Say “No” to One Paseo – 06 December 2024

Juxtaposing physical changes to an increasingly gentrified shopping center with the emotional changes that come during formative, developmental years, Say “No” to One Paseo follows the development of two best friends becoming aware of the differences between them from childhood to adulthood. B (Natalie Malia Figuracion Borsky) and Ree (Mia Soriano)’s story is told through episodic moments structured like a catalogue of memories. As 7 year olds, they begin with confidence and trust. As time goes on, B remains open while Ree becomes cautious as Ree’s journey of self discovery involves falling in love with B, who loves Ree in a way that is not sufficient to fulfill Ree’s desires. Through sexual experimentation with each other and others, Ree discovers that he is a transgender man, and becomes frustrated that when B discovers she needs a man that she means a cisgender one.

This play is fascinating in how the tables turn when it comes to rejection. Playwright Siena Marilyn Ledger paints a hauntingly realistic picture of the confusion that can come with speaking your truth. At the end of the play, Ree emerges triumphant—Ree goes off to college and starts to have a life that excites him. As they drive through their home town, Ree notices that even more places have been changed into other, more gentrified places, but B no longer remembers when those changes occurs and states that the places have always been there. B begins to feel self conscious that she has stayed in her same world with her same dating pool and her same shopping center, Ree, who was dysphoric and brooding for the bulk of the play, has a whole world to explore in Chicago. In most of the uncomfortable moments of the play, Ree, who was born into a lower middle class existence and lived with their church-loving aunt after the death of their mother, was coping with B’s desire for sexual intimacy being quickly followed by a lack of desire for romantic intimacy. At the end, Ree is dating somebody and B isn’t. Natalie Malia Figuracion Borksy bit her lower lip and looked away—a small gesture showcasing a profound feeling of loss as she processes that she’s stuck in a town that no longer feels like the playground of their childhood. B’s characteristic unconcerned confidence devolves into confusion as who she is turns out to be drastically different from the friend who was once her everything.

This production by Euphoria Theatre Company did a phenomenal job with design elements in a small space. In particular, the intimacy being shown through dance and movement was a beautiful reminder that not all sexual sharing has the intention of procreation and that there are forms of sexual intimacy that are intense and powerful that involve discovering a person’s body in other ways. I was very taken with the sound design (Austin Yoshida) and the creativity of the transitions during these intimate moments as time was passing while the characters were dancing, and the rhythm of how they related to each other was changing too. Many of the sounds evoked the construction site of One Paseo, the rival shopping mall being built for rich people with higher end offerings across the street from the Del Mar Highlands, a shopping mall that had been there longer and contained affordable options that were eventually replaced with less affordable options, like the Red Robin that became a fancy movie theatre with waiter service. It was a reminder that despite the firmness with which B and Ree were bonded, parts of their relationship and themselves were always under construction and changing into something surprising and new. Lighting (Lillian Hilmes) was also beautiful and brilliantly utilized, creating color temperature shifts that clued the audience into how B and Ree’s intimacy was going—scenes that ended in pale pink bliss were different than those that ended in harsh white contrast with somebody feeling exposed or hurt.

Say “No” to One Paseo brought me joy in seeing characters who remained friends despite moments of hurt, moments of sexual desire, moments of competition, moments of living in the same town with very different constraints, moments of self discovery, and the complicated dance of discovering in what ways they can love each other and in what capacities they needed to invite others into their life to live the lives they want. I related to both of them. I also felt an inevitable twinge of sadness leaving the theater knowing that I have lost many friends who were not willing to hang on and do this dance with me in my own process of self discovery. The beacon of hope that this is possible was important to me in a time where my generation feels particularly disconnected, with a philosophy of letting go what we perceive we cannot change. I enjoyed the reminder in Say “No” to One Paseo that we don’t change each other, we change ourselves—and it is possible for two people to change and not grow apart.

I attended this performance on a press pass through special arrangement with Lily Chrones and Euphoria Theatre Company.