Mexican holiday traditions get wrapped up with humor in Gallo Rep’s ‘Too Many Tamales’

Tamales are already a Christmastime tradition for thousands of families in the Central Valley. And now the new Gallo Center Repertory Company wants to make it a theatrical traditional as well.

The company continues its inaugural season with the holiday-themed play “Too Many Tamales,” based on the popular children’s book by Fresno author Gary Soto. The stage version was adapted by Margarita Galban and Lina Montalvo for the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts in Los Angeles, which granted the Gallo Center permission to produce the show.

“We fell in love with this story, it is absolutely charming. It is just a joyous Christmas show,” said Gallo Center Rep Artistic Director Jim Johnson.

The show opens Friday at the Gallo Center for the Arts and will run through the weekend.

The short story and play tell the story of a young girl who finds herself in a pickle, or more like big masa, after she appears to lose her mother’s diamond ring as her family prepares tamales for Christmas dinner. Playing Maria will be Dutcher Middle School student Julia Hernandez. The 12-year-old actress joins a cast of 10 that ranges in age from 10 to 81. The multicultural show touches on Latino and Christmas family traditions with humor, music and even a little magic.

But Gallo Center Community Engagement Coordinator Raul Garcia said it’s not just aimed at the region’s Latino families. The play will be performed primarily in English, with a few Spanish phrases thrown in, and its message can be enjoyed and embraced by everyone.

“It shows people some of the important holiday traditions with Mexican families,” Garcia said. “It connects people to what Las Posadas are, about the excitement of making tamales during the holiday season. All of these pieces that are fun yet unique. Yet still in the end, everyone ends up singing ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’ ”

“Too Many Tamales” will be directed by Modesto actress Robin Bjerke, who has work locally with Prospect Theater Project, Modesto Junior College and others. Veteran performer Ray Newman serves as the show’s puppet master.

“We’re energizing a new group of people who are expressing interest about getting involved,” Garcia said. “It’s exciting.”

Johnson said if the show is a success, he hopes to bring it back regularly, perhaps every other year, as a new holiday tradition for the region.

The play is the third production from the new in-house Gallo Center Rep this season. The first was the death row drama “The Exonerated” in partnership with the Sankofa Theatre Company in July. Then last month, the company presented “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

“I couldn’t be happier, not just with the box office but the quality of the shows,” Johnson said. “It is shaping up to be a really strong first season and I feel really good about it.”

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Mexican holiday traditions get wrapped up with humor in Gallo Rep’s ‘Too Many Tamales’."