Written by Ruth Cantrell,  “The Treasures of El Mundo” wowed the audience in the Westwood Theatre’s rendition of the play, which was performed on Monday, Nov. 18 at 5:30 and 7 p.m. at the Raymond E. Hartfield Performing Arts Center (PAC). Directed towards a younger audience, the actors and actresses successfully delight the minds of the youth.  The show is encompassed by a story filled with adventure, problem solving, and team work to resist a central enemy and inform the younger generations of the dangers of pollution. Additionally, the play was performed by two separate casts: the Reuse Cast and the Recycle Cast which were directed by Ms. Lydia Coats, Ms. Hannah Milam, and assistant-directed by Emma Greene ‘20 and Annabelle Hicks ‘20.

“My favourite part about the play was the fact that it held very important issues but they were very easy to grasp,” Emma Greene ‘20 said. “With the use of funny, big, and likeable and hateable characters, the overarching theme was fun to follow, while still learning.”

The show is centered around a young girl who goes by the name Esperanza (played by Magda Riha ‘22 and Amara Ravelo ‘22) along with an elderly environmentalist (played by Sophia Clift ‘22 and Cameron Hewett ‘22) and a misconstrued wolf (played by Logan Hanson ‘22 and Jeff Hart ‘22) who group together to protect the “treasures of El Mundo” from Apathy Machina, Inc., a conglomerate focused on spreading pollution and “Dee Struction” to El Mundo. The blatant relationship between the effects of alcohol symbolized through Eroda Kola and the hunger for power is shown in this production, and therefore left a message of environmental awareness and wariness towards the dangers of addiction in the audience’s minds. 

“Our show was about human impact on the environment and how we need to preserve the world,” Sophia Clift ‘22 said. “One of the most emphasized lines is ‘commit, connect, conserve’ which alludes to putting effort, and building community to help save our planet. The main character is supposed to be around the age of eleven, which makes it really easy for younger kids to connect to the show.” 

Besides the touching storyline of the show, the attention to detail when it comes to props and costumes also wowed the audience. Created by Ms. Coats’ Costume class, each litterbug, wind spirit, and puppet animal was carefully depicted and dressed in a way that encaptured the spirit of the character, making the show more believable and moving as a whole. Additionally, the various sets produced by Ms. Milam’s Tech classes put in place a mood that foreshadowed each  situation, whether dangerous or relieved. 

“Going into children’s theatre this year,” Clift said, “I had no idea that I would be in a class with about 40 people. I knew a majority of them, but not well. Throughout the process of learning lines, blocking, working on characterization and different committees to help out the class, I got closer and built trust and friendship with everyone. Theatre truly is an activity where you build family, and I am so happy to continue team building with these awesome people.”

The next Westwood Theatre production will be the spring musical “Chicago” on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m., Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the PAC.