis, Minnesota April 2010 [6]
Second Stage Theater New York City, New York May 2010 [7]
Geffen Playhouse Los Angeles, California September 2011 [8]
Actors Theatre of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky January 2012 [9]
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Washington, D.C. September 2012 [10]
Curious Theatre Company Denver, Colorado September 2012 [11]
Dallas Theater Center Dallas, Texas October 2012 [12]
Carolina Actors Studio Theatre Charlotte, North Carolina April 2013 [13]
Capital Stage Sacramento, California July 2013 [14]
Barebones Productions Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania February 2017 [15]
Play-PerView Online reading via Zoom August 2020 [16]
Profile Theatre Portland, Oregon October 2022 [17]
Zach Theatre Austin, TX October 2022 [18]

Reception

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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."[3]

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."[7] The New York Daily News called the same production, "flashy, fleshy and ridiculously entertaining".[19] 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."[8]

Awards and nominations

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References

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  1. ^ Montez, Noe (2018). "The Heavy Lifting: Resisting the Obama Presidency's Neoliberalist Conceptions of the American Dream in Kristoffer Diaz's The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity". Theatre History Studies. 37: 305–313, 359. doi:10.1353/ths.2018.0015. S2CID 194226639.
  2. ^ Diaz, Kristoffer (2011). The Elaborate Entrance of Chade Deity. Samuel French. ISBN 978-0-573-69967-2.
  3. ^ a b Oxman, Steven (2009-10-13). "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity". Variety. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  4. ^ Year Zero and Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity Bloom at Victory Gardens, playbill.com, September 23, 2009
  5. ^ Review of Chad Deity, By J. Cooper Robb, Philadelphia Weekly, November 3, 2009
  6. ^ The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Mixed Blood Theatre, By Janet Preus, howwastheshow.com, April 9, 2010
  7. ^ a b Theatre Review: Body Slam to the American Dream, New York Times, May 21, 2010
  8. ^ a b Theater review: 'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity' at Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2011
  9. ^ Actors Theatre's 'Chad Deity' looks into world of wrestling, The Courier-Journal, January 6, 2012
  10. ^ Woolly Mammoth goes to the mat with “Chad Deity”, by Peter Marks, The Washington Post, September 12, 2012
  11. ^ Curious Theatre Company stages a smackdown with wrestling play "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity", by Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post, September 14, 2012
  12. ^ Like Wrestling, Chad Deity‘s Brawny American Allegory Isn’t Subtle, But It Sure Is Exciting, Theater Review by Lindsey Wilson, Frontrow Magazine, October 29th
  13. ^ Toppman, Lawrence (February 26, 2013) “CAST pins 'Chad Deity' to the mat”, Charlotte Observer
  14. ^ Bitker, Janelle "Capital Stage opens wrestling satire 'Chad Deity', Sacramento Bee, July 14, 2013
  15. ^ "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at barebones productions".
  16. ^ "Pulitzer Prize Finalist the Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity Gets Virtual Reading August 15". 15 August 2020.
  17. ^ "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Profile Theatre". 29 September 2022.
  18. ^ "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity at Zach Theatre".
  19. ^ 'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity' review: Kristoffer Diaz's wrestling ring packs a punch, New York Daily News, May 20, 2010
  20. ^ Playwright Diaz wins ATC's 2008 Latino award, Latino Perspectives Magazine, January 2009
  21. ^ 2010 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Drama
  22. ^ OBIE winners, 2010–2011 Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Times’s Outstanding Playwright Award Goes to Kristoffer Diaz, New York Times, June 21, 2011
  24. ^ a b "Nominations Announced for 2010 Hewes Design Awards". broadwayworld.com. August 19, 2010.
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