Director, veteran actors make their Repertory Philippines debuts in Anna in The Tropics

In the production “Anna in the Tropics” written by Cuban-American playwright Nilo Cruz, a New York-based production designer and a group of veteran Filipino actors make their debuts on a Repertory Philippines’ stage.

Making his directorial debut via Anna in the Tropics is New York-based production designer Joey Mendoza, who is also Anna’s set designer.

Mendoza is joined by fellow New York-based creatives Fabian Obispo for sound design and Becky Bodurtha for costume design. They team up with Barbie Tan-Tiongco for lights design and GA Fallarme for video projection design.

Conchita forms a friendship with the charming new lector at her father’s Cuban cigar factory as she grapples with her husband’s extramarital affairs. L-R: Palomo (Brian Sy), Conchita (Skyzx Labastilla), Juan Julian (Ricardo Magno)

**Lector Juan Julian (Ricardo Magno) reads Leo Tolstoy’s classic Anna Karenina to Cuban cigar factory workers in Tampa, Florida**

Featured actors are Skyzx Labastilla as Conchita, Gab Pangilinan as Marela, Paolo O’Hara as Cheche, Gie Onida as Santiago, Madeleine Nicolas as Ofelia, Brian Sy as Palomo, and Ricardo Magno as Juan Julian.

These veteran actors, more widely known for their Filipino productions, will be treading the boards together for the first time in Anna in the Tropics, heralding their Rep debut performances.

**Anna in the Tropics explores the dynamics within the Alcazar family that owns a Cuban cigar factory in Tampa, Florida. L-R: Ofelia (Madeleine Nicolas), Marela (Gab Pangilinan), Santiago (Gie Onida)**

**Gab Pangilinan is Marela, Santiago’s younger daughter**

In Anna in the Tropics, dark family dramas intermingle with dangerous intentions.

It runs from March 13 to April 5, 2020 at Onstage Theater in Greenbelt 1, Makati.

**Ricardo Magno plays Juan Julian, a lector at a Cuban cigar factory**

**Skyzx Labastilla is Conchita, Santiago’s daughter who has to deal with the cracks in her marriage**

With a stylized and modern treatment, this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama promises to further Rep’s pursuit of bringing intelligent and thought-provoking material to the fore.

In sunny Tampa, Florida in the 1930s, things are not as bright as they seem. In one of the last remaining factories that still rolls cigars by hand, the Alcazar family eagerly awaits the arrival of their new lector, Juan Julian. When he starts reading from Leo Tolstoy’s Russian classic Anna Karenina, the scandalous lives of the characters start to bleed into the lives of his avid listeners as they come to terms with their torrid extramarital affairs, unresolved bitterness, and forbidden yearnings.

**Brian Sy is Palomo, Conchita’s unfaithful husband**

**Paolo O’Hara is Cheche, Santiago’s half-brother**

Each character’s destiny somehow intertwines with Anna Karenina, and they undergo a profound, undeniable transformation—a testament to the power of literature, for better or worse.

Brimming with intrigue and scandal, Anna in the Tropics is a steamy dark tale of passion that nonetheless speaks to universal themes of family, love, and misfortune.