The show will officially open on Nov. 16. Anna began performances at New Jersey's McCarter Theatre on Sept. 9; it will continue there until Oct. 19. Berlind, who characterized Anna as a "beautiful play," previously told Playbill On-Line that the Manhattan production would likely retain the New Jersey cast, which is led by Jimmy Smits, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Priscilla Lopez and John Ortiz.Rounding out the cast are Vanessa Aspillaga and David Zayas. Officially casting is expected soon.
Playwright Cruz — a former McCarter artist-in-residence — has set his play in a Cuban-American cigar factory in 1929. The factory employs "lectors" to entertain and educate the factory workers, and a new lector who reads aloud from Anna Karenina becomes "a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics, and the American dream prove a volatile combination."
