Dan Norman
Triney Sandoval & Nathan M. Ramsey, Sueño, American Players Theatre, 2026.
Triney Sandoval, left, as Clotaldo and Nathan Ramsey as Segismundo: passion and anguish.
Sueño, a relatively new adaptation of Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s 17th-century Spanish-language play Life Is a Dream, is a dark horse this season at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green. Compared to Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker, William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, and Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya — all highlights of the first half of APT’s summer — Sueño and José Rivera, the Puerto Rican playwright who adapted Life Is a Dream in 1998, have considerably less name recognition.
That could explain why the 1,075-seat outdoor amphitheater wasn’t quite full for Sueño’s Aug. 15 opening night. Those in attendance, however, were treated to a provocative and profane production of a fairy tale that embraces violence with tenderness and struggle with wit while also exploring fate vs. free will, reality vs. dreams, and father vs. son.
It’s a lot to absorb. But credit director Marcela Lorca and her striking seven-member cast (complemented by a busy ensemble of eight) for delivering all of it in a memorable package that gives audiences plenty to think and talk about as they walk down the hill and drive home.
Set in 1685 Spain, Sueño — which means “dream” in Spanish — unfolds over three acts, two intermissions and 160 minutes. It begins with the offstage birth of Segismundo (Nathan M. Ramsey), prince of Spain and son of King Basilio (David Alan Anderson) during a total solar eclipse. The queen dies in childbirth, reinforcing Basilio’s belief in the astral prophecy that Segismundo will grow up to rule as a tyrant. Terrified, the king immediately imprisons his son in a remote tower, where Segismundo’s only human contact is a warden named Clotaldo (Triney Sandoval). Then comes his chance encounter as an adult with the cunning Rosaura (Phoebe González) and her foolish manservant Clarin (Marcus Truschinski), abandoned by their horses and lost. Segismundo explains to the pair that his only crime was being born and informs them that he’s never even seen his own face.
Rosaura and Clarin become entangled in Segismundo’s story when Basilio releases his son and crowns him king to test fate. This decision comes despite Basilio’s niece and nephew, Astolfo (Sam Luis Massaro) and Estrella (Laura Rook), also vying for the throne. Segismundo, however, winds up validating the prophecy by ruling with unchecked power, which sends him back to a life of isolation in the tower. Here is where Sueño’s boundaries between illusion and reality blur.
Throughout the performance, plot twists and unforgettable lines like “To simply live is a dream” and “If God really wants your ass, he’s going to get your ass” add to the intrigue.
Ramsey is an imposing figure who spends much of his time on stage bound in chains and clad mostly in Segismundo’s skimpy costume made to resemble animal skins, and he recites soliloquies with just the right amount of passion and anguish to spur both empathy and disdain from the audience. Similarly, Sandoval as Clotaldo delicately walks the line between being Segismundo’s keeper and his friend.
Meanwhile, Massaro plays Astolfo with the comedic flair of Jack Black, and Rook gleefully leans into her role as Estrella, outfitted in a hilarious side-hoop pannier and exaggerated Marie Antoinette bouffant that makes her look like a red-haired Marge Simpson. Other comic relief comes from the craven sarcasm of Truschinski’s Clarin and some of the ensemble’s unexpected antics.
As Rosaura, González makes her entrance by tumbling down the amphitheater’s stage left hill wearing a boy’s attire after being tossed from an imaginary horse, and (like Ramsey) she does much of the play’s heaviest acting. And Anderson’s Basilio rules over the proceedings with an air of authority mandated by the role of king.
Mother Nature serves a vital purpose in Sueño, too. Many scenes feature dark staging, and they’re enhanced by the sounds of a rural Wisconsin night in the woods.
“At its heart, Sueño pulses with longing — the longing to be seen, to be loved, to escape one’s confines, to understand who we are when everything we trust feels unstable,” Lorca writes in her director’s note. “These desires are deeply human, bridging centuries and cultures.”
With this production and its cast, that’s a bridge definitely worth crossing.
Sueño runs through Sept. 26.
