It is not every day that the sounds of Salsa are on the background of a theater performance in Hollywood, but such is the case for the production of ‘Cuba and his Teddy Bear’ currently presented at The Actors Collective Theatre at the Complex.
‘Cuba and his Teddy Bear’ was written by Reinaldo Povod, the son of a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father of Russian descent who grew up in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Povod was also the protégé of playwright, actor, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, Miguel Pinero.
The play is set in a tenement apartment in New York in 1985 where a father, ‘Cuba’, (played by Brian Burke) lives with his son, ‘Teddy’ (played by David Alfano). Involved in the drug culture, ‘Cuba’ is divided between his desire to be a positive role model for his son and the need to provide for the household the only way he knows how. When things get complicated, ‘Cuba’ wonders if it may have something to do with a failed promise to La Virgen del Cobre.
Presumed heavily autobiographical, ‘Cuba and his Teddy Bear’ reflects the grim life Povod lived in his short 34 years of life. His work is, however, nicely mixed with humor. The performance at The Complex includes a light Salsa dance scene in which most of the cast members participate, spiced up particularly by Melissa Camilo, an actress of Dominican heritage raised in Washington Heights, NY, and a UCLA Theater Grad student.
‘Cuba and his Teddy Bear’ was first performed in Broadway in 1986 with Robert De Niro as ‘Cuba’. The current production is the first for The Actors Collective. It is directed by Charles Reed, former artistic director of The Detroit Center for the Performing Arts and a winner of the International Thespians Award.
Performances will continue Friday through Sunday at 8 pm until April 4, 2010. Admission is $15. Reservations can be made by calling 323.463.4639. The 50-seat theater is located at 6470 Santa Monica Blvd (at Wilcox) in Hollywood. The play is recommended for mature audiences due to adult content and language.
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