Cast Set For ANNA IN THE TROPICS at Asolo Repertory Theatre

Asolo Repertory Theatre has announced complete casting for the Pulitzer Prize-winning romantic drama Anna in the Tropics, which begins previews on February 19, 2025.  Directed by Marcela Lorca. 

“Nilo Cruz's extraordinary drama Anna in the Tropics unfolds just 60 miles north of Asolo Rep in Ybor City, Florida.” stated Asolo Repertory Theatre's Producing Artistic Director, Peter Rothstein. “The play is about the transformative power of storytelling and the vital role it plays in building community.”  

Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer-prize winning masterpiece has been hailed by The New York Times as “a hymn to the transforming and potentially dangerous powers of art.” In Ybor City, Florida, 1929, cigars are rolled by hand as factory workers listen to the charged voices of lectors reading from newspapers, political pamphlets, and great works of literature. When a handsome lector arrives from Cuba, he brings with him a copy of Anna Karenina, igniting a powder keg of passions. As an industrial revolution looming on the horizon, Tolstoy, the tropics, and the American dream prove an intoxicating, volatile combination.  

Biographies

JUAN LUIS ACEVEDO (Santiago) is a Puerto Rican actor based in NYC thrilled to be making his Asolo Rep debut. His professional credits include New York: Henry IV (NY Classical); Cuarto Adentro (JDB); La vida es sueño (Teatro Círculo); Night Over Taos (INTAR); Woyzeck (ToyBox); VeranoVerano (Iati). Regional: Jardín Salvaje (GALA); Destiny of Desire (Cincinnati Playhouse); Nora (New Rep). international: Fuenteovejuna (Spain); Teatruras Intl. (Venezuela) TV/Film: Billions, The Blacklist, Law & Order SVU, Kiss of the Damned, Fake. Training: William Esper Studio, MFA Brandeis University and BA University of P.R. 

JONATHAN ACOSTA (Eliades) graduated from Texas State University in 2022 with a BFA degree in Performance and Production. He is currently getting his MFA in Acting at the FSU/Asolo Rep Conservatory for Actor Training. Select credits include The Mayor in Escobar's Hippo by Franky D. Gonzalez (Repetorio NYC), Rafael in Clyde's by Lynn Nottage (FSU/Asolo Rep), and Nurse in Romeo and Juliet (FSU/Asolo Rep). 

Jose-Maria Aguila (Palomo) is a Mexican born Actor, writer, and fight choreographer. NYU graduate Acting MFA, and has studied at the British American Drama Academy, Oxford University and the National Theater Conservatory. Credits: SWAT (CBS), Pose (FX), Blue Bloods (CBS), Madam Secretary (CBS), 5th of July (Amazon). Regional: Denver Center, Williamstown Theater Festival, The Guthrie, Portland Stage, Ivoryton Playhouse. Jose-Maria has choreographed and taught stage combat/acting/movement at NYU Graduate Acting, Stella Adler, NYU Tisch Undergrad, The New School, Hamilton College, The Dalton School, Tulsa Ballet, New York Theater Workshop, Smith Street Stage, Portland Stage, The 52nd Street Project. “Enseñales quien eres..” 

Nick Duckart (Cheché) is thrilled to be returning to Asolo Rep, where he was previously seen as King Arthur in Camelot and Juan Peron in Evita. TV: The Blacklist, Burn Notice, The Arrangement. Other favorite credits: COME FROM AWAY (North American Tour-Original Cast), Jersey Boys, In the Heights, Next to Normal, Ragtime, Venus in Fur, A View From The Bridge, among others.  

Kanisha Marie Feliciano (Marela) is honored to make her Asolo Repertory Theatre debut. She performed as Maria in West Side Story at both the MUNY and Chicago Lyric Opera. Previously, Kanisha closed the historic run of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway as a Christine Daaé understudy. She also originated the role of Ann/Judith in Flying Over Sunset at Lincoln Center. Other credits include Sharon in Masterclass at Arizona Theatre Company, Lily in The Secret Garden at Music Circus in Sacramento, along with operatic roles such as Suzanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Baby Doe (The Ballad of Baby Doe), and Amy March (Little Women). 

DAYRAMIR GONZÁLEZ (Original Compositions and Musician) professional career as a pianist and composer started at the age of 16 with former Irakere member, Oscar Valdes' Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble Diákara. He received the highest awards at Havana's JoJazz festival in 2004 and 2005 and three Cubadisco awards for his 2007 debut album Dayramir & Habana enTRANCé before proceeding to Berklee College of Music (2010) as the first Cuban national “Presidential Scholarship” recipient. Since completing his formal education Gonzalez has performed in 15,000-seat stadiums with legends Chucho and Bebo Valdes and headlined Carnegie Hall, as a representative of the young generation of Afro-Cuban jazz. 

Zuleyma Guevara (Ofelia) is a 2024 Obie Recipient. Recent stage credits include Another Shot, (Signature Theater), Cebollas (Denver Center), Sancocho (WP Theater), Mercedes (Oye! Group),  Somewhere (Geva Theater), Grand Horizons (People's Theater), NYTimes pick of the week, Bruise and Thorn (Pipeline Theatre), A Doll's House Part 2 (Actors Theatre Louisville), Quail (Clubbed Thumb), Freedom Seas (Atlantic Theatre), De Novo (NYTW), Water By The Spoonful (Premier Stages), La Paloma Prisoner and The Hour of The Star (Columbia Stages), Seven Spots On the Sun (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park) and La Ruta (Working Theatre). Television: FBI Most Wanted, Designated Survivor, Gotham, Law & Order SVU, Limitless. Film: The Meal, Tumba Del Mar, Opt Out.  

GABRIELL SALGADO (Juan Julian) is thrilled to be working at Asolo Rep for the first time. He was recently a part of Miami New Drama's 20th Anniversary production of Anna in The Tropics directed by Nilo Cruz. He made his Off-Broadway debut last summer in The Actors at Theater Row and recently received a Carbonell Award for his work in Zoetic Stage's production of Clyde's by Lynn Nottage. After making his professional debut 3 years ago, he has since starred in over a dozen productions including Amy Herzog's 4,000 Miles, Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, Lucas Hnath's Red Speedo, and more. 

Jenyvette Vega (Conchita) is a bilingual actress, singer and storyteller born and raised in Puerto Rico. Since graduating from Circle in the Square Theatre School in 2014, she has been a working artist based in NYC. Some credits include Tres Vidas (US tour); La Gringa, La Casa de Bernarda Alba, The Red Rose at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre and La Llamada at Repertorio Español, where she is proud to be a company member. TV credits include Law & Order: SVU. Beyond excited to make my Asolo Rep debut! 

Jasmyn Ackah (Cigar Factory Worker), Sej Echevarria, Jr. (Cigar Factory Worker), Jorge “Miami” Berrios (U/S Santiago), Brandon Billings (U/S Palomo), Adriel Irizarry (U/S Juan Julian, U/S Cheché), Catherine Luciani (Cigar Factory Worker), Madelin Marchant (U/S Ofelia), Ashley McCauley Moore (Cigar Factory Worker), Jacquelyn Rose Morales (U/S Cigar Factory Worker), Edgardo Solorio (U/S Eliades), Dani Treviño (U/S Conchita, U/S Cigar Factory Worker), and Katriana Vélez (U/S Marela, U/S Cigar Factory Worker). 

Marcela Lorca (Director) is a director and choreographer known for her dynamic storytelling and visceral direction. Credits include Stir (Old Globe); Stones in His Pockets (Theater Latté Da); Helen, Twelfth Night, Emilia, Thunder Knocking on the Door, Iphigenia, The Winter'sTale, Into the Woods (Ten Thousand Things); Caroline, Or Change (Guthrie, Syracuse Stage); The Count of Monte Cristo (OSF); Burial at Thebes, Crimes of the Heart, Blood Wedding, Disgraced (Guthrie); The House of the Spirits (Mixed Blood); and Scorched (Syracuse Stage). With 150 productions choreographed and as co-founder of two actor training programs, she received the 2019 Zelda Fichandler Award for her impact. Marcela served as Artistic Director of Ten Thousand Things Theater from 2018 to 2024. www.marcelalorca.com 

Nilo Cruz is the author of many plays, including A Park in Our House, A Bicycle Country, Two Sisters and a Piano, Lorca in a Green Dress, Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams, Dancing on Her Knees, Night Train to Bolina, Beauty of the Father, A VERY OLD Man with Enormous Wings, and the translations of The House of Bernarda Alba and Dona Rosita, The Spinster. His plays have been produced throughout the country at numerous theatres, including The Joseph Papp Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, New Theatre (Coral Gables, FL), McCarter Theatre Center (Princeton, NJ), Florida Stage, Alliance Theatre Company (Atlanta), Coconut Grove Playhouse (Miami), Magic Theatre (San Francisco), and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Anna in the Tropics, the Alton Jones Award and the Kesselring Prize, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, AT&T, the Kennedy Center, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Mr. Cruz is a professor at the Yale School of Drama. He resides in New York City and is a New Dramatists alumnus.

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