BY JESSICA NEU
Sometimes a theatrical performance comes along that is more than a show. The words, songs, or actions penetrate your brain and speak to your soul. A core memory is created.
City Theatre‘s presentation of the DNAWORKS production of The Real James Bond…Was Dominican is one of these shows. Written and performed by Christopher Rivas and developed with and directed by Daniel Banks, The Real James Bond…Was Dominican is, at its core, a profoundly intuitive commentary on the appropriation of race and culture in the United States.
In a historical moment that is wrought with tension over immigration, DEI initiatives, cultural wars, and representation, Rivas and musician Jonathan Gomez have created a piece that stands above the fray of any pedantic, heavy-handed, or satirical commentary on colorism. Rivas’ work emerges as an articulately nuanced, deeply personal, and revelatory expose of the United States’ stunted social progress throughout history.
Rivas masterfully intertwines his personal life story with that of one of his idols – diplomat, playboy, and international man of intrigue, Porfirio Rubirosa, in a manner that is “more church than theater.”
Rivas begins the show nearly bearing it all in a pair of “tighty-whities” and undershirt as he transports us back to his childhood as a boy in Queens, NY. He was afraid of nearly everything, and his family describes him as “3 going on 300.” Although Rivas grew up in a home with a loving family and surrounded by a strong community, he admittedly did not like himself. When he was 10 years old, he thought he was Spider Man, but he quickly realized that humans were not actually Marvel superheroes. This realization prompted Rivas to develop an interest in the character James Bond. Bond was a tangible figure for Rivas not only to emulate but possibly become. According to Rivas, Bond did meaningful work and was cool, tough, wanted, and loved.
Rivas attributes his desire to transform himself into someone else to his father. Rivas’ father was a building super, which meant he fluidly morphed into any person he needed to be in the moment. He could be Black, White, Latino, or hood, speak in a high voice or a low voice, and know when to give a handshake, a head nod, or a fist bump. Rivas equated this skill to preparing which mask you will wear for the next person you meet.
Together, they would watch people in Central Park and guess who they were and where they were going. His father told him that if you study people well enough, you can take the life you want and make the life you want. Rivas describes his father as a blend of “hustle, want, and desire.” The want and desire were rooted in his ambition to create a better life for Rivas and his siblings, and his hustle was the byproduct of the desire.
However, when Rivas’ mother and father vowed to create a better life for their children, their extended family accused them of “wanting to be white.” Rivas artfully reframes this statement as a comment on power versus skin color. Historically, white people have the most cultural capital in America (a point that Rivas uses statistics to highlight throughout the show), so claiming someone wants to be white actually implies that they are trying to have more power.
The metaphor of putting on a mask to greet the next person you meet resonates throughout the show. This concept is what inevitably attracted Rivas to the character of James Bond. But as cool as Bond was, he was inevitably still a character. When Rivas discovered playboy Porfirio Rubirosa, who he affectionately referred to as Rubi, he recognized the uncanny resemblance between Rubi’s actual life and Bond’s fantastical life. Rubi drove Ferraris, loved many women, had a relationship with JFK, was connected to the Mob, and always spent “one night out, one night in, only drank enough to feel brave, and always knew when to leave.”
It is believed that Bond creator and author, Ian Flemming, never accredited Rubi with inspiring the Bond role because of his race. Rubi was born in the Dominican Republic, just like Rivas’ father. Rivas’ mother is Columbian, resulting in Rivas being a Brown man in America. Rivas never had to wear a mask to become Rubi. He and Rubi both had to wear a mask to become the most conscious, perfect, aware, Brown person they could be because that is the standard that we have set forth in America.
Rivas intertwines his own stories about dating, accepting his own body, and how he measures his worth with stories from Rubi’s deliciously provocative yet heartbreakingly raw past. The result is a brilliant story of personal heroism and humbling veracity that showcases the ongoing pitfalls of appropriation in America.
As an actor, storyteller, and writer, Rivas is as close to perfect as it gets. The Real James Bond…Was Dominican will make you think, emote, and self-reflect. If any of those actions feel uncomfortable, I encourage you even more to see this show than if you are one to ponder your racial privilege already or the need for a mask. Rivas’ natural charisma will make you laugh genuinely, not uncomfortably; his stories will leave an indelible handprint on your heart.
Rivas’ soul-bearing script and performance resonated with me as I am a White woman, but my husband and children are tri-racial. Rivas’s words hit such personal chords as so many of his feelings and experiences mirror that of my own immediate family. I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the post-show story circle, where many audience members recognized their white privilege and vulnerably shared their own experiences with colorism. Some audience members cried, and some rejoiced. Some expressed hope that Rivas’ show could influence just one individual who believes that colorism is not a concern and alter their perspective.
As I write this review, immigrants are being escorted out of the country in record numbers, and DEI initiatives are being dismantled by the day. The Real James Bond…Was Dominican is more than Rivas’ connection with Rubi and commentary on how James Bond erased Rubi’s Latino heritage. It is a call to recognize that we all descend from the same beings. And as Rivas so aptly stated, “Maybe one day we can all start acting that way.”
TICKETS AND DETAILS
City Theatre’s presentation of the DNAWORKS production of The Real James Bond…Was Dominican has performances through February 16th, 2025. More info at: https://citytheatrecompany.org/play/the-dnaworks-production-of-the-real-james-bond-was-dominican/
Tickets at: https://citytheatre.culturaldistrict.org/production/94448/the-real-james-bond-dot-dot-dot-was-dominican
Categories: Arts and Ideas
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