He’s a struggling painter who becomes infatuated with a blow-up doll that comes to life. The new romantic comedy “Muneca,” which literally means doll, sounds more like an X-rated flick than a theater production. But Union City resident and co-writer Christina Soto opened the play at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. last month, several years after premiering the film version of the story at festivals in Los Angeles, New York City, and Orlando, Fla.
The Cuban-American filmmaker said the story is a “dark comedy, which deals with relationships between men and women [seen] through the eyes of a young painter,” she said.
“The gal playing the doll is a doll.” – Rob Santana
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“It’s about a relationship with a father and his son who’s too busy being an artist to find a girlfriend,” Soto said.
Full of “personal disappointments and the mundane routine of his life,” Esteban hides from the world once the “beautiful, life-size” Sonia enters.
Hudson County resident and fellow playwright Rob Santana said there are “incredibly talented Latino actors and actresses” in the performance, “and the gal playing the doll is a doll.”
Originally written in 2006, the play was first produced as an independent film, which traveled the country from film festival to film festival. Soto, who has worked on 20 independent films since 2003, was even selected by the Manhattan Repertory Theatre to produce the story for their Fall Festival back in October of 2009.
“I submitted it not thinking I was going to be selected,” Soto said. “I was just submitting it to say that I did it. But they gave me really great feedback about the script.”
As for the 2010 performance of “Muneca” at the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, the play garnered the same positive reviews.
“The show was free, but you needed reservations,” Soto said. “We had to turn people away each night.”
According to the filmmaker, the play welcomed over 100 people per night, both Friday and Saturday. “The play has a large Latino cast,” she said. “It was really well received.”
Film or theater
Since focusing on producing “Muneca” as a theater production, Soto said she has more control over the final product than while shooting a film. “You don’t have to deal with all the technicians,” she said. “The sound guy, the make-up people, the lighting. Then once you have the film in the can, you’re going into post-production and dealing with an editor. A film is not something that only you work on, but with the people you hire to see your final vision.”
But in theater, Soto can work directly with her cast. “With a play, you’re alone with the actors. It’s more immediate and intimate,” she said.
Born and raised in Manhattan, Soto is also an accomplished photographer whose work often focuses on women’s issues as well as her Cuban heritage. Her photography has been in numerous juried and group shows throughout the country, including New Mexico, and has won the Perkins Center for the Arts in Moorestown, N.J.
According to Soto’s website, the Immigrants Foundation Annex of the United Nations selected her still image, entitled “Perros Sin Amor,” for an award.
For more information on Christina Soto or to watch a trailer for the artist’s independent film version of “Muneca,” go to: www.munecafilm.com.
Sean Allocca can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com