Sotto Voce (TCG Edition). Nilo Cruz

      

      BOOKS BY NILO CRUZ AVAILABLE FROM TCG

       Anna in the Tropics

       Ana en el Trópico

       Beauty of the Father

       The Color of Desire / Hurricane

       Sotto Voce

       Two Sisters and a Piano and Other Plays

      ALSO INCLUDES:

       A Bicycle Country

       Capricho

       Hortensia and the Museum of Dreams

       Lorca in a Green Dress

      Sotto Voce is copyright © 2016 by Nilo Cruz

      Sotto Voce is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,

      520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156

      All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

      Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: Peregrine Whittlesey, 279 Central Park West, #23, New York, NY 10024, [phone].

      The epigraph on page ix is from Destiny and Desire by Carlos Fuentes, published in 2011 by Random House Publishing Group.

      The publication of Sotto Voce by Nilo Cruz, through TCG’s Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

      TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.

      LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

      Cruz, Nilo, author.

      Sotto voce / by Nilo Cruz.

      ISBN 9781559368346 (ebook)

      DDC 812/.6—dc23

      Cover design, book design and composition by Lisa Govan

      Cover art by Fernando Teijeiro

      Author photo by Todd Rosenberg

      First Edition, May 2016

       For Natasha Parry

       and Peter Brook

      Contents

Acknowledgments

Production History

Characters

Set

Author’s Note

      Act One

      Act Two

       Acknowledgments

      The author would like to thank Franca Sofia Barchiesi for making useful comments when the play was in preparation for production.

       If the sea were to shout,

       we would all be deaf.

       —CARLOS FUENTES,

      DESTINY AND DESIRE

       PRODUCTION HISTORY

      Sotto Voce received its world premiere at Theatre for the New City (Crystal Field, Artistic Director) in New York on February 15, 2014. It was directed by Nilo Cruz. The scenic design was by Adrian W. Jones, the lighting design was by Alexander Bartenieff, the sound design and original music were by Erik T. Lawson and the costume design was by Anita Yavich; the production stage manager was Charles Casano.

BEMADETTE KAHN	Franca Sofia Barchiesi
SAQUIEL RAFAELI	Andhy Mendez
LUCILA PULPO	Arielle Jacobs

       CHARACTERS

      BEMADETTE KAHN: An eighty-year-old woman who has aged gracefully; time has been good to her and she looks more like she’s in her sixties

      SAQUIEL RAFAELI: A twenty-eight-year-old man of Jewish-Cuban descent; he is passionate and romantic; he has worked hard at creating a unique and bohemian look for himself

      LUCILA PULPO: A woman in her thirties; although she appears to be tough, it is all a veneer to protect her fragile soul

      NINA STRAUSS: A woman in her twenties, played by the actor playing Lucila

      ARIEL STRAUSS: A man in his twenties, played by the actor playing Saquiel

      TIME AND PLACE

      The millennium. New York City.

       SET

      Bemadette’s apartment. There is a large white curtain on which images of the sea are projected. Downstage from the curtain there is a large table full of books, a modern telephone, and intriguing objects that provide inspiration for Ms. Kahn. There are three chairs, one behind the table and two at each end. Further down, stage left, there’s an art deco armchair.

       AUTHOR’S NOTE

      When the characters write emails, no computers are used, only sounds to illustrate how technology is used as a means of communication.