REVIEW: 'Miamians' suffers from broad scope

<p>Michael McKeever often takes a slightly off-center and humorous look at family dynamics and friendships in his plays. In his latest, "The Miamians," he goes for something weightier and more meaningful with slightly mixed results.</p><p>The play at Florida Studio Theatre is a look at three families dealing in an American society where cultures blend and merge, and some struggle to hold on to their roots while others immerse themselves in the changing world.</p><p>The characters include a Cuban mother and her executive son, a black civil rights attorney and her gay brother, whose partner is a Jewish teacher dealing with a father who does not accept their relationship.</p><p>All of them have been in Miami for years and have watched it change. They wonder if they have lost themselves along the way, or held on to the values that their parents instilled in them, or lived up to their legacies.</p><p>Nearly any family can relate to the characters and to these questions about assimilation and heritage.</p><p>But McKeever tries to tell too many stories at once, leaving the play slightly unfocused and less involving than it might have been otherwise. For example, it is not enough that Leo Cashen wants his father to understand, if not accept, his relationship with Jackson. Several other family issues are thrown in but not fully developed.</p><p>Leo and Jackson also want to adopt a child, but is it because they really want to be parents or for the political statement it might make? The issue is raised in detail and then almost dismissed.</p><p>An argument between Jackson and his sister, Adelle, about her being the first black person to win a particular award goes on for some time without a resolution or some sense of common ground.</p><p>She wants to be recognized for achievements alone and worries that she was chosen because it was time to honor a black woman.</p><p>The production staged by Kate Alexander strikes its strongest chord in the relationship between Marta, a widowed seamstress, and her son, Luis.</p><p>The mother and son are proud people, for different reasons. Luis appreciates what his parents sacrificed, but thinks his father felt like a failure for never having the kind of business success he had in Cuba.</p><p>Marta sees it differently. The parents work to make it possible for their children to go further, and to pass on a personal legacy of what made those achievements possible.</p><p>These scenes work best in part because of the touching performance of Marina Re as Marta, who exudes warmth (and a bit of sass), and makes you feel the maternal love she has for Luis, played nicely by David Perez-Ribada.</p><p>Matthew DeCapua is charming as Leo, and works well with John Kohler, who has the right attitude as the disapproving father but looks too young to be convincing as 70.</p><p>Sadly, there's not much of a connection between DeCapua and Kenajuan Bentley, who plays Jackson. Bentley has a far more natural relationship with LaQuayva Anthony, who is no-nonsense (except for her clothes obsession) as his sister, Adelle.</p><p>The play is staged on an attractive Art Deco-ish set designed by Nana Ramey and nicely lit in South Florida tones by Marty Vreeland.</p><p>The issues McKeever raises are the kind that can really touch the soul, if only he did not leave the audience hanging and waiting for something more.</p>