Theater review: The Gardens of Anuncia

                     

The Old Globe-commissioned musical “The Gardens of Anuncia” is a lovely, often funny, frequently charming portrait of the life of a dancer in 1940s Argentina, during the reign of fascist dictator Juan Perón.

The dancer in question is Buenos Aires-born Graciela Daniele, who was captivated by dance at a very young age and began lessons at the age of seven. Her career is legendary; she ended up on Broadway and in 2005 was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

But this most unusual piece by Michael John LaChiusa isn’t about her career. Though Daniele herself directs the show (which she also co-choreographed), “Gardens” is more a combination of biography, theater, magical realism and gardening, and concentrates on her relationships with her family.

The stage of the Shiley is hung with Mark Wendland’s scenic design featuring shimmering fiber optic vines, and a lovely lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer lend a magical look to the stage and allow for the dreamlike sequences to play out in ways not necessarily related to reality.

The central figure is Anuncia (played by Carmen Roman as the older Anuncia and Kalyn West as a young girl). We first meet Older Anuncia tending her garden in the U.S. and asking the irises why they are growing “ten feet away from where I planted you last year?”

Ah, everything changes. The other major characters are all women: Mamí, Anuncia’s mother (also called Carmen and played by Eden Espinosa), her aunt Lucía, called Tía and played by Andréa Burns), and peppery grandmother Granmama, also known as Magdalena and played by Mary Testa.

Anuncia’s father left her mother when the child was six, at which point Tía and Granmama moved in to help out so that Mamí could go to work. When he is seen again, he will be called That Man. Do I detect a little attitude?

Enrique Acevedo plays four of the male characters including one called Moustache Brother. Tally Sessions plays the other Moustache Brother as well as the most enigmatic character, The Deer. In an attempt to understand this character, I looked up the significance and found that a male deer signifies territorial dominance and social order. Unfortunately, that did not help much.

LaChiusa’s lovely 15-song score (played by an offstage orchestra) has plenty of percussion and brass and a properly Latin sound. It also plays into the strengths of the singers like Espinosa, who can really belt it out, and Testa, whose Granmama gets all the great comic lines and makes the most of them.

“Gardens” is lovely to look at if a bit enigmatic as to purpose. The strong cast keeps the audience’s interest, but I still wonder what that deer is about (though he does have a great line: “Live while you can, love while you can, dance while you can”) and why so little is mentioned about Daniele’s storied achievements in the world of dance.

“The Gardens of Anuncia” plays through October 17, 2021 at The Old Globe’s Shiley Theatre. For tickets and other information, go to www.theoldglobe.org.