The production is also a great next step for Teatro Publico de Cleveland, the Latino theatre collective launched by CPT ten years ago
The book works so well Maria actually begins seeing her new self, in the form of a Figure who looks like her and is always at the ready to keep Maria going in the most successful direction. But as time passes, and Maria begins to grow as a person, her success is overwhelmed by other changes in her personality.
This surreal turn opens up many script avenues to pursue, but the play is hampered by the self-help book structure which feels like scaffolding that could be easily eliminated. Without the repeated and predictable appearances by the narrator, which interrupt the flow of the show, playwright Benites would have more room to use her wit and insight to develop a more satisfying conflict and conclusion among her characters, including the"imaginary" one.