DNAWORKS ‘Real James Bond…Was Dominican’ at City Theatre

The premise of Christopher Rivas’ one-man performance is that the character of James Bond was modeled after a notorious womanizer, avid polo player, daring race car driver, and sometime Dominican diplomat, Porfirio Rubirosa. (He just might have been a spy, too, but who’s to say?) The performer and playwright Rivas is also Dominican. As an acting student in his twenties, Rivas learned from a 2009 Vanity Fair article that Ian Fleming, author of the original James Bond novels, had apparently modeled his Agent 007 on the real-life character of Rubirosa. The article inspired Rivas to write about his lifelong adoration of Bond, which has become the performance piece now playing at City Theatre until February 16.

Shaken, Not Stirred

Although I hasten to say this is a performance piece rather than a play, Rivas’ story, actively played out in the intimate Lillie Theater and accompanied by musician and percussionist Jonathan Gomez, is no less intriguing than a good Bond movie or Rubirosa’s own strange biography. But Rivas first wants us to know who his real father was (or still is?). Rivas’ dad, who emigrated to the U.S., was a man committed to the welfare and security of his family, and, above all, a man who clearly loves his son and teaches him to appreciate the diversity of America. But Dad, too, willingly wore “masks” to assimilate with multi-ethnic neighbors in their newfound community of Queens. And that’s where Rivas begins his story as a young boy proud of his toy chest filled with Nerf guns which, while wearing only his tighty-whities running around the family’s apartment, empower him to take on imaginary megalomaniacs, saboteurs, and evil-doers in any form. As his story progresses, however, the audience comes to better understand the legend of Rubirosa.

Who’s Behind the Curtain

Not to name-drop—a trait we are told the gentlemanly Rubirosa would never do—his relationships included Dominican dictator Trujillo’s own daughter, Flor de Oro, American tobacco heiress Doris Duke, actresses Zsa Zsa Gabor, Argentine First Lady “Evita” Perón, and Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. And that’s just a short list of the many women with whom Rubirosa shared debonair dalliances or, to be appropriately modest, “danced.” 

While often engaging audience participation, Rivas’ performance is lively, emotive, and fantastical. He employs backdrop photos of his childhood and that of Rubirosa’s many wives, all wealthy, royal, or given to Hollywood legend. He teaches us the power, pretense and perspicacity of pretending to be something greater than our personal birthrights typically afford. As such, there’s something meta here; an actor pretends to be his young self while identifying with a popular character whose true identity is no more salient than the attributes the actor gives to his own father. It’s all a mystery—given the common heritage of being Dominican—that begs more questions than can be answered within the 70 minutes of Rivas’ riveting performance.

Introspective Intelligence

And so, if this performance is directing us to appreciate the value of identity, then we should also appreciate our evening’s theatrical host, DNAWORKS. Newly transplanted to Pittsburgh, DNAWORKS is as much a producing arts organization as it is a striving cultural movement. The organization has instigated projects in 39 states and 23 countries encouraging audiences to embrace and share cultural identity. Its director and co-founder Daniel Banks, who also helped develop and direct Rivas’ performance, welcomed the opening night audience with an invitation to stay after the performance to share in something he called a “Storycircle.” I was unable to stay, but the playbill informs us: “Unlike talk backs, these post-performance conversations invite audiences to explore their responses to the production through the lens of their own experiences.” More than ten of the remaining performances throughout this run will host Storycircles. (Be sure to ask the box office, or check the ticket ordering page of City Theatre’s website for which performance dates will offer this added program.) 

Curtain Calls

In addition to Christopher Rivas’ command of stage, credit is due Jonathan Gomez who almost inconspicuously adorns the performance with Latin rhythms, sound effects, and dramatic flourishes. Colombian by birth, Gomez plays wonderfully with his own toy box of global instruments. Give credit to Driscoll Otto for effective lighting design and Kelly Colburn for spectacular projections and multimedia design. Production stage manager Patti Kelly, recently retired after 25 years with City Theatre, returns to manage the production, even playing a turn as an offstage Vanna White of sorts. Kudos, too, to stage management veteran Drew Martorella. And Wilson Torres created the performance score.

The REAL James Bond… Was Dominican runs through February 16 in City Theatre’s intimate black box Lillie Theatre. Be sure to check out performance dates that include Storycircles. 

C. Prentiss Orr is a Pittsburgh-based writer who covers theater and other topics for Entertainment Central. He is the author of the books The Surveyor and the Silversmith and Pittsburgh Born, Pittsburgh Bred.

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