"The malevolent macho machine at the center of the drama is Cornelius Melody, or Cornelio Melendes (Robert Beltran) in director Ruben Sierra's adaptation. An immigrant who runs an inn, Cornelio keeps himself stoked with liquor and memories of past war glories, while loathing the Yankees and bullying his servile wife, Nora, (Bertila Damas) and daughter Sara (Maria Canals). "

"More so than most of O'Neill's major works, "A Touch of the Poet" flies or falls on the caliber of its central performance. Fortunately for this production, Beltran's Cornelio is nearly all the role demands... Beltran's volatile sensuality and magnetism go a long way toward explaining why Nora, Sara and a pack of cronies continue to hang around Cornelio, despite his abuse. He is never merely angry, but pathetic too--a combination that seems to draw women to O'Neill like pigs to slop..."