Chicago Reader
This is a past event.
When: Thursdays-Sundays. Continues through Dec. 13 2009
Phone: 773-371-1868
Price: $10-$20
peoplestheaterchicago.org
My guess is that playwright Reinaldo Povod was so enamored of the characters in his 1986 semiautobiographical play--about a drug-dealing Cuban ex-con raising his teenage son amid nefarious types on Manhattan's lower east side--that he was content to let them dawdle through a shapeless, repetitive first act. He changed tactics entirely for act two, though, stringing together explosive confrontations, forced religious symbolism, and unmotivated Big Moments. The play sold out when it ran on Broadway 23 years ago, perhaps because the cast featured Robert De Niro and Ralph Macchio. In this UrbanTheater Company/People's Theater of Chicago coproduction directed by Marilyn Camacho, ponderous pacing prevents a talented cast from achieving much forward momentum, let alone dramatic urgency, for the better part of three long hours. --Justin Hayford

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I went opening night and this show was absolutely AMAZING! As an avid theatergoer, I honestly have to say that I don't think I've ever seen such an emotional and moving piece as raw and real as Cuba and His Teddy Bear. The directing is superb, the acting is excellent, the set was beautiful, and the timing was a tad long but quite engaging and riveting the entire tad.

Also, it was refreshing to go to a completely different area of the city and experience Latino theater in a whole new way.I got to taste and experience a bit of the Puerto Rican culture though the concessions sold, the play itself and the Humboldt Park community in where the play is running.
I loved it!! A must see for anyone feening for a completely engaging and thought provoking live theater show. Congrats UTC and PTC!

Posted by theaterwoman on November 9, 2009 at 1:47 AM | Report this comment
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I saw this play on Sunday night and I have to say I have never seen the caliber of acting that I witnessed that night. I loved the play, the characters and the set. This play is a gem tucked away in a neighborhood I had never been to. I can only imagine what it might have been like to see it with Robert Deniro. The actor playing the lead was fantastic. The whole cast was perfect. I will be seeing this show again. Great, great theatre. Whoever Justin Hayford is I don't know why this person reviews theatre. He mentions that the cast is talented and yet mentions none of the actors that were brilliant in this show. Yes it is long, but I was riveted every minute of it. The reader needs some new critics. Because this critic doesn't know what he or she is talking about.

Posted by chigal on November 10, 2009 at 1:27 AM | Report this comment

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