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Washington, DC – GALA continues its 36th season with the Spanish language premiere in Washington, DC of Ana en el trópico/Anna in the Tropics by awarding-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, who also translated the play into Spanish with Nacho Artime. Directed by José Carrasquillo, the production is performed in Spanish with English surtitles and will run February 9 through March 4, 2012 at GALA Theatre, 3333 14th Street, NW. Discounted parking is available at the Giant Food garage on Park Road, NW with GALA validation. Additional parking is available at the Target garage also on Park Road, between 14th and 16th Streets.
“Ana en el trópico,” states director Carrasquillo, “is a play about dormant passions that are revived with the arrival of a lector at a 1920’s cigar factory in Ybor City, Florida, where cigars are still rolled by hand. As the lector reads chapters of Anna Karenina to the workers, a slow and profound transformation in their lives occurs. With his robust language of love and ardor, Nilo’s characters navigate a complex field of human emotions as they face a future of both uncertainties and possibilities. These emotions will be at the core of our magical production of this stunning play.”
Performances of Ana en el trópico are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm in Spanish with English surtitles. The Noche de GALA and Press Opening is Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 8 pm, followed by a reception.
Special student matinees for Ana en el trópico are February 17, February 24 and March 2 at 10:30 am. For more information about the Student Matinee Program, please call 202-234-7174.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Nilo Cruz is the author of Anna in the Tropics, which was presented on Broadway and received the 2003 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and a 2004 Tony Award nomination. His other works include The Color of Desire, Beauty of the Father, Lorca in a Green Dress, Night Train to Bolina, A Bicycle Country, Dancing on Her Knees, A Park in Our House, Two Sisters and a Piano and Hortensia and The Museum of Dreams. Cruz is one of this country’s most produced Cuban-American writers; his work has been developed and performed at McCarter Theatre Center, NYSF/Public Theater, NY Theatre Workshop, New Theatre (Coral Gables), South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa), Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Florida Stage, Alliance (Atlanta), Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.), Magic Theatre (San Francisco), Victory Gardens (Chicago), Coconut Grove Playhouse (Miami), Children’s Theatre of Minneapolis, Lee Strasberg Theatre (L.A.), and Salt Lake Acting Company. He has held residencies at the McCarter, the Public and the New Theatre in Miami. An alumnus of New Dramatists, Cruz has taught playwriting at Brown University, Yale School of Drama and the University of Iowa. Cruz’s other awards include the 2003 American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award, TCG Artist in Residence Grant, Alton Jones Award, AT&T Award, Kesselring Prize, Barrie Stavis Award, and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays. Mr. Cruz was born in Cuba and lives in New York City and Miami.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Featured in the cast are GALA company member Oscar Ceville as Juan Julián and Verónica del Cerro as Conchita, who is making her first appearance at GALA. Mr. Ceville most recently appeared in El caballero de Olmedo at GALA, and Ms. del Cerro was recently seen in Savage in Limbo at MetroStage. Other cast members include Marian Licha as Ofelia and José Guzmán as Palomo and Eliades, who are making their first appearance at GALA. Also in the cast are GALA company members Hugo Medrano as Santiago, who was seen in El caballero de Olmedo; Monalisa Arias as Marela, who last appeared in Divorciadas, evangélicas y vegetarianas; and Manolo Santalla as Cheché, who appeared in La cándida Eréndira.
José Carrasquillo (Director) has directed numerous plays at GALA, including Lúcido, The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico, Cita a Ciegas, El arquitecto y el emperador de Asiria and La Granada. This season, José has directed After the Fall at Theater J, the 50th Anniversary production of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days at WSC Avant Bard, and has played Don Quijote in GALita's Las aventuras de Don Quijote de La Mancha. Other credits include Anna in the Tropics and Marisol at the Clarice Smith Performance Arts Center; Macbeth, Medea, Blood Wedding, Metamorphosis and The Maids (2003 Mary Goldwater Lobby Award for Excellence in Directing) at WSC Avant Bard; Patient A at Freedom Stage; Jesus Hopped the "A" Train at Round House Theatre; Sueño at Olney Theatre Center for the Arts; and the world premieres of The Magic Rainforest at the Kennedy Center, Donna Q at Signature Theatre and The Obituary Bowl at Woolly Mammoth.
Scenic design is by Tony Cisek, who designed sets for After the Fall with Theater J and Happy Days with WSC Avant Bard this season for Mr. Carrasquillo. Light design is by Andrew Dorman, and costumes are by Ivania Stack, who designed for The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico at GALA and most recently designed After the Fall at Theatre J. Properties Design is by Marie Schneggenburger who designed props for The True History of Coca-Cola in Mexico. Elena María Lower is Stage Manager, and Cecilia Cackley is Assistant Director; Andrés Holder is Production Manager, Andrés Luque is Technical Director, and Abel López is Producer.
ON EXHIBIT AT THE KREEGER ART WALK
Photographs by Roberto Chile from Havana, Cuba, will be exhibited during the production of Ana en el trópico. A documentary filmmaker and photographer, Chile has written and directed many documentaries, special features and short subjects on Cuban culture and the current Cuban scene. He has worked as a director of photography, cameraman and/or producer for numerous producers, including the Cuban Institute of Cinematography (ICAIC), and PRODOC and Trimagen of Cuba; and ABC, CBS, NBC, Discovery Channel, Playtwo and TresMusasProducciones of the United States.
There will be a reception for the artist on Thursday, February 16 at 6 pm, followed by a showing of Soy Tata Nganga (“I Am Tata Nganga”), a short film by Chile on the life of Enrique Hernández Armenteros, a 93-year-old priest of several Afro-Cuban religions, and the mystical, magical world of the Palo Monte religion.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single tickets are $34 on Thursday and Sunday, and $38 on Friday and Saturday. Tickets for students, senior citizens (60+) and military are $20. Additional discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. Tickets for Noche de GALA and Reception are $50 per individual, $90 per couple and $15 per subscriber.FOR TICKETS: Call (800) 494-8497, (202) 234-7174, or visit www.galatheatre.org. |
