Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics," which won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is in revival at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor now through July 24.
The setting is Tampa, Fla., in the late 1920s, where a family of Cuban-Americans runs a cigar factory. It is the height of the Great Depression, times are hard, and the family toils at the skills they have brought with them from Cuba.
The play opens at the scene of a cockfight, which Santiago, the patriarch and owner of the factory, attends with his half brother, Cheche. They are both betting heavily; Santiago is drunk and losing, while Cheche is having a streak of luck. Soon Santiago is borrowing money from Cheche -- comically writing his debts with a knife on the bottom of Cheche's shoe. The debts increase to the point where Santiago offers his half brother part ownership of the factory.
Meanwhile, Santiago's wife, Ofelia, and daughters, Marela and Conchita, wait at the port of Tampa for the arrival of a new lector for the factory, Juan Julian. (Before the age of radio, cigar factories would hire "lectors" to read literature to the rollers as they plied their craft.) Juan Julian, when he appears in his white suit, turns out to be handsome and charming, and when the women seem to get a little heated on his arrival, you know it's not the humidity.
You'll notice that there is no character named Anna in this family. Rather Anna is "Anna Karenina," the novel that Juan brings with him to read at the factory. As soon as he begins, its universal themes of pecuniary difficulties, troubled marriages, and infidelity begin to resonate with the family. Soon the novel is taking hold in each of their imaginations and begins to manifest itself in their daily lives. With the power of great literature, "Anna Karenina" arrives like a grenade dropped in their midst.
The casting of this production is superb, and actor for actor this is one of the best ensembles seen at Bay Street in the past few seasons. Serafin Falcon brings a palpable authenticity to his role as Santiago, the patriarch. We notice this right from the opening curtain; his subtle, precise portrayal of drunkenness at the cockfight -- that state of false lucidity -- is a master class on how to act inebriated.
Christian Barillas gives just the right touch of pathos to the role of the half brother/black sheep Cheche, and Guillermo Ivan does a nifty double turn as Paloma, a jealous husband, and Eliades, a sleazy cockfight impresario.
But the anchor of the cast has to be Iliana Guibert as Ofelia, Santiago's wife. She seems in the great tradition of Latina matriarchs -- strong, soulful, and wise to the ways of men. She tolerates Santiago's drinking and gambling with just the right combination of tough love and sympathy. Ms. Guibert even smokes a cigar during the performance with the aplomb of someone who's been doing it her whole life.
There is a missed opportunity, however, toward the end of the first act that keeps this production from rising from very good into the stratosphere. When Conchita learns that her husband, Paloma, is unfaithful, she turns to the lector, Juan Julian, for affection. This is the drama's major plot point before the show's second half, and although the actors Christine Spang and Anthony Michael Martinez are both excellent in their roles, they don't have the kind of chemistry together that gets them, or the audience, panting for the second act.
The scenic designer Fabian Aguilar's set is gorgeously rustic and atmospheric, but the red lights and pulsing heartbeat during this scene seem an overblown attempt to provide heat between the performers.
Nevertheless, the second act of "Anna in the Tropics" follows its conflicts rousingly to their conclusions. There is violence, both emotional and physical, and a shocking sexual assault.
Like the novel it so wants to parallel, the drama plays for high stakes, and most of these emotional touchpoints land with impact. With "Anna in the Tropics," Bay Street takes on an emotionally challenging, Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and provides a satisfying, if wrenching, night's entertainment.
