Team Sunshine Performance Corporation presents '¡Bienvenidos Blancos! or Welcome White People!'

Cuban-American Torra leads an inventive, fun, musical anthology show that specifically considers those who live in two cultures — and two languages — simultaneously. They use supertitles for translation, often Spanish into English but sometimes the other way around. The supertitles occasionally include commentary as well, starting with what will happen to us if we don’t silence our phones before the show starts.

Fantasy and satire

Efren Delgadillo Jr.’s set resembles a government waiting room, lit with fluorescent strips hanging by wires (lighting design by Oona Curley). Listless employees, played by Jorge Enrique Caballero Elizarde, Lori Felipe Barkin, and Idalmis Garcia Rodriquez, greet Ugly Americans, played by Benjamin Camp and Jenna Horton. “I want to see Cuba before it changes!” they gush. “Beaches, culture, classic cars, old-fashioned socialism!”

The three Cubans morph into Havana nightclub singers, wearing colorful costumes by Fabian Fidel Aguilar, and give the tourists the glitz they expect. This changes into a frank Cuban history lesson, including a taste of Communist revolutionary life. The tourists even become Spanish conquistadors, playing at claiming the New World for themselves.

The production’s tone changes from broadly satirical to personal fantasy. Focusing on Cuban families separated by a repressive regime and 90 miles of ocean, it offers much more personal insight. Even when American Airbnb customers arrive, the focus stays on the Cuban characters. The performances become more sincere and innovative, with pantomimed action, spoken translations, and some fun set and lighting transformations. Through it all, Anthony Martinez-Briggs’s sound design, of waves and birds, suggests an idyllic island nation and its vibrant music.

Who’s it for?

As a non-Spanish-speaking white American, I didn’t feel unwelcome or confused; the inviting title is accurate. The satire doesn’t condemn all of us — just a persistent attitude of superiority that deserves rebuke and correction. From the group Timbalona’s exciting pre-show drumming to Torra’s soul-baring monologue at its close, I felt included in the jokes and the characters’ pains, struggles, hopes, and yearnings.

Sometimes Spanish speakers understood references and jokes before English speakers received our translation, so there was a comprehension ripple effect that put us in our place — gently.