Saturday, June 4, 2016

Review of Artist Playground's HAPPINESS IS A PEARL: Lost in Love

June 4, 2016



Artist Playground opens its second season with an original play written by prolific playwright Rody Vera six years ago, entitled "Happiness is a Pearl." This is the first time this play had ever been staged for the public. The young theater company pushes the envelope with daring material that is for mature audiences only.

In the center of "Happiness is a Pearl" is a love triangle. Kenji is a Japanese gigolo who knew how to pleasure the ladies with his "equipment" uniquely enhanced by a pearl. Mari, a Japanese woman married to a rich businessman, could not resist Kenji's company for the ecstasy that he gives her. However, Kenji's heart had fallen for Maria, a Japayuki in a seedy Filipino bar in Chiba. As a confrontation among the three lovers was inevitable, each one realizes what they had to lose to gain the happiness of love.


The interior of the Little Room Upstairs where this play was staged was rearranged to fit a bigger diagonally-set stage with three substages. The audience sat on three sides of this stage, offering a different view of the action onstage. The ceiling was adorned with pink florets looking like cherry blossoms to symbolize the Japanese setting of the play. Some movable frames were set on the posterior stage, but I did not exactly get what these frames were supposed to represent.


Of the three main actors on the stage, the one that easily commanded attention by his mere physical presence was the newcomer (with the shortest CV) who played Kenji-- 22-year old indie film actor Tomas Miranda. He is a handsome well-built young man, with penetrating eyes which actually made him look Japanese. He acted with confidence, belying the fact this is was his very first theater production, Japanese accent and various stages of undress notwithstanding. (Jerome Rosalin alternates as Kenji.)



The two ladies who shared the stage with Miranda also had their respective moments to shine. Cath Go played the Japanese matron Mari as an obsessed lonely lady who was willing to buy her way to her happiness. This was the only character supposedly based on a real person. Ira Ruzz (who previously made a good impression as Flerida in Gantimpala's "Florante at Laura") played the entertainer Maria with typical homespun charm, very Filipina in attitude in situations of adversity. (Ruth Alferez alternates as Mari. Shiela Espina alternates as Maria.)


The extreme limitations of the stage space makes this play a challenge in blocking for director Paul Jake Paule, so that the audience around will get to see everything that was happening on stage. However, an even more difficult challenge was for choreographer Lezlie Dailisan. The choreography of the tangos danced by the three main actors was emotionally communicative, one of the best and most memorable aspects of this show. Despite the fact that Miranda, Go and Ruzz had no previous dance training, they were able to execute all the daring lifts and flips with grace and aplomb, very impressive all.

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"Happiness is a Pearl" is staged at The Little Room Upstairs, Rm. 1701 of the Landsdale Tower along Mo. Ignacia (cor. Timog Ave.) in Quezon City. The play shall run from June 9 to July 3, 2016 with 7 pm shows from Wednesday – Friday; 3 pm and 7 pm shows  every Saturday and Sunday. For tickets and inquiries, visit Artist Playground's FB Page  or contact 0926 932 3179. Strictly for ADULTS only.



13 comments:

  1. Looks like it's a great show.... Truly, Happiness is more valuable than anything else in the world..

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  3. WOW! nice story line of the show. Director,actors and choreographer combines to make such a great show

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  4. It looks like a challenging play to hold. It looks like a good story though. I remember how hard is it to rehearse a play in theater before when I was part of a guild.

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  5. What a very intriguing story. I wonder who ended up with Kenji in the end. It's a very unique setup for the stage but it's interesting as well. And based on how you described it, they were able to perform without hassle. That's admirable.

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  6. Such a great play with lots of potent meanings of life. Happiness is what we are looking for in life.

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  7. Happiness is a feeling that every living soul wishes they have in their lifetime. This is just a great story. Thanks for sharing

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  8. It is nice to have someone who understands the limitation of the stage and not just criticize for the sake of doing so. For someone who has been doing stag production and acting, it's very heartwarming to read this

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  9. There was a Hindi feature film with similar story. Can't imagine how difficult it would have been to enact it all live in theatre stage!

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  10. Wow! presenting this story on stage is a quite skillful for actors and director. BTW, indeed to gain you have to lose something.

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  11. This sounds like a spectacular play. I would have watched this if I were in Manila. I'm glad to learn about this through your blog as I have friends who are fond of plays like this.

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  12. Gotta love your support for our local talents. And I'm impressed that it seems like we are coming up with even better plays these days!

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  13. its nice to see how everything was performed in such a small space. its interesting to see how they had overcome it

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