When you enter the Miller Theatre Complex at the University of Oregon to see Los Dreamers, what will first catch your eye are some beautiful posters of a pre-conquest Indigenous woman clutching a bouquet of multi-colored corn and flowers while monarch butterflies hover nearby.

When you’re seated and the play begins, you’ll see an empty stage backed by a rosy sky that changes color periodically to indicate the time of day. Then pieces of a set slowly enter as if by magic. They almost seem to float just above the stage until they configure themselves into a cube representing the entry to a small house, and some furniture. 

A young woman named Penelope, but usually called Scoobi, is in the process of arranging a marriage of convenience with a blond American named Dylan. Scoobi was born in Mexico but has lived in the U.S. much of her life. She is now in law school, and paying an American to marry her will greatly increase her chances of avoiding capture by ICE.

This romantic, political comedy by Mónica Sánchez, a playwright based in New Mexico, caught the attention of Malek Najjar, a professor in the UO Theatre Arts department. Working closely with the author, he has mounted the first fully staged production of the script.

With commitment to representation, he cast nine Latine actors who juggle their dialogue between English and Spanish. Two additional roles are non-Latine.

The play gets off to a good start, and as directed by Najjar the humor works most of the time. Eventually, however, the script is likely to be difficult to comprehend for those who haven’t studied Mexican history, let alone Spanish. The story of Mexican revolutions is told in fragmented pieces, abruptly jumping around in time, leaving some of us to wonder if it’s the 1960s or the 1990s, or back to the present. 

Unfortunately, these bits and pieces take a lot of time and don’t dig down into deep matter. A play in this style should not last nearly three hours. Two hours would be plenty.

Scoobi, the hopeful law student, is played with convincing emotion by Monse Quesada Gonzalez. Evan Stalnaker as Dylan, the doofus potential husband, is hilarious with his over-the-top ignorance. Laila Ortega as Scoobi’s hard-working mother, Petra, at first thinks that Dylan is the dumbest dolt she’s ever seen, but she’s such a good person that she begins to feel sorry for him.

The rest of the roles are fulfilled by Manny Rojas Meza as Roko, Aiza Gutiérrez, as young Petra, Victor Rodriguez as Ramiro, Isabel Lopez as Guera, Matias Crespo as Martínez, Kiana Sarai as Adela, Marcos Ortiz as Zacarías, and Percy Johnson as the ICE Agent.

A show like this requires large backstage teams. Here are some of the leaders, all of whom benefit from able assistants: Costume designers Emma-Jade Bui and Emma Kirby; lighting designer Leo Pesqera; properties designer Oliver Twitchell; stage manager Farrine Leslie; and production manager Janet Rose. Faculty members are technical director/sound designer Bradley Branam and scenic designer Mary Jungels Goodyear. The art for the poster was by Seberiana Lopez.

And finally, an extra treat: In the information-filled printed program, you’ll find two pages full of slang and dirty words in Spanish. Have fun!

Los Dreamers plays at the University of Oregon 7 pm May 29 to 31 and June 5 to 7, and Sunday matinees at 2 pm on May 31 and June 7. Times and tickets through Tickets.uoregon.edu or 541-346-4363. Tickets for UO students are free.

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