The stage of the Fresno City College Theater will be transformed into a cave for a few weeks in October for the production of “The Illusion.”
In rehearsals, the rough texture of the cave walls was already set, giving the actors a feel of what they would be working with on opening night.
The play delivers all of the elements, humor, dialogue, twists and turns of the story add up to a wonderful production. The actors nail every emotion, be it happiness, sadness or confusion.
“The Illusion” by Tony Kushner is the story of a remorseful father, Pridamant, played by Luis Ramentes. With the help of a magician Alcandre (Keshawne Keene) and his assistant Amanuensis (Ben Mcnamara), Pridamant gets a chance to see his son, whom he sent away 15 years ago.
Many of the actors in this works play characters with three different names, so the play is constantly changing characters’ names, motives and allegiances until a twist in the end brings all of the small confusions together.
The magician Alcandre tells the father to “expect nothing from these visions” but procceds to show him three visions of how his son, going by the names Calisto, Clindor and Theognenes, played by Jano Cota, is living his life.  In the first vision, the son is a young brash character full of swagger who tries to seduce a young maiden by the names Melibea, Isabelle, and Ttippolyta (played by Bridgette Manders). He seems to fail until her maid and friend, a character who goes by Elicia, Lyse, Clarina (played by Lena Aguilan) helps him. Melibea’s suitor played by Josh Hansen (Pleribo, Adraste, and Prince Florilame) confronts him and is sent away.
At this point, the story is sent to the second vision in which the son is a servant to Matamore (David Manning) who is interested in Isabelle. Meanwhile, Isabelle and her suitor (Hansen) are in the middle of an argument about their relationship. After this argument, Clindor and Isabelle are shown to be in love after a passionate affair. Shortly after, Clindor is in a relationship with Clarina, Isabelle’s maid and a discussion on love and money follows.
The play uses some of the same actors to play different roles which could be pleased. For example, the son goes by a different name in every vision that the magician conjures.  The magician tells the father and the audience to “stop acting like a lawyer” and not focus so much on trivial things like names.
One of the play’s biggest strengths is the wordplay in the dialogue. The playwright uses words and their multiple meanings in a masterful way. The actors seem to be aware of just how important this is to the play and succeed in simplifying the dialogue and its multiple meanings throughout the play.
Humor is a recurring element in this play. But the play also deals with serious issues such as love, abandonment, and fate. Matamore (David Manning), a deluded “conqueror of empires” is especially humorous, but every character in the play gets a chance to show off their sardonic sense of humor at some point in the production.
The difference between young and old is shown throughout the play. The son is shown as full of hope when discussing love and life. The father is shown as more pessimistic and cynical. The characters played by Josh Hansen are rich and condescending, while all three characters that the son in the story are shown as poor and humble.
“The Illusion” will be playing Oct. 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15 at 7:30pm. General admission will be $14 and $12 for students.