The Actors’ Gang is looking at a story of immigrants who rolled cigars as they were read stories from famous authors on the factory floor, leading to a revolutionary movement. It’s a play with touches of magical realism and historical drama, a bilingual storyline and even a ghost.

Written and directed by Brazilian-born playwright Mariana Da Silva under the guidance of artistic director and Oscar winner Tim Robbins, “Ybor City” opens Saturday and runs through April 5 at the Actors’ Gang Theater in Culver City. The last preview is tonight.

“This tells the story of marginalized people from another country that are making a way for themselves in the United States, and doing so with dignity. That for me is an inspiring story. It’s a story of immigrants and it’s a story that shows the intelligence and poetry and beauty of a community,” said Robbins.

Based on real events, the 90-minute play was inspired by Ybor City, a Florida town that in the early 1900s became a hub for cigar production, attracting a vibrant community of diverse immigrants, including Cubans, Italians and Spaniards. Featuring narratives in both English and Spanish, with supertitles projected for the audience, the play marks The Actors’ Gang’s first bilingual production.

“There’s no denying Spanish is such a beautifully lyrical and musical language. And we have such a large community in Los Angeles of bilingual people and I’m always excited to have new people come discover us at the Actors’ Gang,” Robbins said.

The play tells the story of workers who hand-rolled and stuffed hundreds of cigars a day, which was a tedious process. To stay entertained and informed, the workers hired people to read them books like Miguel de Cervantes’ classic “Don Quixote” on the factory floor. But when a mysterious spiritual entity begins to influence the reader system, it leads to rising tensions as the workers become more educated about their rights. Then, after a shocking death in one of the factories, Nena, a grieving employee, emerges as the first female reader and reluctant leader of a revolutionary movement.

“They began at some point reading things that would cause uprisings within the community because they were getting more educated,” said Da Silva, who also plays Nena.

The touch of magical realism comes from the ghost in the factory who starts influencing what’s being read, which includes books as well as newspaper articles.

“They’re reading news articles from 1932 that are very similar to what we are reading right now about mass deportation, all these big themes. So the play has a big conversation between our community and how it’s been treated here in America,” she said. “So I think the play is a call to action. I always tell people it’s a protest play.”

For Robbins it’s also a play about bringing people together and inspiring conversations.

“I love it when people leave the theater saying ‘I want to tell that story too,’ ” Robbins said.