Miami death trip: Our Dear Dead Drug Lord at Steep Theatre has a well-paced unconventional plot, but not quite enough dramatic payoff. | Emily_221B
Teenagers tend to be reckless, sure, but few would gather in a spooky tree house to summon the spirit of Colombian drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar. But then, most aren’t as hardcore—or foolhardy—as the members of the Dead Leaders Club, a group of private school girls in Miami who dabble with supernatural forces in. This unsettling, befuddling play by Alexis Scheer is now in its midwest premiere at Steep Theatre, directed by Sophiyaa Nayar.
Carrying on with their activities anyway, the members initiate a new student, Kit , on the same night they hold a séance to speak with Escobar. The group is now a foursome, with Kit joining Pipe, Squeeze , and Zoom , who all go by nicknames determined by a Ouija board. Initially it’s unclear why they choose to summon Escobar, beyond the fact that the girls feel an undeniable attraction to the handsome drug lord, revered by many Colombians as a Robin Hood-like figure despite his crimes.
Anyone who was a teen in the early 2000s will relate to many references in the play, from the pervasive fear of terrorist attacks—for these characters, 9/11 is a childhood memory and the 7/7 London bombings are a recent event—to lighter throwbacks like Hot Topic, dial-up Internet, and the rise of the hipster. The 2008 presidential election also looms large, with Squeeze and Pipe sparring over their respective support for Barack Obama and John McCain.
Paranormal elements aside, the play takes a serious look at the struggles of adolescence. Between them, the four girls face more than their share of trauma: family deaths, self-harm, domestic abuse, unplanned pregnancy, repressed sexuality, and more. Conversations about race also create tension among the diverse group, which includes Afro-Latina, Colombian, Cuban, and Jewish members.
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