Piccolo Spoleto: A Brief Guide to Cloud Tectonics

A haunting, stage-struck love story that defies time, the natural order, and customary theatrical conventions

BY NICK SMITH

What is it? A haunting, stage-struck love story that defies time, the natural order, and customary theatrical conventions. This show is back by popular demand. The actors have had a year to mull over its subtleties, but they'll have to work hard to recapture the fresh, lively feel of their past performances.

Why see it? This is PURE Theatre in its truest sense — a great tale performed by a small cast with minimal props and an invisible set. The stripped-down production means there's nothing to distract the audience from the acting and Jose Rivera's magical realist dialogue. Rivera's work has been favorably compared to the writing of Nobel Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. PURE has produced this show a couple of times to great acclaim, most recently at Piccolo Spoleto 2007.

Who should go? This one's for the lovers. Cloud Tectonics centers around the fascinating relationship between Anibal de la Luna and Celestina del Sol, played by real-life couple Rodney Lee Rogers and Sharon Graci. Luna and Sol's adventures are by turns bizarre, intriguing, and out-and-out romantic.

PICCOLO SPOLETO • $25 • 1 hour 20 min. • June 4-7 at 7:30 p.m. • Circular Congregational Church, 150 Meeting St. • (888) 374-2656