The Cook

In 1958 on the eve of the Cuban revolution, Gladys, a young cook, makes a solemn promise to her mistress. Before the wealthy family flees in the night, she vows to protect and care for the beautiful home that she worked in all her adult life. As the reality of Castro’s revolution settles in, and despite the personal consequences, Gladys fights to keep her promise for over four decades. In Machado’s rich, engaging, and deeply personal play, Gladys emerges as a woman with great spirit who lives by her heart against a backdrop of a troubled Cuba. The New Yorker called The Cook, “first rate…a shining theatrical experience,” and the Miami Herald described it as “Powerful….the writing is political and unflinching.”