Eloquent Ode to Survival Under Oppression

Though he can sling metaphors with the best of ‘em, Cuban American playwright Nilo Cruz is not one to “measure words at the expense of feeling,” to echo a phrase from one of his characters.

The haunting, poetic cadences of Cruz’s language, combined with Richard Hochberg’s evocative staging, bring complex, sometimes bewildering emotional currents to “A Bicycle Country,” the well-performed offering from the Group at Strasberg.

Nevertheless, Cruz’s elliptical account of three Cuban refugees fleeing a soul-deadening wasteland can ultimately leave a literal-minded audience adrift, along with its raft-bound protagonists.

The play’s title refers to a low-tech society whose backwardness extends into the cultural and political spheres. Though the Castro regime is never addressed directly, it’s clear that oppression is the status quo for cynical recovering stroke victim Julio (Armando Di Lorenzo), his irrepressibly earthy, life-affirming friend Pepe (David Barrera), and Ines (Kadina deElejalde), Julio’s hardened, street-savvy nursemaid who eventually becomes his lover.

With simple, naturalistic details, the trio sketches a powerful portrait of survival in a harsh economic climate, with the semi-paralyzed Julio’s physical deterioration mirroring the society at large. His recovery under Ines’ care is a testament to hope and courage, rendered without pretension.

We find ourselves in less objectively chartable waters during a second-act sea voyage that’s as much psychological as nautical. As the dialogue grows ever more deeply interior, it becomes harder to tell where courage leaves off and lunacy begins.

* “A Bicycle Country,” Lee Strasberg Creative Center, Marilyn Monroe Theatre, 7936 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends May 13. $17 to $19. (323) 650-7777. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.