ORLANDO — A century ago, Ybor City was well known for its cigar factories. In fact, there were 150 large cigar factories in that Tampa neighborhood, where skilled cigar rollers often used hand-operated, vintage cigar machines to roll their value-priced cigars.
Some of these factories were founded and operated by Cuban immigrants, families seeking new opportunities in the United States, and the entire family would pull together inside the factory, where for hours every day they rolled and filled those high-quality cigars by hand.
Anna In The Tropics, the first production of the new Orlando Shakes season, explores that history as we follow one immigrant family’s factory in Ybor City circa 1929. It’s tough work spending hours rolling and filling tobacco leaves by hand, so the family matriarch Ofelia — who runs the factory with her husband Santiago and daughters Marela and Conchita — decides to follow another great tradition from the cigar factories in Cuba. She hires Juan Julian, inviting him to emigrate from Cuba to become their Lector. His job is to read to them during their long days in the factory, breaking up the often unbearable silence that would otherwise make their long work days at times excruciating.
By the end of Anna In The Tropics, that early silence comes back with a vengeance, as the light, often comical story takes on a devastating turn.
Anna In The Tropics, which opened on Friday, is running now through Sunday, Sept. 21, and it offers a fascinating glimpse into Florida’s history and the Sunshine State’s unique connection to the island of Cuba and its culture.
What is the play Anna In the Tropics?
Nilo Cruz’s play, which won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, had its premiere at New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where the play was first commissioned in 2002 before moving on to Broadway. The play connects Tampa Bay’s historic connection to Cuba, as seen through a domestic drama about a close knit, loving family, and two men who bring tragedy to their lives.
The Orlando Shakes production nicely captures the smoldering summer heat of factory life in Tampa Bay in the pre-air conditioning days, making it much easier to understand the welcome relief that the handsome, debonair and cultured Juan Julian brings to that sweaty factory. Juan chooses Tolstoy’s classic Russian novel Anna Karenina to read out loud to the family; the women quickly get caught up in the story’s sweeping romantic. Pretty soon the passions and rich emotions of Tolstoy’s characters are being reflected among the family members themselves.
Conchita works alongside her husband Palomo, although both freely admit to being in a loveless marriage. However, their families would never support them getting divorced. Instead, Conchita is increasing draw to Juan — and vice versa. Palomo can only stand up helplessly, knowing what’s going to happen.
Juan’s hiring is also resented by Cheché, Santiago’s half-brother, who manages the factory and anxiously watches their sales slipping. He considers a Lector a needless expense and hopes to get him fired, but Ofelia, who loves having someone to read to them during their long, dreary work hours, adamantly refuses. Cheché may also resent Juan’s charm and good looks, since his own wife just left him and he’s still nursing the pain of that separation.
The play’s leisurely paced first act, along with some fine comedic aside provided by the street-wise Ofelia and the witty Juan, mask where the second act is headed. While Act II opens on, shall we say, a truly sultry moment, the rising tensions inside that factory move the story quite logically, and startlingly, toward two horrific twists that elevate the story to a much different level. By the end, it packs a much bigger punch than a glass of strong Cuban Rum.
How is the Orlando Shakes’ Production?
Using minimal sets for a story set almost entirely in that cigar factory, with an ever-present smoke rising above the cast, director Nick Bazo takes his time letting us get to know the characters during the comical and easygoing first act. That’s fine, since Bazo has plenty of surprises to pull by Act II.
The 8-member cast is uniformly excellent, enabling us to feel the hot, sweaty grind of summer in that cigar factory; Juan Cantu as the troubled Cheché and Esther Olivo as the sweet and impressionable Marela both expertly manage a stunning transition, radically shifting our view of who their characters are from the first act to the second.
There are standout performances by Bianca Goodfriend as Ofelia, the glue that holds her family together, and Eddie Gutierrez as Juan, the charismatic Lector well aware of his magnetic appeal to women, but curiously apathetic about the resentment he arouses in other men. Goodfriend and Gutierrez have some the play’s most engaging and pleasurable scenes.
Where Can I See Anna In The Tropics?
Anna In The Tropics is being performed at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, 812 E Rollins St. in Orlando. Call 407-447-1700 for tickets or more information.
The show runs for 2 hours and 15 minutes, with a 15 minute intermission, now through Sept. 21.
As part of this production, Orlando Shakes is selling Cuban cigars, chocolate cigars, and a special Canchanchara drink made of Cuban Rum, honey and lime juice.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright and author of the terrifying book “Bloody Rabbit”. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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