Even after 25 seasons, the Phoenix Theatre still addresses such hot topics as immigration, which has sparked controversy in every forum from private chats to the Indiana General Assembly.

Conversation often centers on the impact immigrants have on the United States. Rarely do we hear what impact immigration has had on those left behind, but that's exactly what Mexican-born playwright Javier Malpica has done in "Our Dad Is in Atlantis," a bittersweet comic drama about brothers essentially orphaned in Mexico.

Anonymously described as Older Brother and Younger Brother, the boys suffer a series of losses. After Mother dies and Dad leaves for the U.S., presumably to find work, the boys are passed from relative to relative, enduring hard work and abuse. Eventually, they pine for their father, and think about following him across the border.

The Phoenix's production features a young, relatively inexperienced cast. Still, Julio Juarez and Mark Presto give strong performances full of passion and commitment. They tell the brothers' tales effectively but also convey a sense of a far more universal story.

According to Juarez's program biography, he was born in Mexico and has lived in the U.S. for only a few years. Carrying off half of a 75-minute play in a language not his native tongue is a challenge he meets with skill.

Juarez smartly plays Older Brother as a basically serious guy with a playful side. His English had a Latin accent, which lent authenticity to the show, but he also rushed a few emotional scenes, muddying the words.

Presto has a wonderfully expressive face, and has absolutely mastered the character of the annoying little brother. He also has what sounds like a Midwestern accent. His diction is great, but if the two brothers lived together all their lives, it might be better to hear a hint of Mexico in both voices.

No doubt the text will take on a different flavor when seven of the remaining shows are in Spanish.

Bloomington-based musician David Wierhake has written some great incidental music for the play, and he performs it live on accordion. The music serves many purposes: scene setting, building suspense at scary moments, even depicting screams.

One of the script's greatest assets is its storytelling nature. But once Malpica has told his touching vignettes about the brothers, he leaves them hanging in the desert, raising more questions than he answers: Will they survive? Will their dad accept them?

While Malpica has created a sense of suspense that may be all too real to immigrants, the the play's ending was so abrupt, that the audience didn't seem sure the show was over.