Spring Theater Production:
Aurora University To Stage Anna in the Tropics March 18, 19, 26-29
AURORA, Ill.-Aurora University's theatre department will stage Anna in the
Tropics, a 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Nilo Cruz, at 7:30 p.m. March
18, 19 and 26-29 in Perry Theatre in the Aurora Foundation Center for
Community Enrichment at 1305 Kenilworth Place in Aurora.
The public is invited. Admission is free, but donations for local charities
are requested. Food donations are sought for the pantry at Holy Angels
Church, Aurora; books for ages 8-12 will be collected for the Humanitarian
Service project's birthday program, and cash donations are requested for
Season of Concern, the Chicagoland theatre community's fundraising effort in
the fight against AIDS.
On Tuesday, March 25, at 7:30 p.m., there will be a reading of the play in
Spanish at 7:30 p.m. in Perry Theatre.
Directed by Denise Blank, assistant professor of theater, the production is
part of AU's 2007-2008 Celebrating Arts and Ideas series. Sponsors are
MetLife and Nicor, Gold sponsors; Harris Aurora and Human Resource
Management Systems, LLC, Silver sponsors; City of Aurora and Sikich, Bronze
sponsors. Media support is provided by The Beacon News and Comcast.
During scene changes, three percussionists will provide music from conga,
quinto, djembe, doumbek, and claves.
Playwright Cruz, a Cuban immigrant himself, focuses his play's plot on Cuban
immigrants working in a cigar factory in Ybor City, Fla., in 1929
The production recalls cigar-factory lectors who informed, organized, and
entertained the workers through the 1930s. The lives of an immigrant-worker
family are changed when a new lector enters the factory.
Santiago and Ofelia built a home and a business in Ybor City. Their
daughters were brought up to roll cigars and honor tradition,
but Marela dreams of adventure, while Conchita finds herself trapped in a
passionless marriage with her husband, Palomo.
Only Cheche, Santiago's illegitimate half-brother, embraces the idea of
progress in the factory as he tries to hide From the
failures of his past.
As the new lector, Juan Julian, reads "Anna Karenina" to the workers, the
spirit of Tolstoy's novel affects them. With each
chapter, new desires and jealousies erupt in the factory.
Anna in the Tropics was honored with two nominations at the 2004 Tony Awards
for Best Play and Best Featured Actress in a Play (Daphne Rubin-Vega).
Cruz' past works, such as Two Sisters and a Piano, have earned him a reputation for writing
lyrical, atmospheric plays with powerful emotions and language. Critic Christine Dolen of the Miami
Herald called Anna in the Tropics his best to date: "It is a passionate,
explosive, tender play, one filled with Cruz's poetic-evocative imagery,
language that almost seems tactile," she said.
Cast members are:
Aurora: Michelle Zepeda, Marela; Thierry Boulin, Eliades/dancer
Bristol: Nicole Bell, dancer
Chicago: JaCarla Mitchell, dancer
Homewood: Jeff Schilling, Cheche
Montgomery: Travis Winkler, Santiago
Pekin: Bryn Golden, dancer
Shorewood: Genevieve Doreen Pastore, Ofelia
Streamwood: David Blancas, Palomo
Sugar Grove: Michael Peterman, Juan Julian
Yorkville: Bridget O'Malley, Conchita
Production staff members are:
Aurora: Justin Bills, sound and music design; Allan Gonzales, percussionist;
Kyshia Sommerville, stage manager
Chicago: Myron Elliott, Jr, costume design; Edmond Mensah, percussionist
Lombard: Denise Blank, director
St. Charles: John Curran, scenic and lighting design; Tavia DeFelice, prop
design
Sugar Grove: Michael Peterman, Juan Julian
Reservations are requested. Call (630) 844-5486
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