Bemadette Kahn (Sara Morsey), Lucila Pulpo (Claudia Tomas) and Saquiel Rafaeli (Gabriell Salgado) appear in a scene from GableStage's production of "Sotto Voce." The play, by Nilo Cruz runs through Sunday, Feb. 15 in the theater at the Biltmore Hotel. (Photo courtesy of GableStage)
The soulful voice beckons. It's as soothing as the soft sounds of ocean waves washing ashore in GableStage's stirring production of Nilo Cruz's lyrical play, "Sotto Voce."
GableStage's production of "Sotto Voce,” runs through Sunday, Feb. 15 in GableStage's newly re-named Wolfson Family Theatre at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The performance lasts about two hours, including an intermission.
Going back and forth from the year 2020 to the memories of 1939, the story follows Saquiel Rafaeli, a Jewish-Cuban writer researching the MS St. Louis — a German luxury liner whose 1939 voyage became a tragic symbol of international indifference.
But "Sotto Voce" is not interested in presenting a history lesson. Rather, it's about how human connection can unlock memory. When Rafaeli meets 80-year-old German Novelist Bemadette Kahn, Rafaeli stirs memories that Kahn thought she had buried about love and loss.
Under Cruz's sensitive direction, Salgado inhabits the dual roles of Saquiel Rafaeli and Ariel Strauss, opposite Sara Morsey as fictional aging author Bemadette Kahn. In addition, Claudia Tomas plays Kahn's housekeeper as well as Nina Strauss, Ariel's sister.
Saquiel Rafaeli (Gabriell Salgado) happily reflects in GableStage's production of "Sotto Voce."(Photo courtesy of GableStage)
By doing little more than donning a hat and changing the tone of his voice, Salgado transforms from Rafaeli to Strauss, Kahn's Jewish love affair.
The performer, a talented, much sought-after South Florida actor, previously appeared in Miami New Drama's productions of two other plays by Cruz — "Two Sisters and a Piano" and "Anna in the Tropics." Cruz embodied characters in those productions, and he does equally fine work in GableStage's mounting of "Sotto Voce."
Salgado's Refaeli becomes Kahn's "Sotto Voce." Along with his animated voice, the performer's energetic gestures and movements feel unforced and his chemistry with Morsey, as Kahn, is consistently strong.
Morsey convincingly charts the elderly author's transformation from a guarded, reluctant recluse, to a woman with newfound energy, thanks to her "Sotto Voce."
As the show progresses, we come to feel for her and grow concerned when we see her try to steady herself by holding onto furniture. Then, she sits and remains motionless, the first act ends, and we can't wait to find out what happens to her in the second act.
It's important to note that in the play, Kahn and Rafaeli don't physically meet until later (and that meeting occurs solely in their imagination). Up until then, the two communicate through phone calls and emails. The pair address each other without facing each other, indicating that they are communicating from different places. You find yourself longing for a time when the pair will physically meet.
The pair "meet up" in what they call a "virtual rendezvous" through their computer screen. Once again, the lights dim, we hear the sounds of ocean waves, and see the waves on a projector screen, thanks to projection designer Jamie Godwin's solid work. Soft music sometimes evokes magic and mystery, enhancing the mood in the play's memory scenes.
The aura isn't always dreamlike; sometimes it's playful and humorous. And, to his credit, Cruz's direction helps the actors capture precisely the right tone. The script includes the playwright's lyrical language (he often paints with words).
Nina and Ariel Strauss (Claudia Tomas and Gabriell Salgado) wave in GableStage's production of "Sotto Voce" by Nilo Cruz. (Photo courtesy of GableStage)
Kahn's housekeeper, played by Claudia Tomas, speaks in a thick accent and embodies a vibrant, fast-talking, opinionated woman with a strong sense of humor. While she appears confident and assertive for much of the play, Tomas also movingly depicts her character's vulnerability.
The actors perform with scenic designer Frank J. Oliva's spacious set. It properly suggests a space where people conduct research, complete with multiple bookshelves and a long table. The books are spread throughout the set, perhaps symbolizing the far reach that works of art often achieve. Toward the end of the play, the set also includes what resemble small candles. They might stand for hope and keeping the "flames" of knowledge and history burning so that we can learn from the past.
Speaking of illumination, lighting designer Tony Galaska does fine work to enhance the ambience of scenes. When they take place in the present, the lighting is bright and realistic. By contrast, during moments of memory, the lighting is suitably dim.
Sound designer Erik T. Lawson creates vivid sound effects and ensures we can fully understand the actors. Costume designer Michiko Kitayama-Skinner clothes the actors in dark apparel, befitting the play's gravitas.
Bemadette Kahn (Sara Morsey) writes while she's alone in GableStage's production of "Sotto Voce." (Photo courtesy of GableStage)
While "Sotto Voce" is lighthearted at times, Cruz fully respects the serious themes at the piece's core. For instance, it reminds us that we must often unearth painful memories from our mind's recesses. Doing so may help others learn, remember, and act differently in the future so that shameful history doesn't keep repeating itself. Certainly, issues related to immigration are timely today, with the current U.S. administration threatening immigrants with deportation.
The true story behind the MS St. Louis is one of international indifference during World War II. The "Voyage of the Damned" refers to the tragic 1939 transatlantic voyage of the MS St. Louis. It carried 937 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. However, Cuba, the United States, and Canada denied them entry. As a result, the ship had to return to Europe, and many aboard eventually perished in the Holocaust — the systematic genocide of European Jews between 1941 and 1945. Between those years, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. In the play, the Strauss siblings may have suffered such a fate.
In its first-rate staging of a play about the haunting power of memory, GableStage delivers a truly memorable production. It reminds us that the past not only lingers but also illuminates the present, offering important lessons and much-needed hope.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: GableStage Theatre Company’s stirring production of “Sotto Voce,” by Nilo Cruz.
WHEN: Through Sunday, Feb. 15
WHERE: GableStage’s Wolfson Family Theatre at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables.
TICKETS: Go to https://ci.ovationtix.com/473/production/1234172.
