Review // Mexodus at Berkeley Repertory Theatre

History meets hip-hop in Mexodus, an electrifying live-looping musical, composed in real-time by multitalented writer/performers Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. Mexodus explores the often-untold stories of the Underground Railroad that led south into Mexico.

Words: bran(…)pos

Honestly not a huge fan of the whole live looping thing. Having been around that technology for a long time and done some myself over the years, it’s just not impressive to me in and of itself.

In the hands of performers Brian Quijada and Nigel D. Robinson, and the design/stagecraft team in this production, I was taken aback and surprised at how well-implemented and impressive this form of live looping could be, and how integral to the storytelling it is.

Telling the story of a black slave named Henry who escapes the U.S. south to Mexico and befriends a man named Carlos, there is a lot of real history here fictionalized into these two characters that is both heartfelt and genuinely novel storytelling, to me at least.

Most of the storytelling comes in musical form. The stage is littered w/ instruments acoustic & electronic, and the general visual/aural design of the show follows suit w/ a neat mix of old & new. Washtub basin bass next to a synth w/ flashing LEDs. Adidas w/ spurs.

The live looping is genuinely impressive. There are triggers littered all over the stage. When the performers capture a loop, layer, and then subsequently mix the results into a full musical number, it feels in service of the storytelling, the blocking, choreography.

The way the performers build the music in front of you feels analogous to the building of these characters’ relationship. Two very different cultures both finding shared experience under the thumb of a brutal US regime. The building blocks of black & brown solidarity.

The performers and director David Mendizábal infuse the production w/ humor and outstretched arms, so one never feels talked down to or lectured at. An impressive feat w/ such heavy material.

Go see this play! Runs until Oct 20.