I’m not sure why Antonio Jaramillo chose THE WOOL GATHERER as the vehicle to showcase himself and his real life partner Ashley Alvarez. But it sure did bring me back to all the worst things about the 1970s. Oh, I remember. I was there. Mostly, the normalized stalking, bullying and physical violence that shows up in playwright William Mastrosimone’s 1979 script [1] in each form. Sure, it’s a love story. But there is so much more that is seething underneath. Hmmm. I might have just answered my own question.
Nonetheless, this fait accompli of sorts, directed by Rob Nagle, has all the muscle of a World Wrestling Federation match blended with Jaramillo’s provocative, rough around the edges, magnetic style. Alvarez, who is making her theatrical debut, also brings a rather off-handed and unique gift of naivety to the play. And it’s why this staging of THE WOOL GATHERER ultimately works.
Everything about the setup showcases a form of external and internal poverty of both the characters. The scenic design by Mark Mendelssohn and Lighting/Sound design by Matt Richter bear this out quite blatantly. There is far too much that this would-be couple is without. In its starkest form, the most significant thing is stability. Cliff’s (Jaramillo) volatility is both financial and emotional. Rose’s (Alvarez) is much deeper though. Her’s has the added layer of mental frailness. And it makes for an explosive relationship combination between them that is consistently going off the rails almost every second.
For Cliff, a particularly crude, truck driver looking for a one night stand, his instability in this moment is instigated by the loss of a job when his vehicle breaks down in South Jersey. For Rose, a dime-store, candy cashier, dreaming about the perfect man, loss has a different, deeper meaning. It is the broken birds she describes in all-out, absent minded (aka “woolgathering”) hysteria. The birds that are, as we discover, as broken as she is. Rose’s words are layered in poetic metaphor, and it is apparent that she has been savaged in a real physical way by either the boys in her story who break the cranes’ legs, or in some other place. Her behaviors are expressly those of someone violently abused. And it’s a trait that Cliff, at first, patiently tries to take advantage of.
In the course of the evening though, he is both repelled then pulled in by the morbidity of Rose’s stories as well as her fragility. He’s not used to dealing in compassion. Life for him is mostly bald and bare. Rose’s is obsessive. Her state confuses and angers Cliff as much as it draws him in. Jaramillo ultimately delivers one of his most moving monologues in the second act as a result. It is a moment almost written entirely for him. Alvarez, on the other hand, stays in her track. And though it does not vary, it is the significant steadiness that allows the play to become as explosive as it does.
The metaphors in THE WOOL GATHERER are so thick that one could cut them with a machete. But they do serve the higher purpose of the narrative. Albeit, that the presentation is a bit lengthy and repetitive. This is one instance where a dramaturg might have been called in to give this script a slight hair cut. This might have also allowed a bit more connection between the two characters instead of leaving them in their respective physical as well as emotional corners most of the time.
THE WOOL GATHERER although originally in 1979 billed as a comedy, nevertheless is a genuinely poignant work when you take a step back from its sometimes alarming coarseness. Jaramillo and Alvarez are well suited to the script and the script to them. By the final moment, Cliff and Rose seem to finally settle into one another. And the whole evening miraculously becomes a Win-Win.
Recommended
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Photo courtesy of B. Light Productions and Jaramillo Productions. Displayed with permission.
THE WOOL GATHERER August 15-September 7, 2025, playing at The Victory Theatre, 3326 W. Victory Blvd. Burbank, CA 91505.
Written by William Mastrosimone. Directed by Rob Nagle. Starring: Antonio Jaramillo and Ashley Alvarez.
Scenic Design: Mark Mendelson; Light/Sound Design: Matt Richter; Costume Design: Elizabeth Arroyo; Props Design: Ashley Alvarez; Stage Manager: Zaire Parades Villegas.
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ABOUT THE SHOW:
William Mastrosimone’s The Woolgatherer premiered Off-Broadway in 1979, earning critical acclaim for its heartfelt and poetic storytelling. Mastrosimone, a Daytime Emmy Award winner, has created a body of work that explores trauma, connection, and the human condition.
The play follows Rose and Cliff, two damaged yet hopeful people seeking solace and understanding. As fantasies give way to painful truths, they discover whether love is possible for them after all.
[1] The Woolgatherer is a play by William Mastrosimone. It originally premiered at the Theatre at Rutgers University in 1979. It was printed in 1981. The play is William Mastrosimone’s first play.
It has been produced a number of times and has won awards, including the L.A. Drama Critics Award in 1982.
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