Ocean waves, clinking margarita glasses, and dance music are the soundtrack for guests at a private Cancún resort. The mostly Caucasian visitors feel like they are having an authentic cultural experience behind high stone walls that protect them from the daily lives of the local Mexicans. 

In Capital Stage’s “Espejos: Clean,” we get a glimpse of what it’s like to be an invisible employee at the resort as well as a pampered guest.  

One of the local employees is Adriana (Sarita Ocón), a hard-working hotel manager whose own soundtrack is answering guests’ requests and staying in the background. When “Espejos: Clean” begins, Adriana faces the audience and starts off by giving her background – her climb from a small local village to one of the resort’s head managers.  

Her monologue is interspersed with our introduction to the play’s second character – a Caucasian Canadian who is at the resort as part of her sister’s destination wedding. Sarah (Stephanie Altholz) also speaks directly to us, giving her own background as a self-confessed mess – thinking herself as the disaster daughter in her family. 

What makes “Espejos: Clean” by playwright Christine Quintantso unique is that the whole production is bilingual. As each actress speaks in their character’s native tongue, projected on screens for the audience to see are translations from both languages (Spanish to English, English to Spanish). 

It’s a meaningful way to not only to understand each character but also to experience both languages.  

In the beginning, Adriana and Sarah tell their stories separately, so you get to know them as individuals, not just a duo exchanging dialogue.  

We learn of their past struggles: Adriana is still affected by a family loss, while Sarah still carries a long-standing trauma from her youth. Each of them has packed their past traumas deep in their emotional baggage, but those troubling memories remain. And it’s how and when each reaches inside and pulls out their scars that the healing may begin. 

A huge storm descends on the resort, bringing crashing sounds of waves, thunder, and downpours, resulting in drama in which two women from different worlds – and languages – connect, though sometimes in dark ways. 

However, humor is sprinkled about – the pre-wedding chaos, the dance parties that sometimes end up in the reflective pool, the sparkling dress that reflects light.  

And mixing humor with drama are the two actresses who perfectly match their characters. Ocón has us rooting for her as she captures Adriana’s spunk, stubbornness and sensitivity. 

At first, Altholz displays Sarah’s humor with a bit of ditziness and funny descriptions of wedding woes. But slowly, Altholz unveils a much more traumatic and sympathetic side to Sarah, leaving us witness to her scars. 

Director Dena Martinez keeps the pace consistent between monologues and dialogues and ensures action doesn’t overtake the storylines.  

The set is simple – a hotel bedroom and a reflective pool lined with Mexican tiles. Simplicity is important since the audience is watching the actors and reading the translations projected on the wall.  

Along with the translations, the screens also include text messages as well as photos and videos of nature, beach, the resort, and a local village. There were a couple of video glitches, but nothing that slowed down the performances.  

“Espejos: Clean” captures both the vulnerability and the strength of two women from two different backgrounds speaking two different languages. Though there is not as much interchange between the two as expected, the similarities bring their stories together. 

The play runs 2 hours with one intermission. There is an American Sign Language interpretation during the June 6 evening performance. “Espejos: Clean” plays at Capital Stage through June 7; Wednesdays to Fridays, 7 p.m., Saturdays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays 2 p.m. 2215 J St.