About the Playwright

Nilo Cruz was born in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1960 and immigrated with his parents to Miami in 1969, while his two sisters remained in Cuba until more recently. A naturalized citizen, he lives in New York City, but like most writers, spans coasts with his work.  Anna in the Tropics was written on commission for the New Theatre in Coral Gables, FL,and Cruz maintains a strong relationship with Costa Mesa’s (CA) South Coast Repertory, where many of his scripts are premiered.

His interest and study of theatre began at Miami-Dade Community College in the 1980s. Upon moving to New York, he began studying with noted playwright María Irene Fornés (Fefu and her Friends), who is also from Cuba. Fornés connected Cruz with Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive, The Baltimore Waltz), who was teaching at Brown University. Cruz earned an M.F.A. from Brown in 1994. Since then, he also adds teaching at Brown, Yale and University of Iowa to his resumé, as well as translating Lorca’s and Marquez’ work for stage.

While the lyrical elements of Anna are acknowledged as a trait of his writing, he treats each play individually, having its own world. Other notable work includes Two Sisters and a Piano, which, according to his agent, is slated for transition to film this year.

About the Play

Roger Berlind, Daryle Roth and Ray Larsen, in association with Robert Bartner, presented the New York premiere of Anna in the Tropics at the Royale Theatre. Anna in the Tropics was originally commissioned and produced by the New Theatre, Miami, Florida (Rafael de Acha, Artistic Director; Eileen Suarez, Managing Director), through a residency grant from Theatre Communications Group and the National Endowment for the Arts. It was subsequently produced by South Coast Repertory (David Emmes, Producing Artistic Director; Paula Tomei, Managing Director), and at the McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, New Jersey (Emily Mann, Artistic Director; Jeffery Woodard, Managing Director). The McCarter Theatre Center production transferred to Broadway.

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