Caetana's Sweet Song

The grand opera of Brazilian public life is the backdrop for this engaging tragicomedy set in 1970 in Trindade, a small town in the provinces. With the town's citizens acting as a sort of Greek chorus, Polidoro, a wealthy cattle baron, and his former mistress, Caetana, an aging itinerant actress, engage in verbal sparring and explore their passions, their insecurities, and their country's loss of innocence. Twenty years after she vanished from Trindade, Caetana returns dramatically, demanding that Polidoro grant her heart's desire, as he promised when they were young lovers. Caetana wants to be Maria Callas for one night; and so Polidoro, still smitten, sets out to provide her with a theater and an audience. He enlists Trindade's prostitutes, its pharmacist--everyone except his wife, Dodo, who has never forgiven him for his affair. Naturally, Dodo gets wind of Caetana's arrival and does everything possible to sabotage her rival's performance. Pinon ( The Republic of Dreams ) assembles her cast slowly, but her story soon picks up speed. Especially notable is the juicy dialogue between the aging actress and her consort. Pinon's newest work is robust and colorful. (May)