Set in 1929 in Ybor City, a section of Tampa, Florida, that was the center of the cigar industry, Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, now playing at the Hill Stage of the American Players Theater through Sept. 26, tells a story of a family of Cuban immigrants who hand-roll cigars.
Madison-area community members will get a chance to meet the Latino actors and actresses of the Pulitzer-winning epic, directed by Robert Ramirez, and to ask questions about the show in a special event at Centro Hispano of Dane County on Friday, Aug. 22, at 4:30 p.m. The Q&A and reception with the Anna in the Tropics cast will include Phoebe Gonzalez, Ronald Roman-Melendez, Sam Luis Massaro, and Melisa Pereyra.
“It’s an opportunity to meet the cast and hear them talk about their roles and talk about their plays. It’s kind of historic in that it’s the first time they have a Latino-themed play in the big theater,” says Oscar Mireles, the founder of Latinos Organizing for Understanding and Development (LOUD), a statewide initiative focused on promoting collaboration between Latino arts and service organizations, artists, and the communities in which they operate, who has been taking groups of people out to Spring Green, Wis., to see Anna in the Tropics since it first opened at APT.
According to American Players Theater, the synopsis of Anna in the Tropics is as follows: In the heat of Florida, a Cuban-American family spends long days rolling cigars for a factory. They carried with them many traditions from Cuba, including employing a lector to read to them as they work. But with automation on the rise, money is tight, and there are differing opinions on whether that tradition should continue.
“Being a Mexican, I’ve had some Cuban cigars in my day, and I’ve had a chance to go to our sister city, Camaguey [Cuba],” Mireles says. “I had a chance to be in Havana [Cuba], and they are just some amazing people with an amazing culture – the music, the food, everything.
“When you go there, you learn about the cigar rolling and why Cuban cigars are so special,” he adds. “They are hand-rolled and there is just so much family pride and tradition.”
As Anna in the Tropics unfolds, the family’s lives run parallel, bringing secrets and lies to the forefront and threatening their livelihood and relationships.
“In Anna in the Tropics, Nilo Cruz has graced us with a beautiful play that is at once modern and present, as well as timeless and a part of the eternal. As a director and a lover of language and poetry, I could not hope for a better script to work on,” Ramirez said on APT’s website, introducing Anna in the Tropics. “Ironically, I also believe that summertime in the expanse and romance of the woods at APT is the perfect setting for this play set in the tropics of Florida.”
The run time for Anna in the Tropics is 2 hours 20 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission. The show does include some adult themes. Recorded gunshots and herbal cigars will be used during the performance. Six shows remain for Anna in the Tropics at American Players Theater, including a showing this Sunday, Aug. 24, at 1 p.m.
“I just want to let people know about this great play that is going to be going on for a while and also this great opportunity at Centro on Friday night to meet the actors and actresses,” Mireles says. “I’ve seen it and it is very powerful and I think it both fits into what APT does in terms of describing the human condition, but also it’s also filled with quality actors and actresses. It’s a Pulitzer Prize-winning play. It’s pretty amazing.
“So I hope people go and see the show and I hope that they come out on Friday to Centro. I’m amazed at how many people haven’t seen Centro’s new building. It’s a pretty amazing building,” Mireles continues. “So this event is not only a chance to meet all of these great actors, but to spend time in Centro’s home. It’s beautiful. And I think that once people get there, they just feel so welcome.”
Centro Hispano is located at 2403 Cypress Way on Madison’s South Side. The Q&A and reception with the Anna in the Tropics cast will be on Friday, Aug. 22, at 4:30 p.m.
