Sandbox: Review of TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS: Impressive Iza

November 30, 2024

She was a published author who is working on her next book. One day, she received a message asking her if she would consider taking over to write the online advice column, "Dear Sugar." After an initial hesitation, she accepted, even when she was told that she was not going to earn any money out of this gig. Once she began writing her advice for the letters sent to "Sugar," loyal readers recognized that it was a new person behind the pseudonym.

The source book "Tiny Beautiful Things" is a compilation of selected essays written by Cheryl Strayed (author of "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail") for her advice column published the online literary magazine "Rumpus" from 2010 to 2012.  Nia Vardalos (of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" fame) adapted and developed these essays into a play in 2016, for which she herself originated the lead role of anonymous advice columnist Sugar. 

For this play staged by The Sandbox Collective under the direction of Jenny Jamora, lead actress Iza Calzado plays Sugar who typed her column on her laptop on her dining room table. She got to interact with various letter-writers as embodied by three other actors (Rody Vera, Gabby Pineda, Ketchup Eusebio, with alternates Brian Sy and Regina de Vera), who went in and out and around the different areas of her house (designed by Kayla Teodoro). 

The topics of the letters ran the gamut of personal problems -- from light trivial to profoundly serious. Sugar drew from her own life experiences to try to clarify issues. Some memorable letters involved how to know when what one felt about someone was love, how to tell a good spouse that he wants a divorce, how to tell a new partner about a history of sexual assault, or how to make sense of a senseless death of a son. Heavy stuff, frank language.

The letter writers in the show I watched were: prolific playwright Rody Vera (whom I had never seen act in an English play before, and cursing to boot!), Gabby Padilla (effortlessly transitioning from her indie films to the stage for the second time this year), and Bryan Sy (internally intense as ever, you wouldn't know he was covering for film/TV actor Ketchup Eusebio). Too bad there were occasional mic issues which made some lines unclear. 

The main spotlight rested on elegant Ms. Iza Calzado, who was onstage for practically the entire 1 hour-50 minute run time. Her delivery of Sugar's lengthy, complicated lines was clear and flawless, very impressive for one playing lead in her very first stage production. She paced her emotions well as the intensity of the problems escalated, peaking in that cathartic, excellently-composed 24-point response to a most excruciating question at the climax.

Rody Vera and Iza Calzado at the curtain call

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"Tiny Beautiful Things" runs at the Power Mac Black Box Theater at Circuit Makati, from November 16 to December 8, 2024, with evening shows at 7:30 pm, and matinees at 3 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. 

 

Dulaang UP: Review of NANAY BANGIS (TDR): Motherhood and Management

November 10, 2024

It was 1971, and Mindanao was being rocked by a violent conflict between the Christian military and Muslim rebels. Nanay Bangis (Geraldine Villamil) pushed a cart around the roads to sell her goods to the soldiers on both sides. She had three children: Elvis (Ethan King), Kesong Puti (Raymond Aguilar), and a mute girl Christine (Khay Eva). Over the next ten years, she met various people along the way: the prostitute Ynez (Air Paz), the minister Brother Mike (Jigger Sementilla) and the cook Pedrong Tabako (Ronah Rostata- de la Pena).

"Nanay Bangis" is based on Berthold Brecht's "Mother Courage and Her Children," a play often hailed by critics as one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. Prolific playwright Rody Vera had adapted it in Filipino, transposing the original setting of Europe in the 17th century during the bloody Thirty Years' War, to Mindanao from 1971 to 1981 during the bloody Muslim separatist movement there.  Both of these destructive wars were rooted in religious conflicts -- Catholics vs. Protestants in Europe, Christians vs. Muslims in Mindanao. 

I was invited to what was called the Press Preview of this show last Saturday, November 9, 2024, 2:30 pm. However, when Dulaang UP Artistic Director Issa Lopez Manalo gave her welcome remarks, she called the show a Technical Dress Rehearsal. So, essentially the show I saw was not yet the actual show. There were technical elements which were not yet final, I guess depending on what worked or didn't work during this run-through. 

As of now, I can only describe what I saw in this open TDR. When you read this, keep in mind that what I saw was just a rehearsal and not the final show. The pacing felt off, where the transitions between subsequent scenes seemed to take too long. For example, it was announced repeatedly at the start that the show will run for 2 hours and 4 minutes with an intermission. This TDR ran for almost 3 hours, or at least felt like it.

The individual main scenes were very well-performed, especially during Act 2, by which time the viewer would have already gotten drift of the story, and there was already more action than exposition. However, the transitions between these main scenes still felt awkward, and needed tightening and streamlining. The singing parts felt jarring because they seemed so out of place, but later I would read that these songs were really there in the original after all. 

I have to admit that the acting style felt strange while I watching, rather aloof and unengaging. The characters here were all very flawed, such that I did not really like any of them, not even, or especially Nanay Bangis herself, who was particularly incorrigible. I would later learn that in Brechtian plays were written purposefully to alienate audiences from the characters emotionally. Therefore, expect this play to be a different experience, as I did.

Also unique for a Brechtian play is breaking the fourth wall. King and Aguilar went out of character to do narration. There was a part when Villamil took a break as Nanay Bangis, so the narrator King begrudgingly took over, as instructed by the stage manager. Brecht did this technique in order so audience would realize that they were only watching a play now. It reminds the viewers that the real fight happens outside the confines of the theater.

Brechtian epic theater is meant to be a living newspaper, where issues of society and politics are presented on stage. This aspect of a Brechtian play was definitely well-reflected in this play. The detailed narrations about the history of the Muslim separatist movement in the 1970s, complete with all the personalities and events, were very educational, thanks to the dramaturgical research work by Jonas Garcia and Popo Amascual.  

Nanay's Cart on the Road Stage

Directing this play with its specified rules and expectations must have been a welcome challenge for veteran director J. William Herbert Sigmund Go. Having Angel Dayao's musical score played by a live band with traditional Muslim instruments was an excellent idea. Mark Daniel Dalacat designed a stage formed like two wide intersecting roads on which Nanay Bangis's cart moved all around. Go did not limit the action on that main stage, but he also involved the rafters above, which can be accessed by a rope ladder. He even set major death scenes up there. 

Again, the only version of this play that I've seen was only a TDR, not a real full run of the play. There was even no curtain call at the end of the show for us to be able to show appreciation to the actors. Like ure that the full play will proceed more smoothly, exactly how director Go had envisioned it to be. I hope I still have the chance to go watch this play full-fledged, if not during this run, then a future rerun. 

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Dulaang UP's "NANAY BANGIS" runs from November 15 to December 1, 2024 at the Ignacio B. Gimenez - KAL Theater, UP Diliman.

Showdates and times are as follows: November 15, 22, 28 (7:30 p.m.), November 16, 23, 29 (2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.), and November 17, 24, December 1 (10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.).

Regular ticket price is P1000, with appropriate discounts as warranted.

Non-UP student tickets are priced at P750. PWDs and senior citizens may also enjoy a discounted rate of P800, while regular tickets are available for P1,000. 

TA: Review of MEDEA: Motherhood and Murder

November 11, 2024

Medea (Miren Alvarez-Fabregas) was deep in despair and rage. Her ambitious husband Yason (Yan Yuzon) had left her and their two sons to get married to the princess of Corinth, daughter of King Kreon (Chot Kabigting). Fearing for the safety of his daughter, Kreon ordered Medea to be exiled out of Corinth. Medea pleaded for one more day, which the King granted begrudgingly. Medea knew that was enough time for her to set her plans into action.

"Medea" is a classic tragedy play written by ancient Greek playwright Euripides which was first performed in 431 BC. It was about characters from Greek mythology -- Jason, leader of the Argonauts and hero of the Golden Fleece, and Medea, the sorceress who helped him obtain it. I did not hear the word "sorceress" last night, but the play mentioned that Medea was from Asia, and played a big role in Jason's rise to prominence in society. 

Joseph dela Cruz, Katski Flores, and 

Joel Macaventa

This adaptation of "Medea" was translated into Filipino by none other than National Artist for Theater Rolando Tinio. It stars some alumni of Tanghalang Ateneo who had just been spurred back to activity by the death of their inspirational mentor Ricky Abad. I was in awe when I watched Miren Alvarez-Fabregas, Yan Yuzon, Joseph dela Cruz reunite after a 20-year acting hiatus in "Mga Multo" last July, and I made sure I will not miss this new show.

Miren Alvarez-Fabregas was a force of nature here as Medea. We only hear her eerie cries of anguish and woe from offstage for the first fifteen minutes, and it was already giving us goosebumps. From the moment she appeared on stage, she owned our full attention the whole time. We felt her wrath and desperation escalating to the point of madness, until they peaked in that spectacularly-staged, smoky and chilling climax on her chariot. 

Pickles Leonidas and Goldie Soon

Yan Yuzon possessed a very strong and confident stage presence, with an easily malleable and expressive face. Yason's emotions were at a constant high in the last thirty minutes of the play, so he was practically shouting in rage, incredulity and shock the whole time, for which he would need ample quality voice rest afterwards to recover. We hated him as the scornful philanderer at the start, just as we can still empathize with his bereavement at the end.

The supporting cast likewise gave strong performances -- Joseph dela Cruz as Medea's supportive friend Egeo who also witnessed the outcome of her act of vengeance, Katski Flores played Medea's old Yaya who worried about her mistress, Joel Macaventa (Mark Aranal alternates) played Medea's sons' Maestro who worried about his wards. The chorus of two -- Gold Soon and Pickles Leonidas -- helped the story along with their narration and as Medea's friends. 

Yam Yuzon and Miren Alvarez-Fabregas

Under the direction of Ron Capinding, the show ran for 1 hour and 40 minutes without an intermission. Tata Tuviera's rectangular stage was the courtyard of Medea's house set in between two raised bleachers on both long sides for the audience. Don't take those seemingly textured walls on both short ends for granted. Tuviera's costumes and Ara Fernando's makeup gave a Central Asian vibe. Zak Capinding's sound and music evoke tension and danger.

What a strong central female character who took agency, no matter how divisive or controversial her decisions are, this classic is feminist at its core. Even up to the present time, in any corner of the world, women are still often in situations where they are caught between a rock and hard place. While Medea's dilemma may be an extreme example of agency, her story remains a thought-provoking piece that will always invite debate anytime and anywhere. 

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Tanghalang Ateneo's production of "MEDEA" runs from November 12 to 24, 2024 at the FA Black Box Theater in the Old Communications Building of the Ateneo de Manila University. Shows at 7 pm, with 2 pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets available via this LINK. Basic price is P700, with appropriate discounts as the case may be.