At the Kirk Douglas Theatre, a father uncovers the legacy of a son senselessly killed in a school shooting, fighting for meaning beyond a grief that never goes away.
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 10-20-2005
Some horrors in our world are impossible to digest. They stick in our chests and squeeze the life out of our hearts. They make us feel like we will never take a pure breath. We do not understand how they could happen, but we often know why they are happening.
A prime example is school shootings. What happened on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was nothing less than carnage and butchery. Rather than knives, of course, in 21st-century America, the school shooter used an AR-15 assault rifle to kill 17 students and staff and injure 18 others. Shot four times, seventeen-year-old Joaquín “Guac” Oliver was among the dead.
How do you mourn a son forever lost to you, taken away from your family in the prime of his youth? It is a question that is almost impossible to answer. In partnership with Change the Ref, the Center Theatre Group presents GUAC at the Kirk Douglas Theatre from October 23 to November 2. In this raw, deeply moving, and charismatic one-person show, Manuel Oliver struggles to answer that most difficult question while raising awareness about the insanity of gun violence, school shootings, and the gun lobby in the United States.
Co-written by James Clements and directed by Michael Cotey, the one-person show is a fearless and deeply intimate theatrical testimony about coping with an unimaginable tragedy. Seven years after his son Joaquín “Guac” Oliver was killed in the Parkland shooting, Manuel Oliver spends his life traveling across the country to turn his love and grief into activism and performance. His extraordinary effort in GUAC should not be missed.
From basketball games with bad refs to eating pepperoni bacon pizza while watching Family Guy to Slash playing The Godfather theme in concert and joint father-son air guitar solos, Oliver paints an unforgettable and deeply-connected portrait of a vibrant life cut short. Along with his father, the presence of the late Joaquín “Guac” Oliver is undeniably felt on stage. There is something so universal and genuine about this image of a teenage boy in a white T-shirt with his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans.
A few days after the show, I still can’t get the image of that boy out of my mind. I want to hug him and let him know that everything will be alright, even if it isn’t and even if it never will be again. I am so sorry for my part in what happened to you, Joaquín “Guac” Oliver. I am truly sorry I haven’t done more as an American citizen to stand up to the gun lobby and reject the 2nd Amendment insanity that devastates our nation. I wish you were here with us today.
Yes, GUAC isn’t an easy theatrical experience, but no meaningful experience is ever easy. Tears fill my eyes as I write these words. I have been deeply touched by a night at the theatre, and I am genuinely grateful to have had such an experience. I thank Manuel Oliver for his bravery, and I honor the life of Joaquín “Guac” Oliver. Please be courageous and see GUAC live at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. It will be an experience that you’ll never forget.
Photos by Elijah Pelton, Donna Aceto, and Cameron Whitman, Courtesy of Change the Ref and the Center Theatre Group
