Anna In The Tropics

Anna in the Tropics

• Genre: Fiction; historical drama
• Originally Published: 2003
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 10-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: Two acts; approximately 132 pages; approximately 1 hour, 49 minutes of running time
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: The play is set in a Cuban American cigar factory near Tampa, Florida in 1929 in a small town called Ybor City. The central characters include a lector named Juan Julian, who is hired to read literature to the factory workers as they roll cigars. The central conflict revolves around the impact of Juan Julian reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, which ignites passions and conflicts within the factory workers’ lives, as the lines between fiction and reality blur.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Contains sexual themes, including sexual assault; depiction of an affair; violence; themes of industrialization and cultural change

Nilo Cruz, Author

• Bio: Born 1960; grew up in Miami after immigrating from Cuba; earned a MFA in theater from Brown University; works often explore his Cuban heritage and the immigrant experience; first Latino playwright to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; worked as a playwright-in-residence; taught playwriting at various universities; celebrated for his poetic and romantic style
• Other Works: Night Train to Bolina (1994); Dancing on Her Knees (1996); A Bicycle Country (1999); Two Sisters and a Piano (2000); Lorca in a Green Dress (2003); Beauty of the Father (2004); Hurricane (2009); Sotto Voce (2014)
• Awards: Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2003); Steinberg Award for Best New Play (2003)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• The Power of Literature and Language
• The Mutability of Gender Roles
• Lost Traditions
• Love and Heartache

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the historical context regarding the production of cigars by Cuban communities in Florida and the tradition of lectors in cigar factories.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Power of Literature and Language, The Mutability of Gender Roles, Lost Traditions, and Love and Heartache.
• Adapt a scene from Cruz’s play with a 21st century setting that demonstrates an understanding of character development based on text details.
• Analyze the significance of various elements of the play such as symbolism, characterization, and historical context and construct essay responses tying these to the play’s themes.