Rivera’s ‘Boleros’ funny and poignant

Love abounds in Barksdale Theatre's season opener, "Boleros for the Disenchanted."

José Rivera's 2008 play, a tribute to his parents' marriage, details the dizzying trajectory of a relationship from its inception in 1950s Puerto Rico to its waning days in 1990s Alabama. And with a spectacular cast recruited in New York, it is a delicious, funny, heartbreaking journey.

Flora is a well-brought-up country girl who's engaged to Manuelo, a heartthrob who is rumored to be cheating on her. She loves him, she says, "the way Jesus loved his cross." Urged on by her indignant mother, Flora confronts Manuelo, but he condemns Flora's parents for not telling her the truth: Men are different from women, and they have to visit their whores so they can treat their wives like madonnas.

Flora is too proud to buy this excuse, so she sends Manuelo packing and goes to visit her cousin in the city, where she meets and falls for the upstanding soldier Eusebio. His respect for her old-fashioned purity wins her love.

But in the second act, after 39 hard years have passed, Eusebio and Flora live near an Army base in Alabama; he is bedridden and she is his caretaker, a fervent Catholic who works as a lay counselor for couples planning to marry. By now, these two people have a lifetime of love and pain between them, but there are secrets still to be revealed.

Surprisingly, this is largely a comedy, with the ring of truth throughout. Beautifully and feelingly directed by Bruce Miller, and acted with brilliance, it's juicy, sweet and pungent. The colorful and complex scenic design by Brian Barker is beautifully lit by Lynne M. Hartman; Sue Griffin's costumes encompass tropical loveliness and tired domesticity. A singer and guitarist provide atmosphere; collaborators from the Latin Ballet of Virginia perform a beautiful opening dance.

Carmen Zilles' performance as the young Flora is deeply affecting; she is innocent and self-possessed, devout and romantic. Luis Vega is endearing as the young Eusebio, enchanting when he swipes the ground before him twice with his foot, preparing to kneel and propose. Bernardo Cubría is a delightful heartthrob as the swaggering Manuelo, and Michelle Guadelupe is a coy spitfire as Flora's city cousin.

As the older Flora and Eusebio (and doubling as young Flora's parents), Patricia Duran and Jorge Alberto Rubio dazzle with their searingly honest portrayal of a couple who have lived and struggled and loved and fought for 40 years. Duran's Flora seems dried up, but she still has vigor and venom; Rubio's Eusebio is beaten and chastened but not defeated. They inspire love in those who know them because their own love is unmistakable.

Susan Haubenstock is a freelance writer and editor based in Henrico County. Contact her at .