Theater Review by Michael Dale . . . .
“This is not a brothel! This is an erotic resort!” demands the proprietor of the business that gives Colombian-American playwright Camilo Almonacid’s Hotel Happy its name. It does make a difference in Bogotá, where prostitution is legal under government regulations; and a classier reputation can attract foreign tourists to sex-filled vacations.
Making its world premiere in a production directed by Estefania Fadul at 122 CC’s Second Floor Theater for Houses On The Moon Theater Company, the playwright has made it clear in interviews and in notes provided in the press script that Hotel Happy does deal with serious issues—primarily how a good deal of sex workers in Colombia have turned to the profession to provide for their families throughout the violent conflicts between the government and internal paramilitary groups that have been fighting for control of the country since the 1960s.
But, inspired by the 2012 scandal in which U.S. Secret Service agents were found to be enjoying the services of sex workers in Cartagena, Almonacid decided to whip the elements into a wacky farce involving Colombian prostitutes, American mercenaries and a donkey, represented by a life-sized puppet who is intrinsically woven into the plot.

“I have a friend who is a donkey,” explains Sofi (Isabella Orrego), the sweet and sentimental beauty queen who is contracted to the gregarious Madame Carlota’s (Lidia Porto) high-end erotic resort. She calls him Chocoramo after the chocolate-coated cakes she feeds him when they meet during her morning walks in the mountains.
The creation of puppet director Matt Acheson, Chocoramo is certainly lifelike, especially because for most of the play the actors maneuver him realistically as though the characters are holding him and guiding him.
As Sofi explains at the play’s outset, on one of her morning walks she was horrified to see that her friend had been forced to work for a group of abusive men. So she recruits the help of her co-workers—Lulu (Yadira Guevara Prip), a serious-minded single mom trying to provide a better life for her son, and Candela (Annelise Cepero), a former nurse who seems to see the world as one big rom-com—to help rescue him.
Caring for the sick and lethargic donkey back at the resort, they discover that his upset stomach was caused by being made to swallow a valuable item wrapped in a surgical glove for transport. Once it has successfully passed through his digestive system, Chocoramo is energized and ready to go home.
The only trouble is that three American mercenaries have arrived at Hotel Happy on an unspecified mission. In order to keep their cover as typical pleasure-seekers, their tough and headstrong leader, Ron (Michael Frederic), insists they must each purchase an hour of alone time with one of the women, much to the horror of the faithfully married Ron (Ed Herbstman). The third member of the crew is the gentlemanly Iraq War veteran Bob (Eddie McGee), a role written to be played by an amputee actor.

With this absurd setup, wherein the women must entertain the men while keeping the exuberant donkey hidden, Hotel Happy plays as one of those titillating, but sweetly innocent sex comedies that populated Broadway stages during the 1960s, when anything the least bit more erotic than what could be seen on network television was hot stuff.
I enjoyed what was the play’s second public performance as a promising work in progress, performed with gusto by a talented company. But if Almonacid is set on making this a broad farce, the script can use some punching up. It reminds me of the kind of piece that, back in the day, Neil Simon might have been brought in so that he might doctor the script with a dozen or so more laughs. Fadul’s staging does contain some solid bits of physical comedy, but some of the more poignant moments seemed a bit stagnant.
The design team, headed by Haydee Zelideth (costumes), Tanya Orellana (set) and Carol Ortiz Herrera (lights) do fine work on an Off-Off Broadway budget, but this seems like the kind of play that would be greatly enhanced by a production that can contrast the erotic glitziness of Madame Carlota’s business with the dangers of the war-torn country.
Hotel Happy. Through March 3 at 122 CC’s Second Floor Theater (150 First Avenue between East Ninth and Tenth Streets). Running time: two hours and thirty minutes with one intermission. www.housesonthemoon.org
Photos: Russ Rowland