Moody Cues

‘Sin Full Heaven’ Is Not Exactly Two Hours In Hell, But Comes Close To It

Rodriguez fares slightly better, although his finest moment is a nude scene.

Hot and Heaven: Samara Siskind and Frank Rodriguez. Photo by Eileen Suarez

By Mary Damiano

Some plays seem better on the page than on the stage.

That must be the case with Sin Full Heaven, the world premiere now at New Theatre, where the playwright, Ricky J. Martinez, is the artistic director.

On the page, the language of Sin Full Heaven probably read beautifully, all poetry and Latin lyricism. But on the stage, that language sounds stilted and cannot make up for poorly developed characters, an incomprehensible plot and zero suspense.

Sin Full Heaven takes place on an island, where tyrannical sugar cane baron Jose Felipe Catalan (Stephen Neal) keeps his adult daughter Luz (Samara Siskind) virtually imprisoned in their home. Her only friend is her nanny and housekeeper, Eugenia (Marta Velasco). When Eugenia’s sailor son Luis (Frank Rodriguez) arrives for a three-day visit with his mother, lust rages between curious, sheltered Luz and the handsome, more experienced Luis.

What happens next? Not much.

From her opening monologue, Siskind’s performance falls flat. Although she nails her character’s curiosity and naiveté, she sounds like she’s reciting her lines. Rodriguez fares slightly better, although his finest moment is a nude scene. Neal is all angry bluster as the father. Only Velasco breathes life into her character and turns her into a flesh and blood — albeit clichéd — woman. The set design, by Robert Eastman-Mullins, does a nice job accommodating the many indoor and outdoor scene changes.

To be fair, it’s not entirely the cast’s fault because they’re not given much to work with. Martinez’s direction substitutes mood for pacing. The first act is built on a shaky foundation, and the second act falls apart. Character development is inorganic, and the plot is predictable. A seed of suspense is planted near the end of the first act, and then trampled early in the second act. Perhaps if motivations made more sense, or the plot was more focused, Sin Full Heaven might have turned out better.

A good play is well written, well staged, has characters an audience cares about and a plot that keeps them interested. A great play has all these things as well as a deeper meaning. Unfortunately for the audience, Sin Full Heaven is lacking in too many of these areas.

Sin Full Heaven runs through Feb. 11 at New Theatre, 4120 Laguna St., Coral Gables. For tickets or more information, call 305-443-5909 or visit www.new-theatre.org.

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