History has its eyes on Alba, a play by Cuban-American playwright Alejandro Rodriguez.
Born and raised in Miami and inspired by his Cuban roots, Rodriguez wrote a brilliant play loosely adapted from Federico García Lorca’s 1945 classic, The House of Bernarda Alba.
Alba premiered at Palm Beach Dramaworks in Downtown West Palm Beach and received a standing ovation on opening night last Friday. “Getting a world premiere of a play you wrote in your hometown is indescribable,” said Rodriguez. “As an artist, you’re working with what you can see in your mind and what you hear. It’s all imagination at first. And when you get to work with actors from your community and share it with your community, it’s like watching the thing that has been inside your head come to life in front of you; it’s a powerful experience.”
A Juilliard graduate and recipient of the Michel St. Denis Prize, an annual honor awarded by the Juilliard School Drama Division to graduating actors, Rodriguez was formerly an Artist in Residence in the Everglades (AIRIE), a Core Writing Fellow at the Playwrights Center, and a finalist at the O’Neil National Playwrights Conference for Alba.
KJ Sanchez beautifully directs the play, a 100-minute, three-act drama told in Spanglish that balances humor and heartbreak. Set in 2001 in a middle-class Miami neighborhood, Alba tells the story of a strong-willed Cuban immigrant matriarch who fights to keep control of her household after the death of her husband.
In Act 1, we meet Alba’s grandchild, the Poet, played by Matthew Ferro, who narrates Alba's story as he tries to break cycles of intergenerational trauma. He describes Alba (Maggie Bofill) as a helicopter mom raising three daughters.
Adela (Diana Garle), a little firecracker like her mom when she was young (a carefree dancer in a small Havana neighborhood). Amelia (Gianna DiGregorio Rivera), the studious professional, sees marriage as a waste of time. Angie (Dayana Morales), the thirty-something Christian woman with a plan to live a godly life, puts love and family at the center of it all.
And then there’s Alba, who would do anything to keep them all safe at home from dusk ‘til dawn. For Alba, her absolute priority is protecting her daughters, driven by a profound sense of maternal duty and the cultural values of honor, safety, and community in Cuban families. However, that fierce protection is restrictive, especially for Adela, the youngest generation in the household, who’s trying to find her own independence.
To heighten the comedy-drama, Alba’s aging, ailing mother, Josefina (Mary Lou Smo), needs 24/7 care, another expense Alba cannot afford. Yolanda (Barbara Bonilla), the old friend who lives in the apartment in the back of the house, is like an aunt to the girls, and the local Radio Bemba (Gossip, as in, I heard it on the big lip) adds heat to the fire.
What’s more, Alba is in debt, and worse, she’s still on Cuban time—not ready for changing technology, computers, and being a Cuban-American online! Y si eso no fuese poco (if that were not enough), a suspicious suitor navigates the drama between Angie and Adela, and Alba confronts him dead on. The final act ends in a cliffhanger, and the answer remains with the narrator.
Beautifully performed and directed, Rodriguez makes you see this play as the story of a woman named Alba, or as the story of every immigrant. Either way, you'll laugh at the familiar Cuban Spanish, rich with colorful idioms, metaphors, and sayings that capture everyday life, humor, and struggle.
Cuban expressions are… well, expressive, and this play has un monton (plenty of them). Me importa un pepino, meaning “I don't care at all,” is Alba’s ready answer and attitude toward anyone around her and everything thrown at her. But in the last act, we see a different woman: she goes from estar en candela, being in a tight, intense situation, to a loving grandmother who addresses her letters to Mi Poeta, my poet, with love.
Don’t miss Alba, playing now at Palm Beach Dramaworks from October 925. Purchase your tickets today.
Maggie Bofill, Alba
Barbara Bonilla, Yolanda
Gianna DiGregorio Rivera, Amelia
Matthew Ferro, Poet
Diana Garle, Adela
Dayana Morales, Angie
Monica Quintero, Gladys
Mary Lou Simo, Josefina
Creative Team:
KJ Sanchez, Director
Suzanne Clement Jones, Stage Manager
Tanya Orellana, Scenic Designer
Brian O'Keefe, Costume Designer
Robert Aguilar, Lighting Designer
Roger Arnold, Sound Designer
Carley Knotts, Assistant Stage Manager
Danielle DeLaFuente, Scenic Assistant