Bagley Wright Theatre
The Cook
by Eduardo Machado
Directed by Juliette Carrillo
November 1 – December 1, 2007
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, 15 minutes with 2 intermissions

A CRASH COURSE

In 1958, on the eve of the Cuban revolution, Gladys, a young cook, makes a solemn promise to her mistress. Before the wealthy family flees in the night, she vows to protect and care for the beautiful home that she worked in all her adult life. As the reality of Castro’s revolution settles in, and despite the personal consequences, Gladys fights to keep her promise for over four decades. In Machado’s rich, engaging, and deeply personal play, Gladys emerges as a woman with great spirit who lives by her heart against a backdrop of a troubled Cuba.

About the Playwright

Eduardo Machado is the author of over 40 plays including Kissing Fidel, Havana is Waiting, A Burning Beach, The Floating Island Plays, Cuba and the Night, Once Removed, and Stevie Wants to Play the Blues. His plays have been produced at Hartford Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Mark Taper Forum, the Long Wharf Theatre, Hampstead Theatre in London, American Place Theatre, The Cherry Lane Theatre, and Repertorio Español, among many others. His plays have been published by the Theatre Communications Group and Samuel French. Mr. Machado is an alumnus of New Dramatists and member of Ensemble Studio Theater and the Actors Studio. He is currently the Artistic Director of INTAR Theatre in NYC, and is a playwriting teacher at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts

Why You Should See This Play

One of our nearest neighbors, Cuba has intrigued Americans for decades. From a sleepy rural island to the south; to a playground for America’s wealthy, and often corrupt, businessmen; to a stalwart of socialism, Cuba’s transformative nature continues to fascinate. In The Cook, playwright Machado captures the effects and emotions of those changes, and the rich culture that has endured them, through over 40 years of the late 20th century.

Cuban culture is rich in traditions, influenced by it’s location as a crossroads in the region. The food reflects these influences, and in The Cook, is also the rich metaphor for the nourishment and nurture that Gladys provides in an effort to preserve her world. Eduardo Machado further celebrates this aspect of his Cuban heritage with his new book, ”Tastes Like Cuba: An Exile’s Hunger for Home,” a food memoir by Machado and Michael Domitrovich.