With touches of magic realism, historical drama, a bilingual storyline and even a ghost, Tim Robbins’ Culver City-based The Actors’ Gang looks at the story of immigrants who rolled cigars as they were read stories from famous authors on the factory floor, leading to a revolutionary movement.
Written and directed by Brazilian-born playwright Mariana Da Silva, under the guidance of Robbins, “Ybor City” opens Saturday, March 1 and runs through April 5 at the Actor’s Gang theater in Culver City. Previews are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27 and Friday, Feb. 28
“This tells the story of marginalized people from another country that are making a way for themselves in the United States, and doing so with dignity. That for me is an inspiring story. It’s a story of immigrants and it’s a story that shows the intelligence and poetry and beauty of a community,” said the Oscar-winning actor, who is the company’s artistic director.
Based on real historical events, the 90-minute play was inspired by Ybor City, a Florida town that in the early 1900s became a key hub for cigar production, attracting a vibrant community of diverse immigrants, including Cubans, Italians, and Spaniards. Featuring narratives in both English and Spanish, with supertitles projected for the audience, the play marks The Actor’s Gang first bilingual production.
“There’s no denying Spanish is such a beautifully lyrical and musical language. And we have such a large community in Los Angeles of bilingual people and I’m always excited to have new people come discover us at the Actors’ Gang,” Robbins said.
The play tells the story of workers who hand-rolled and stuffed hundreds of cigars a day, which was a tedious process. To stay entertained and informed, the workers hired readers to read them books like Miguel de Cervantes’ classic “Don Quixote” on the factory floor. But when a mysterious spiritual entity begins to influence the reader system, it leads to rising workplace tensions as the workers become more educated about their rights. Then, after a shocking death in one of the factories, Nena, a grieving employee, emerges as the first female reader and reluctant leader of a revolutionary movement.
“They began at some point reading things that would cause uprisings within the community because they were getting more educated”, said Da Silva, who also stars in the play as Nena.
The touch of magic realism comes from the ghost in the factory who starts influencing what’s being read by the reader, which includes books as well as newspaper articles.
“They’re reading news articles from 1932 that are very similar to what we are reading right now about mass deportation, all these big themes. So the play has a big conversation between our community and how it’s been treated here in America,” she said. “So I think the play is a call to action. I always tell people it’s a protest play.”
For Robbins it’s also a play about bringing people together and inspiring conversations.
“I love it when people leave the theater saying ‘I want to tell that story too,’” Robbins said.
‘Ybor City’
When: March 1-April 5 with previews Feb. 27-28
Where: The Actors’ Gang Theater, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City
Tickets: $35
Information: www.theactorsgang.com