The Writers Theatre was founded in 1992 and called “America’s Finest Regional Theatre Company” by the Wall Street Journal. In 2016, Writers Theatre opened a new, state-of-the-art facility designed by the internationally renowned Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects. The new facility is still intimate — there isn’t a bad seat in the house.
I recently attended the opening night of Two Sisters and a Piano, written by Nilo Cruz and directed by Lisa Portes. Lisa is a former Chicago native with a plethora of theatre awards who recently relocated to California to chair the Theatre and Dance Department at UC San Diego. She has always wanted to direct a play by a Cuban artist — and in particular Nilo Cruz — because she is of Cuban heritage and her father immigrated to the United States during the Cold War, after the Cuban revolution in 1960. He eventually became a well-known teacher and scholar at Princeton, teaching economic sociology and issues around immigration, urbanization, and social development. Lisa has followed in his academic footsteps, but focused on the arts. This play was an excellent opportunity for her to direct a piece by a famous Pulitzer Prize–winning Cuban writer and, at the same time, to visit her beloved former home of Chicago.
Two Sisters and a Piano is set in Havana, Cuba in 1991, when the Soviet Union is dismantling and opening its country and economy to outsiders. During this same time, Cuba is tightening restrictions under Fidel Castro and plunging into economic crisis. The play opens with the two sisters — María and Sofía — under house arrest for two years after having been imprisoned for writing materials criticizing the Cuban regime and signing a manifesto.
The play has only four characters, all of whom love their country but in different ways and for different reasons. The writing is beautiful. The performances are intense and magnificent. There is romance and sadness at the same time. The play is about hope and imagination. The sisters long for freedom and connection with others outside their house — their only social interaction is with the Cuban military lieutenant assigned to watch them during house arrest, and the piano tuner who comes to repair Sofía’s piano. The two sisters use their art — writing and playing the piano — to express themselves during this imprisonment.
Nilo Cruz wrote this piece as a play — it was never a book and was meant to be enjoyed on the stage. It is two hours start to finish, with intermission. It’s another wonderful example of high-quality local theatre, and I highly recommend it.