June 17, 2023
RED (The Necessary Theater)
Writer: John Logan
Director: Bart Guingona
In 1958, abstract expressionistic artist Mark Rothko had just signed a contract to paint murals for the walls of the swanky Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram's Building. Because of the extensive scope of this job, he hired a young aspiring artist Ken (JC Santos) to be his work assistant at his studio in New York City. While working on the project for two years, the two discuss and argue about their clashing philosophies about art and legacy.
Bart Guingona was in his element as the arrogant, temperamental Rothko, after all he had played him before 10 years ago, with Joaquin Valdez as Ken. I was not able to see this original staging. This time around, Ken is played by JC Santos, whose command of English may surprise those who only knew him by his Filipino films. This is not a play that an actor can simply just memorize his lines to portray. They need to live and breathe their characters, immerse themselves fully into their talents, knowledge and neurotic idiosyncrasies before they can pull them off.
This was a deep, multi-layered script written by John Logan, who was nominated for a Tony in 2010 in its original Broadway run. It even actually required a glossary of artistic and historical terms in its souvenir program. However, despite its formidable premise, "Red" was a truly absorbing and immersive theater experience that will make us evaluate how we see our respective "arts" (even if they did not involve paint and brushes. It will also make us reflect on your own professional principles as we grow older in our careers.
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PRIDE PLAYS (Barefoot Theater Collaborative)
Writers: Mikaela Regis, Floy Quintos
Directors: Pat Valera, John Mark Yap
This twin-bill of LGBTQIA+ plays has been staged by the Barefoot Theater Collaborative to celebrate Pride Month. The first feature "Unica Hijas" written by Mikaela Regis and directed by Pat Valera. It was a one-act play first staged last year as part of Set C of the Virgin Labfest 17 "Hinga." The second feature "Laro" was written by no less than Floy Quinto, directed by John Mark Yap. It was a two-act play first staged in 2004, then only restaged in 2019 by Artists Playground.
"Unica Hijas" was about two senior high school girls -- Nikki (Joy delos Santos) and Mitch (Ash Nicanor) -- who were caught in the act of almost kissing. They were called to the Principal's Office for this offense. This dreaded meeting will also have their parents in attendance. Before this moment of truth, the two were talking with each other, trying to come to grips with their sexuality, their parents and their school.
Mitch was already sure of her gender orientation and was out and proud about it, even with her mother. The more interesting character here was actually Nikki, a girl who was still in the closet, hoping that she could still shake off this unnatural feelings she had sometime in the future. She did not want to disappoint her parents by announcing that she may be gay. She wanted to deny everything, keep things status quo, and not stir a hornet's nest.
The winsome and very realistic portrayals of both girls made this play light, sweet and engaging, despite the sensitive LGBTQ topic that it tackles. Gay audiences would invariably be behind Mitch all they way. Straight audiences may feel that doubtful Nikki was being pressured into coming out. It was just too bad that the director chose that Nikki's final decision had to be done via a phone call with loud music drowning out that actual words.
"Laro" was a series of short intense scenes following a chain of gay men, with one character connected to two other characters. It began with an Call Boy and a Policeman, who later met a Drag Queen, who later met a User, who later met a random online Lover, who went home to his Ideal, who then met up with a Student, who then confessed to a cousin Writer, who then interviewed a Model, who then met his Philosopher boss, who later hired a Call Boy.
The most memorable scenes and acting were those which involved the scary Policeman (Gio Gahol), the perverse Ideal (Al Gatmaitan) and the megalomaniac Philosopher (Jojo Cayabyab). I had seen the original staging before and these scenes felt like Quinto could've upped the shock factor, or if not, director Yap may have intensified these specific encounters to make them seem more monstrous with his improved lighting, sound design and sets.
Of course, only Phi Palmos can play a Tina Turner Drag Queen. Al Gatmaitan played Ideal and Mike Liwag played User before, though it was their alternates that I saw. The other members of the original cast took on different roles. Ross Pesigan from Student to Call Boy, and Gio Gahol from User to Policeman, and both of them upped their acting intensity. However, Andre Miguel, who went from Call Boy to Model, looked awkwardly miscast in his new role.
Even if there was dark humor imbued in all the episodes, even queer audiences will find these salacious stories very disturbing. Straight audiences will likely react with disgust and revulsion to the sex scenes, all non-consensual. With all the gay predators depicted here, there was nothing positive nor feel-good in the whole of this lurid play.
As "Pride Plays," while "Unica Hijas" tries to make straight viewers understand lesbian issues, "Laro" could actually alienate them against gays more. Provocative as he always is, Quintos surely will not let something like that get in the way. The cold truth needs to be told, uncomfortable and inconvenient as it may be.
