The setting of a “post-apocalyptic dystopia” has become such a staple of modern literature – and the resultant cinematic adaptations – that your public library could reserve a room for books that fit the form.

When American playwright Jose Rivera wrote “Marisol” in 1992, it may have looked like it could be shelved in that room. But the author leaned upon another literary tradition, that of Latin American magical realism, in his tale of how a civil war in heaven was pulling guardian angels from their duties and plunging New York City into unrecognizable chaos.

While you may feel as if there’s enough chaos in your life right now, don’t let that keep you from attending a performance of “Marisol,” which is opening Penumbra Theatre’s season in a co-production with Teatro del Pueblo. Rivera’s

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