Review: Poetry Resounds in Nilo Cruz’s ‘Sotto Voce’ at GableStage

Sara Morsey, Claudia Tomas, and Gabriell Salgado in Nilo Cruz’s “Sotto Voce” at GableStage through Feb. 15 (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)

Nilo Cruz is, first and foremost, a poet. Though he rose to prominence as a playwright when he won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for his play “Anna in the Tropics,” a play commissioned by Miami’s now-defunct New Theatre, poetry permeates everything Cruz writes, including “Sotto Voce” now at GableStage in Coral Gables through Sunday, Feb. 15.

The GableStage production, lovingly directed by Cruz, begins with a full moon casting its light on a shimmering, undulating ocean, the first of many breathtaking projections by Jamie Godwin. The main setting is the apartment of Bemadette Kahn, an 80-year-old writer in New York City in 2000. Bemadette is haunted by her lost love, Ariel Strauss, who, along with his sister, Nina, boarded the doomed M.S. St. Louis in Germany in 1939.

Sara Morsey as Bemadette Kahn in GableStage’s production of Nilo Cruz’s”Sotto Voce.” (Photo courtesy of GableStage)

The ship set sail carrying Jewish refugees seeking safety in Cuba from Nazi persecution. When Cuba denied them entry—followed by the United States and Canada—the vessel was turned back to Europe. There, an estimated quarter of the passengers were killed in concentration camps or by other Nazi methods.

Bemadette is contacted by a young Jewish-Cuban researcher, Saquiel, who wants to speak with her about Ariel. Saquiel has his own connection to the doomed voyage, which has left him with a collection of love letters from Bemadette to Ariel. He travels to New York to meet her, but she refuses, and will only speak to him by phone and through email, where they address each other as Writer and Student.

The term “Sotto Voce” means to speak in a hushed tone so as not to be overheard, and it’s a fitting title for a play in which the central relationship is played out mostly through telephone conversations.

Sara Morsey, Claudia Tomas, and Gabriell Salgado in Nilo Cruz’s “Sotto Voce” at GableStage through Feb. 15 (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)

Though “Sotto Voce” premiered in 2014, its exploration of immigration remains strikingly current. The failures of a broken system feel as real today as they did in 1939 and in 2014. When Saquiel encounters visa trouble, Bernadette exclaims, “I can’t believe this is happening all over again,” a line that feels ripped from the headlines yet proves, unfortunately, to be timeless.

Sara Morsey, who appeared in GableStage’s production of “Summer, 1976” last year, plays Bemadette. Morsey beautifully portrays Bemadette’s passion, longing, and loss in a visceral way. She moves about the stage with a dance-like grace and poise as the decades-long grief and despair rise within her and explode onto the stage and into the audience, raw emotion everywhere.

Gabriell Salgado portrays Saquiel with a sweet, earnest quality. While he’s flustered by Bemadette’s reclusiveness, his persistence – and voice – endears him to her as their unusual relationship deepens. It’s a challenging role, but Salgado wisely portrays Saquiel as a young man with an old soul, which is key to making the story work.

Claudia Tomas portrays Lucila, Bemadette’s personal assistant. Throughout much of the play, Lucila hides her insecurities with conservative clothing and a mousey demeanor. But over the course of the story, Lucila blossoms, like a caterpillar to a butterfly. Tomas delivers a quiet, nuanced performance that evolves as her character grows, and is key to one of the best scenes in the play, when Lucila invites Saquiel to Bemadette’s apartment when the writer is not home. While it’s a tense, playful, intimate scene between two people with chemistry, Tomas, with her funny, tender, awkwardly sexy performance, is especially memorable.

Sara Morsey as Bernadette Kahn and Claudia Tomas as Lucila Pulpo share a cup of tea in a scene from “Sotto Voce” on stage at GableStage through Sunday, Feb. 15. (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)

Cruz directs “Sotto Voce” with a sure hand and a tenderness toward the material, never slipping into the cloying sentimentality that can plague playwrights staging their own work. His sense of visual poetry echoes throughout the way the production is staged. Every element provides cohesiveness to that theme. Tony Galaska’s moody lighting design enhances the warmth of the story. Erik T. Lawson’s sound adds to the depth and emotion of the play. Frank J. Oliva’s scenic design is deceptively simple but sets the stage for surprises.

“Sotto Voce” has a palpable feeling of loss and longing, but also of new love that rekindles old flames. It is ultimately a play filled with hope, and the joy of understanding that love, even if only for a short time, is worth it.

WHAT:  “Sotto Voce” by Nilo Cruz

WHERE:  GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables

WHEN: 7:30 Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday; 2 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday through Feb. 15.

COST:  $40, $60, $70 with additional $10 fee.

INFORMATION: 305-445-1119 or gablestage.org

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