BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller
Dateline: 21 November 2003
ANNA IN THE TROPICS
The swirling smoke of fine Cuban cigars hangs heavily at the Royale Theatre where the 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning play ANNA IN THE TROPICS by Nilo Cruz recently had its New York premiere. Set in a small cigar factory in Tampa, Florida, this lyrical story of a family of emigres reveals how one tale of fated romance can lead to another.
Directed by Emily Mann, ANNA IN THE TROPICS takes a look at a homespun enterprise steeped in the traditions brought over from the family's native Cuba. The year is 1929 and automation is slowly replacing the hand-rolling technique of making cigars, a method taught to the Colonial Spaniards by the Native Caribbeans. Also falling by the wayside is the custom of using a "lector," a person who reads to the workers in order to break up the monotony of their labors.
ANNA IN THE TROPICS opens with Santiago (Victor Argo) and his half-brother, Cheche (David Zayas), placing wagers on a cock-fight. Santiago is losing badly and asks Cheche to loan him some money. Cheche demands that his half-brother put up shares in the family business as collateral for the loan and Santiago agrees, only to continue on his losing streak.
Meanwhile, Santiago's wife, Ofelia (Priscilla Lopez) and their two daughters, Marela (Vanessa Aspillaga) and Conchita (Daphne Rubin-Vega), await the arrival of the new lector, Juan Julian (Jimmy Smits). Wearing a crisp white suit and toting a bundle of books, this handsome new reader blows into their lives like a portentous wind carrying a plague of radical notions.
Cheche takes an immediate dislike to Juan Julian whom, he feels, represents subversion on many levels. As well as resenting that his wages are garnished in order to pay for the lector, he sees this antiquated custom as a hindrance to progress. With the implementation of noisy, more efficient machinery, many of the competing factories have gotten rid of their readers. But, what really bothers Cheche is the fact that his wife ran off with the former lector.
Palomo (John Ortiz), Conchita's husband, has equal grounds to dislike the new lector. Juan Julian has selected to read Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina," and the women at the factory are swept up in its passion. Conchita, especially, is influenced by this tale of illicit romance and soon finds herself in an adulterous affair; one that ends tragically, as does the liaison in the Russian novel.
The Cuban-born playwright has enjoyed tremendous success with ANNA IN THE TROPICS. In addition to earning the American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award, Cruz won the coveted Pulitzer based solely on a reading of the script, beating out another play running on Broadway: Richard Greenberg's TAKE ME OUT. This is only the second time in the history such an upset has occurred.
Director Emily Mann has put together a fine ensemble, combining the marquee cache of Jimmy Smits (Emmy-winner for TV's "L.A. Law") with the likes of lesser-known--though no less talented--players such as John Ortiz and Vanessa Aspillaga. Daphne Rubin-Vega, the original Mimi in RENT, and Priscilla Lopez, Tony-winner for A DAY IN HOLLYWOOD/A NIGHT IN THE UKRAINE and widely known for her portrayal of Morales in A CHORUS LINE, bone up the Broadway pedigree.
Set designer Robert Brill creates a simple, unconstrained environment, reminiscent of an old cigar box, nicely highlighted by Peter Kaczorowski's lighting. Sound designs by Dan Moses Schreier accentuate the drama effectively and Anita Yavish's costumes shades the palette nicely. ANNA IN THE TROPICS, a fragrant tobacco flower brought to full bloom by a brilliant cast and a thoughtful production.