"Skin of Honey" Blends Politics and Lesbian Romance

Onstage, the young versions of Amelia and Isabel are captivatingly played by Lidiya Korotko and Andrea Rueda. Korotko's young Amelia is gangly and shy and ardent, unsure of how to pursue her newborn desires.

Rueda is outstanding as the flirtatious and confident young Isabel, who knows what she wants from Amelia, and knows how to get it, too. Their performances capture the earnestness of young love and the rough-and-tumble physicality of schoolgirl sexuality.

As the girls' love for each other grows, young Amelia's anti-Castro father is labeled a counter-revolutionary, and the family begins to suffer material deprivations as a result. Meanwhile, young Isabel, the daughter of a loyal general in Castro's army, embraces her role in the young people's revolutionary corps as a symbol of the new Cuba.

"I wanted to show the upbringing and the brainwashing of a child," Nanin says. "That was a big challenge in terms of their love."

The story of the adult Amelia and Isabel, played by Odalys Nanin and Susan Artigas, is less compelling than that of their youthful counterparts. Their characters are naturally more static, more set in their ways than their teenage selves. They explain the actions of their younger selves rather than engaging in action — although they demonstrate a great deal of movement in one bedroom scene together. Still, their main dramatic function is to reconcile differences so that the women's romance can be resumed.

The play has created controversy within the Cuban-American community for its relatively neutral portrayal of both pro- and anti-Castro sentiment. Nanin's ability to elicit empathy for Isabel, both as a inexperienced girl and as an adult, is one of the unexpected strengths of the play. Castro's regime is pointedly criticized in the play, especially in the subplot, which deals with the persecution of gays and lesbians under Castro.

The U.S., however, also receives heavy criticism in the play from Nanin for its history of imperialism. In this way, the play opens itself up to larger, timely concerns about the United States' role on the world stage and the treatment of Latinos and Latinas within its borders. Nanin has created a complex and thought-provoking drama about power, assimilation and personal freedom that is capable of speaking to a broad audience.

Skin of Honey's drama of opposing political loyalties is in many ways specific to Cuba. However, it runs parallel to love stories told in lesbian literature in which a young lesbian marked as an outsider romances a more conventional (sometimes straight or bisexual) girlfriend. Examples of the genre include movies such as All of Me and Lost and Delirious. As a result, elements of the romance in Skin of Honey will strike a familiar chord in many lesbians.

Unlike more typical bad girl/good girl romances, Skin of Honey presents the audience with a happy ending for the two female lovers. "I wanted to show how love really is the essential force and energy," Nanin says.

"I am very happy right now," she continues. Nanin is in a long-term relationship registered under California's domestic partnership law. "That's probably why this play has a happy ending."

You can order tickets for Skin of Honey/Piel de Miel online or watch scenes from Odalys Nanin's plays and films here. The play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 7:00 p.m. through Oct. 28, 2007.