Review: Bay Street’s “Anna in the Tropics” is a Must See Powerful Success

The wonderful opening night standing ovation for Bay Street’s production of “Anna in the Tropics” was electric. This show is everything that’s wonderful about dramatic live theater. “Anna in the Tropics” is yet another winner for the iconic Bay Street Theater.

The most amazing thing about this Pulitzer Prize winning Nilo Cruz play is that it flows as naturally as a river to the sea, and at times is just as powerful. Bay Street Theater Artistic Director Scott Schwartz was totally on target when he selected this play for this summer.

Although the play takes place in a cigar rolling factory in Tampa in 1929. The all Latinx cast brings the dynamic power of Nilo Cruz’s words into total relevance for today’s world. That’s what good writing along with great acting can do. Director Marcos Santana’s supervision is to be lauded, but so must the actors, too.

Serafin Falcon plays Santiago. He is forceful in a very soft and magnificent way. Mr. Falcon masters this role right before the audience’s eyes and they applaud him. By the end of the show, they love him. His scene with Iliana Guibert, who plays his wife, Orfelia, and Maria Isabel Bilboa, who plays their youngest daughter, Marela, was a show highlight receiving enormous applause.

Both Ms. Bilboa and Ms. Guibert are excellent with their movements while delivering their lines. They were both comedic and dramatic. Kudos to them.

In every show there is at least one dark character. Christian Barillas plays such a character in his role as Cheche. Mr. Barillas handles this complicated role with both panache and angry sophistication.

Also with a complicated role is Guillermo Ivan as Paloma. He navigates the difficult situations within this play smoothly, with a certain dignified forcefulness and a soft, delicate approach.

Then in many productions there is the built into the script a good-looking male character who brings a sexual energy from the male perspective to the production. Anthony Michael Martinez does just that playing Juan Julian, the “Lector.” He has a few sizzling scenes as well as some profound message scenes. All through the show Mr. Martinez is excellent.

Every play always has a character that grows within the production. Christine Sprang as Conchita is that actor in this show. She comes in like a lamb then erupts like volcano. She displays a masterful spellbinding portrayal of both a wife who loves her husband and a woman in a torrid affair. Ms. Sprang is to be congratulated for her performance.

Finally, a salute to the words of Leo Tolstoy via his novel, Anna Karenina. Nilo Cruz uses passages of this Tolstoy masterpiece to fuse the dynamite in so many scenes in this play.

Set designer, Luciana Stecconi, successfully opened the space in the theater in a very new way. Milton Cordero is to be applauded for his projection designer work. Costume designer Fabian Fidel Aguilar did a wonderful job with the period clothing and there was some brilliant lighting supervised by Maria Cristina Fuste.

Bay Street Theater’s production of “Anna in the Tropics” runs until July 24th.