Presented by Intar Hispanic American Arts Center in association with AT&T: OnStage, the play began previews Nov. 11 and will run through Dec. 21. Michael John Garcés directs a cast that includes Zabryna Guevara, Jason Madera, Jason Quarles, Maggie Bofill and Nilaja Sun. According to production notes, The Cook "takes place in the luxurious kitchen of a mansion in Havana over the course of four tumultuous decades, as seen from the point of view of Gladys, the cook. The play begins as Batista flees Cuba and Castro enters Havana. When the mistress of the house flees to New York, Gladys promises to remain behind as the caretaker. Time passes as she and her husband live there and raise a family, but she is always true to her pledge, even though this is a difficult position to take in Communist Cuba. When the mistress' daughter finally returns to see her family's old home in 1997, it turns out that the family can barely remember the cook and regards her as an illegitimate usurper of their property. Gladys, caught between two irreconcilable worlds, decides to claim the place, finally, as her own."

The creative team for The Cook comprises Antje Ellerman (set design), Kirk Bookman (lighting design), Elizabeth Hope Clancy (costume design) and David Margolin Lawson (sound design) with original music by José Conde.

Intar 53 is located in Manhattan at 508 West 53rd Street, west of 10th Avenue. The Cook plays Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 3 PM. All tickets are priced at $25 and are available by calling (212) 279-4200.