November 6, 2026
Ben (Teroy Guzman) was being discharged from the hospital after recovering from his third heart attack, When his wife Anita (Roselyn Perez) came to pick him up amidst talking about the doctor's advice and medications, Ben suddenly asked Anita if she still loved him after being married to him for 34 years. When she hesitated with her answer, Ben suddenly brought up the topic that maybe it is time they should just break up and live separately.
Carla (Yesh Burce) broke up with Dino (Jameson Blake) over pizza at home. Ferdz (Dingdong Bahan) broke up with Erwin (Jude Hinumdum) after a trip to Siargao got botched. Hector (Jel Tarun) broke up with Gab (Yen Santos) during a heated argument in a taxi. Lou (Nikki Valdez) moved out on Kat (Anna Luna) a year after they broke up. Jake (Brent Manalo), the ex of Gab, is the new boyfriend of Ina (Analain Salvador), who was the ex of Dino.
"The Art of Breaking Up" is a play written by the late George de Jesus. It was originally written and presented as a one-act play "Kung Paano Maghiwalay" at the Virgin Labfest 2008. De Jesus adapted it for a screenplay in 2013 and won Second Place at the Palanca Awards that year. It was presented as a full-length play in 2017 by Egg Theater Co., directed by de Jesus himself, and has been staged a number of times by various theater clubs since then.
Casting was an interesting mix of theater veterans, sharing scenes with film and TV stars making their theater debut. In this press preview show, Teroy Guzman and Roselyn Perez, two of my favorite theater actors of all time, delivered with remarkable restraint. For me, Nikki Valdez, Anna Luna, and Yesh Burce gave the most memorable turns. Among the neophytes, Yen Santos and Dingdong Bahan stood out best with their flawed, maddening characters.
Director Dudz Terana had a couple of major innovations that distinguished his version from previous iterations. First was a pair of young singers Benedix Ramos and Kolette Madelo went in and out of the various scenes providing dramatic musical interludes. The songs they sung are all pre-existing songs from the catalog of Star Music. The only song that was not from Star Music was the final song "Ikaw at Ako," a 2010 song by Johnoy Danao.
Terana's second gimmick were cameos of various minor characters in each of the scenes to serve as comic relief. All of them were played by one delightful actress -- Meann Espinosa. She improvised all those scene-stealing wacky characters herself during the play's creative process. They all became instant audience favorites, especially the coffee house staff, the taxi driver, the socialite shopper, the cheer dancer and the balloon vendor.
One vignette after another of couples in the process of breaking up can be difficult to watch for an entire first hour, although there were moments of comedy interspersed within to provide some buffer from the intense emotional bitterness. That was not the whole play though. After everyone broke up, there was a 15-minute intermission before an entire Act 2 that went back and forth in time to untangle and clarify the web of relationships woven in Act 1.
There can be some parts that can be confusing because of the non-linear sequencing of the events. Also, the stories were of varying intensity and depth of dramatic impact, so stronger scenes like Ben-Anita or Lou-Kat hit so much harder than weaker ones like Gab-Jake or most disappointingly, Dino-Ina. Anita told of how Dino cried for days when he broke up with Ina, but their actual breakup scene was so tepid, it did not make much of an impression at all.
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"The Act of Breaking Up", presented by Teatro Kapamilya in cooperation with PETA Plus, runs from November 6 to December 6, 2026 at the PETA Theater Center. Tickets are available at TicketWorld at the following prices: VIP P2,575, Orchestra P2,060, Balcony A P1,545 and Balcony B P1,236.
Certain roles have alternates. Carlos Siguion-Reyna and Bibeth Orteza will also take on the roles of Ben and Anita, and being a real-life married couple should give their interpretation a different spin. Alternating for Dino is Jake Cuenca, while for Lou, it is Janella Salvador (also on her theater debut), and for Jake is AJ Sison. For the two singers, the alternates are Sheena Belamino and Kolette's fellow PBB songster, Jarren Garcia.
