At the height of his drug empire, Pablo Escobar is believed to have had a net worth of more than $2 billion.
Stories, true and otherwise, abound: that the King of Cocaine once offered to pay off Colombia’s $10 billion debt if it meant he would be exempt from extradition; that he burned $2 million in cash to keep his daughter warm while his family was on the run; that he cut a deal agreeing to imprisonment, as long as he was able to build a luxury prison — complete with a nightclub, casino and spa — for himself.
Though known to be a caring father and regarded by some as a Robin Hood-type figure, he was also a narcoterrorist responsible for the deaths of at least 4,000 people.
This legacy factors heavily into Alexis Scheer’s “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord,” a play about four teenage girls who attempt to bring Escobar back from the dead. Set in Miami on the eve of Barack Obama’s first presidential election, the play concerns themes of girlhood, grief, magic and sexuality.
Kaitlin Paige Longoria, director of the 5th Wall Theatre’s current production of the play, says she was drawn to the script because of its focus on a Hispanic point of view.
“This one was particularly intriguing for me because of the cultural elements to it, being Hispanic myself and not really seeing that represented from the young, female viewpoint,” says Longoria, noting that she was a teen herself at the time of the 2008 election.
In the play, the four teenagers are members of the Dead Leaders Club, a formerly school-affiliated group that studies the lives of departed world figures. Where previous years involved examinations of John F. Kennedy, Gandhi and Princess Diana, the club’s current incarnation has decided to focus on Escobar; they conduct seances in the hopes of bringing him back from the dead.
“It’s an intense play,” says Longoria, who is also 5th Wall’s artistic director. “It’s a story about young women reclaiming their identity through witchcraft and seances. They meet in the treehouse every first Tuesday of the month and they discuss life and politics. It’s an unexpected ride with twists and turns.”
Local actress Eva Linder says that audiences shouldn’t be fooled by the play’s suburban setting and focus on teenagers.
“[The play] can seem mundane on the surface, but just underneath is this dark magic, this dark thing that they’re trying to do,” she says.
In the show, Linder plays Zoom, a Jewish American teen who believes she’s been impregnated by the spirit of Escobar.
“She is the youngest of the bunch and definitely the more zany, naïve, bombastic one. She’s always motor-mouthing,” Linder says. “She’s like a dog with the zoomies.”
Kylee Márquez-Downie, who plays Pipe, says she’s excited to tackle her first Latina and queer role onstage.
“It’s a roller coaster ride of thrills and identity and exploration,” she says. “It’s raw and realm, and, at the same time, it’s otherworldly.”
Pipe is the leader of the teenage quartet.
“She’s assertive, decisive, confident,” Márquez-Downie says. “She is someone who will run a Fortune 500 company someday.”
Under Longoria’s direction, the cast has populated the set with various objects from their own childhoods. Linder, for instance, donated her Nintendo DS and robot dog toy iDog to the cause.
“It is a culmination of these young women’s childhoods,” says Longoria of the tchotchkes that adorn the treehouse set. “It’s full of Beanie Babies and posters and stickers and drawings and moments of female youth that are so nostalgic to the early 2000s and late-’90s.”
Where the set aims to lend a feeling of authenticity to the proceedings, there is one notable deviation from reality: the Ouija board used by the actresses. The version onstage has swapped out some of the letters from the original design.
“We do not play with that sort of thing in my family,” Márquez-Downie explains. “We made it a hair incorrectly so we don’t accidentally invite any unwanted spirits into our space.”
Longoria identifies with the script’s theme of grief; she’s lost her grandmother and father in the past year, as well as her friend, local actor Adam Turck.
“This show has been really unique in that we’re navigating grief together through the process which is cathartic,” says Márquez-Downie, who also counted Turck as a friend.
“Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” marks the first time that 5th Wall will stage a play at The Basement since it was announced as 5th Wall’s permanent home earlier this month. The Basement, which was previously home to TheatreLab, was rented by 5th Wall for shows in the past.
“It just felt like the right fit,” Longoria says. “The experience of being in the space, it felt like home.”
For Linder, “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” is an exemplary illustration of theater that pushes the envelope.
“Back in undergrad, a teacher said that theater is meant to be dangerous, and I think that this show and this production is that. It is nothing that Richmond has ever seen before,” Linder says. “It’s funny, it will make you laugh, cry, clutch your pearls. At such a weird time, it’s important for us to be able to feel those big emotions.”
5th Wall Theatre’s “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” runs through Nov. 9 at The Basement, 300 E. Broad St. Content warning: “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord contains strong language, sexual content, depictions of drug use and scenes of violence. The play also includes references to suicide, sexual assault and other sensitive subject matter.” For more information visit 5thwalltheatre.org.
