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    Anna in the Tropics
    Anna in the Tropics
    Anna in the Tropics
    Audiobook1 hour

    Anna in the Tropics

    Written by Nilo Cruz

    Narrated by Jimmy Smits, Adriana Sevan and Full Cast

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    This poignant and poetic Pulitzer Prize winning play captures 1929 Florida at a time when cigars are still rolled by hand and "lectors" are employed to educate and entertain the workers. The arrival of a new lector is a cause for celebration. But when he reads aloud from "Anna Karenina", he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics, and The American Dream prove a volatile combination.

    An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance starring:
    Jimmy Smits as Juan Julian
    Onahoua Rodriguez as Marela
    Adriana Sevan as Conchita
    Alma Martinez as Ofelia
    Jonathan Nichols as Palomo and Eliades
    Winston Rocha as Santiago
    Herbert Siguenza as Chéché

    Directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela. Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherL.A. Theatre Works
    Release dateDec 1, 2005
    ISBN9781580814065
    Anna in the Tropics

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    Reviews for Anna in the Tropics

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      The first Pulitzer Prize winning drama to have an all Latino cast. This beautiful play takes place in a cigar factory in Cuba where a person comes in to read to the workers. By reading Tolstoy, he inspires the individual workers to confront the problems in their own lives and in their early to mid 20th century society.
    • 5/5
      This book was my introduction to the idea of a "lector"--someone who was paid to be in a cigar factory as a reader, spending days reading works of literature to factory workers. The beauty and the worth of the idea coming into clash with machinery and new technology is enough to be found fascinating to begin with (in my eyes), but Cruz combines this historical moment with drama and frighteningly realistic character (along with great writing) to make a memorable and heartbreaking play. The integration of Anna Karenina into the text brings another level to the text, as well, whether you've read Tolstoy or not. In the end, simply, the text comes to life in various ways. My instinct is to say that this is why we read, and that this is why we write, put simply and beautifully into words. This is worth reading, worth remembering, worth passing on.
    • 5/5
      I've seen this play performed, in an abridged one hour version, once before. I hated it, and now I know why.This play is beautifully written, and should never be performed except in its entirety. The characters of Juan Julian, Cheche, Conchita, and Marela, among others, are too rich to pare down. I put off reading this one for a long time, but I highly recommend it to others. A great play.