Filipino chefs around the world to star in new cookbook

By WALTER ANG
Nov. 30, 2017
USA & Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/8412/filipino-chefs-around-world-star-new-cookbook

SAN FRANCISCO — Filipino chefs, restaurateurs and food writers will be included in the forthcoming book The Migrant Filipino Kitchen, an anthology of personal stories and recipes from Filipino chefs around the world.

Pinakbet by Leo Fernandez.
Food photos by Rowena Dumlao-Giardina, courtesy of Agate Publishing

Spearheaded and edited by restaurateur and food writer Jaqueline Chio-Lauri, the book is scheduled for release in the fall of 2018.

"Each contributor shares segments of their lives examined through a Filipino dish. Each dish has a personal twist to reflect the contributor's transformation or journey," explains Chio-Lauri.

Jaqueline Chio-Lauri is editor of The Migrant Filipino Kitchen. CONTRIBUTED

Popular Filipino American chefs featured in the upcoming publication include White House chef Cris Comerford, cable channel TLC's "Food Buddha" host Rodelio Aglibot and former TV cooking competition shows "Top Chef" and "Chopped Grill Masters" contestant Chrissy Camba, among many others.

Beginnings

Born in the Philippines and currently based in Norway, Chio-Lauri has opened and operated several restaurants for Shangri-la Hotel in Manila and Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Dubai.

Filipino American chefs to be featured in the book include
(from left) Cris Comerford, Rodelio Aglibot and Chrissy Camba.

She eventually added writing to her plate, with pieces published in PositivelyFilipino.com and in anthologies such as the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

The book began as a personal project. "I wanted to write a food memoir revolving around the food I grew up eating, my childhood and my Lola, who was a storyteller and cook extraordinaire with an incredibly colorful personality," she said.

Jacqueline Chio-Lauri.
Photo by Henriette Time, Studio Hjelm.

"My intention was to immortalize the memories, reflections and lessons I've learned to pass on to family members and relatives. But a voice in my head bugged me, `What have you done for your country?'

"So, I decided to go broader and include kababayans from around the world since I have always wished our that our food was more accessible worldwide.

"Most of the places where I've lived didn't or still don't have a single Filipino restaurant. Hardly anybody knows the cuisine. It's always a struggle to make others understand what it really is all about."

Global team

She created a proposal that ended up being more than a hundred pages long. Though she landed a book agent (in Texas) quickly enough, she spent months sending proposals and receiving rejections from publishers.

Kilawin by Cristina Quackenbush.

Fortune favors the persevering. She received two offers in succession and ended up with Agate Surrey, a publishing company based in Evanston, Illinois with marketing offices in San Francisco, that has worked with Food Network chefs and James Beard Award winners.

Rome-based Rowena Dumlao-Giardina will handle food styling and photography. The foreword will be written by two-time James Beard Award-winner writer John Birdsall.

"By doing this book, I hope I can help raise awareness and memorability for our food and culture. And hopefully silence that voice in my head nagging me to do something for the motherland!"

Across borders

Other featured Filipino American chefs include Paolo Dungca (Restaurant Eve in Washington, DC); Cristina Quackenbush (Milkfish, formerly a restaurant but now only pop-up dining events, in New Orleans); Ray Espiritu (Isla Pilipina in Chicago); Robert Menor (Bonifacio in Columbus, Ohio); and Alexa Alfaro (Meat on the Street food truck in Milwaukee).

Kare-kare by Vanessa Hangad.

Writers and organizers include Dalena Benavente (author of Asian Girl in a Southern World), Marilyn Ranada Donato (author of Philippine Cooking in America), and Joanne Boston-Kwanhull (co-director of Filipino Food Movement).

Filipino Canadians include Allan Pineda (Manila Nights pop-up dining events in Winnipeg) and food writer Nastasha Alli.

To preorder or for updates on The Migrant Filipino Kitchen, visit MyFoodBeginnings.com.

Mom’s Filipino recipes in new cookbook-storybook

By WALTER ANG
Nov. 21, 2018
USA & Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/8249/moms-filipino-recipes-new-cookbook-storybook

NEW YORK — "This cookbook is for the novice who wants to learn how to cook classic Filipino dishes, or for the culinary pro who needs traditional inspiration," says Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino, who has released her new cookbook My Mother's Philippine Recipes.

Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino.

"I wanted to demystify the notion that 'mom's cooking' is an impossible feat," she adds.

But more than just a cookbook, it's also a storybook, with vintage pictures to boot. (It's available at Amazon both in print and Kindle editions.)

And despite the title, there is at least one recipe that's pretty current: for foodies who want to partake of Asia's latest trend in salted egg-flavored potato chips, Besa-Quirino has a homemade version. The relatively new recipe is borne out of her family's ingrained hospitality, of taking care of guests by nourishing them.

Love

The book compiles a collection of her mother's recipes that were cooked with produce grown by her father in their backyard and farms. The dishes were often served to family and friends who stopped by their home in Tarlac, which was about three hours away from the capital, Manila.

Besa-Quirino (right) with her mother Lulu Reyes (center) and sister.

In addition to instructing how to prepare dishes, Besa-Quirino recounts the memories created and evoked by the transmittal of love through food among family.

Besa-Quirino tells the love story of her parents and shares vignettes of her family's connections to each recipe she presents in the book. Along with photographs of the completed dishes, family pictures accompany her anecdotes.

Some her family's favorites in this cookbook: Pancit Palabok, Carne Asada Kapampangan, Spanish Cocido, Beef Kalitiran Pot Roast, and Crispy Pata (which Besa-Quirino points out can be done without deep frying, but roasted in an oven instead.)

Sinigang na Baka with Lemongrass prepared by Elizabeth Ann Besa-Quirino.

For sweets, there are recipes for Pastillas de Ube, Pastillas de Leche, and Ube Puto-Leche Flan.

The dishes are categorized as soups and appetizers, vegetable dishes, rice and noodle dishes, fish and seafood dishes, meats (chicken, beef, pork), and, of course, desserts.

She gives suggestions for ingredient substitutions for readers who may not have access to Filipino or Asian grocery stores in the US or would like to try new twists to classic recipes.

More recipes

This is the second in Besa-Quirino's series of Filipino Cookbook Recipes from Asian in America. The first installment, How to Cook Philippine Desserts: Cakes and Snacks, was released just last year.

My Mother's Philippine Recipes, available at Amazon both in print and Kindle editions.

"After all, life is short. Make it sweeter with dessert!" says the author who's also illustrated and published the coloring book Color and Cook Food Coloring Book, which includes bookmarks and gift tags.

"For years, I have been cooking Filipino and Asian dishes almost every day," says Besa-Quirino, who moved to the US more than two decades ago.

Prior to her leaving the Philippines, her father worried about her well-being in a foreign country. "I assured my father I was going to be fine because Mom taught me how to cook. Cooking was what I knew best."

Aside from her books, Besa-Quirino also has a blog, Asian in America (asianinamericamag.com), which she started in 2010. There she has other recipes not found in her cookbooks.

Visit AsianInAmericaMag.com.

Peta to restage its landmark production 'Galileo' for 3 nights only

Bertolt Brecht's take on Galileo Galilei-when real science was considered fake news
By WALTER ANG
Nov. 18, 2017
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta) is bringing back one of its landmark productions, "Ang Buhay ni Galileo," on Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, as part of its 50th anniversary season.

Peta first staged the material in 1981.
Joel Lamangan (left) will reprise his role as Galileo.

Even more significantly, the play will be mounted in Peta's original home, the open-air Rajah Sulayman Theater in Intramuros.

Translated by Alan Glinoga based on German playwright Bertolt Brecht's "Life of Galileo," the play is about the titular Italian scientist's problems with authorities when he attempts to deliver scientific truths to the masses.

Stalwarts

Peta first staged the material in 1981 with young actors who are now stalwarts in the profession: actor Bodjie Pascua, composer Lutgardo Labad, playwright Manny Pambid, and current Tanghalang Pilipino artistic director Fernando "Nanding" Josef, just to name a few. Current Peta artistic director Maribel Legarda was part of the production's publicity team.

Reprising his role as Galileo is current Gantimpala Theater artistic director Joel Lamangan.

Rody Vera, who is directing the new production, was also already a member of Peta at the time. He recalls Peta inviting Weimar National Theater's Fritz Bennewitz from Germany to direct the show simultaneously with a children's/street theater version of "Hatol ng Guhit na Bilog" (Brecht's "The Caucasian Chalk Circle").

"I was involved in 'Hatol,' but I attended a number of rehearsals of 'Galileo.' I saw the play a few times during its Fort Santiago run," he says.

Vera admits he was quite apprehensive when asked to direct this revival. Soxie Topacio had been originally assigned as director, while Vera was to be the dramaturg.

"My job was to provide him with as much material as possible to restage the play as it was first staged at Rajah Sulayman. But when he passed away, the job fell into my lap."

Resonant as ever

More than just simply reproducing the 1981 staging, Vera is focused on what messages the play can convey to 2017 audiences.

"The play was written just before Hitler invaded Europe. It became even more resonant when the atomic bombs were dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The apolitical stance of scientists who are dedicated to only achieving scientific discoveries without realizing the political implications to mankind is devastatingly presented by this play."

The relevance of the play, he notes, goes deeper than just merely comparing Galilei's problems to modern-day issues of fake news and fighting for truth.

"The play also shows how the power that authority wields, whether religious or secular (the State or those who control the economy), can also control the direction and philosophy of science and its pursuit of truth.

"Even in the digital age of information, advances in science and technology have benefited only those who see the immense potential of power and influence these advances can wield for them.

"More advancements in science can only mean more suffering, not just because a scientist like Galileo can give up his control of truths he's discovered, but also because he has to relinquish that control to other people in power."

"Mabigat ang play na ito (This play is grave)," he says. "Probably Brecht's most important play."

"Ang Buhay ni Galileo" runs Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at Rajah Sulayman Theater, Fort Santiago, Manila.



Inquirer.net link:
http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/279127/peta-restage-landmark-production-galileo-3-nights

Clipping

Fil-Ams star in Chicago thriller on fake news, media manipulation

By WALTER ANG
Nov. 17, 2017
USA & Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/8136/fil-ams-star-chicago-thriller-fake-news-media-manipulation

CHICAGO — Christine Bunuan and Karmann Bajuyo are playing the leads in Silk Road Rising's staging of "Wild Boar," a "turbulent thriller about media manipulation and fake news," which runs until December 17 at Chicago Temple Building.

Karmann Bajuyo plays Ruan.

Written by acclaimed Hong Kong playwright Candace Chong, "Wild Boar" depicts a student and her editor's quest to publicize the truth when a controversial professor goes missing.

Originally staged in Cantonese, "Wild Boar" is an adaptation by playwright David Henry Hwang (Trivia: Hwang's mother was born in China but grew up in Cebu before immigrating to the US.)

Windy City

Christine Bunuan, who plays Tricia, was born in Vallejo and raised in Vacaville, both in California. Growing up, Bunuan saw other Filipino girls her age singing in talent shows.

Bunuan (left) and Bajuyo.

"I wanted to sing just like them," she said. "Then I saw children's theater production of `The Wizard of Oz' with a bunch of kids and thought, if those kids can do it, then I can do this, too."

The four-foot tall mezzo-soprano has worked with Chicago theater companies such as Steppenwolf, The Goodman, and the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, among others.

Six-foot tall bass-baritone Bajuyo plays Ruan. He was born in Peoria, Illinois and moved to Chicago in the late '90s. Originally involved in athletics and pursuing a career in law, he became interested in acting while attending an acting class in college.

Aside from working in productions at Porchlight Music Theatre and Timer Lake Playhoues, Bajuyo has acted in Danny Bernardo's play "Mahal" for Bailiwick Theater.

Research and reflections

Both actors prepared for working on this play by holding discussions on and reviewing the background of the story's milieu.

"The research I did consisted of reading up on the history of Hong Kong and asking questions of our director Helen Young, who is very familiar with the city," says Bajuyo.

Christine Bunuan plays Tricia.

Bunuan adds, "With the help of our dramaturg Carol Ann Tan, who is from Singapore, we discussed the culture, the political climate in Hong Kong as well as China's influence"

When it comes to accessing news and information, Bajuyo follows business and sports news as well as Chicago's PBS affiliate WTTW. "I am on Facebook and Instagram but certainly not consumed by either. I am not a social media nor TV addict."

"I have actually stepped away from Facebook quite a bit because of the cyberbullying that I have seen out there," reveals Bunuan.  "Now, I mostly just post about shows or events that are happening in the community and then I leave."

For her news sources, Bunuan reads articles from the New York Times or Washington Post. "I also listen to NPR. Our current political climate can be depressing at times so I turn to John Oliver for some humor about our news."

She adds, "It can be difficult to know what is real or fake news. I do hope that this play will educate people to dig deeper to find the truth, understand the importance of doing their research and consider who their sources are.

"Social media seems to be the source of news for many people. They have become so quick to judge and state things as fact but don't take the time to step back and really see the big picture and dig for the truth."

"The play hopefully challenges the audience to apply their critical thinking skills to the news they hear or see on social media," says Bajuyo. "I think we have to be especially discerning when seeing 'news' on social media that corroborates our own point of view.

"In these instances, we must be diligent about researching and validating a story before we just post the link onto our social media account. Snopes, FactCheck, Politifact, PunditFact are all great websites to check the veracity of a statement, report, or article. Assuming they themselves can be trusted."

"Wild Boar," previews until Nov. 18, runs Nov. 19-Dec. 17 at Silk Road Rising, Chicago Temple Bldg., 77 West Washington St., Chicago. Visit SilkRoadRising.org.

Justin Huertas' new musical, 'Howl's Moving Castle,' to open in Seattle

By WALTER ANG
Nov. 16, 2017
USA & Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/8105/fil-ams-new-musical-howls-moving-castle-open-seattle

SEATTLE — Justin Huertas has composed music and written songs for the musical "Howl's Moving Castle" for Book-it Repertory Theatre to be shown starting November 29.

Composer/lyricist Justin Huertas (right) with adapter/director Myra Platt.
Photo by John Ulman.

Huertas first worked with Book-it, whose ethos is adapting books for the stage, as an actor in its production "Welcome to Braggsville" earlier this year, for which he received a nomination at this year's Gregory Awards for Best Actor in a Play.

It was during that show when founding co-artistic director Myra Platt assigned him to write songs for "Howl's."

Huertas recalls, "When she told me they had secured the rights to adapt the book, I literally fell on the floor with a 'Yaaaas!'" Platt is adapting and directing the show.

"Howl's Moving Castle" is by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986, wherein Sophie Hatter is turned into an old woman by a witch and seeks the notorious wizard Howl and his fire-demon Calcifer to help her break the curse.

The role of Sophie will be played by Filipino American actress Sara Porkalob, who recently concluded her one-person play "Dragon Lady," about her Filipino gangster grandmother, for Intiman Theatre. (Read about it here.)

Book and movie fans

The book had been previously adapted by Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli into a film in 2004, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

He's excited for Miyazaki-philes like himself ("I'm a huge fan of the Studio Ghibli films," he says.) to come watch the musical. "It's cool that there's this whole amazing fanbase for the movie, and a large portion of those fans have never even read the book, so this musical will have a lot of plot points and characters they've never seen."

Seattle boy

Huertas was born and raised in Seattle. "First generation Filipino on my dad's side, second on my mom's." He studied theater at Pacific Lutheran College and has not stopped working since graduating in 2009.

Sara Porkalob (left) as Sophie Hatter with Michael Feldman as Howl.
Photo by John Ulman.

He started off with acting gigs at Seattle Repertory Theatre, then playing cello in the national tour of the Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" for eight months, then back to Seattle Rep to play Rod in the staging of "Avenue Q" (Seattle premiere), then writing and acting in his first musical, "Lizard Boy."

Seattle Rep artistic director Jerry Manning knew Huertas as an actor first. When he found out Huertas also played the cello and was a fellow comic-book lover, a commission for the musical was assigned. Huertas went on to develop his coming-of-age love story cello-rock musical about a young gay boy who develops lizard superpowers, which premiered in 2013.

Pop folk-rock

"The way I write can vary," Huertas says of his composing style. "Sometimes I find a melody by noodling on a guitar, but most of the time, I free-write in character, then some magical line will appear to me."

He always composes songs using a guitar. "My writing style fits somewhere in between pop-musical theatre and folk-rock. It's an easy access point emotionally for me, because it's the kind of music I grew up listening to."

For "Howl's," Huertas found inspiration from the book itself. "The awesome thing is that Diana Wynne Jones has done all of that work for me! I find a magic sentence in her book and, boom, I've got a song!"

"Howl's Moving Castle" runs Nov. 29-Dec. 30 at Center Theatre, Seattle Center Armory, 305 Harrison St., Seattle. Visit Book-it.org.

Don Darryl Rivera wins Seattle’s Gregory Award for best supporting actor

By WALTER ANG
Nov. 9, 2017
USA & Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/7895/fil-wins-seattles-gregory-award-best-supporting-actor

SEATTLE — Broadway actor Don Darryl Rivera won Best Supporting Actor at the recently held 2017 Gregory Awards for playing Sancho Panza in 5th Avenue Theatre's "Man of La Mancha," which ran late last year.

Don Darryl Rivera as Sancho Pancha in "Man of La Mancha."

"When they called my name, I think the first word that came out of my mouth was a curse word because I was so pleasantly surprised!" says the Seattle native.

Named after Gregory Falls (1922-97), founding artistic director of A Contemporary Theatre and a former chair of University of Washington's School of Drama, the awards are administered, funded, and produced by Theatre Puget Sound.

"I was so not expecting to win that I didn't even prepare a speech. The talent in Seattle is so immense that it is a privilege and an honor to even be nominated among my colleagues. I love the Seattle theatre community so much."

Rivera previously won the 2009 Gregory Award in the Person to Watch category.

Other Filipino American theater artists were nominated this year. Corrina Lapid Munter in the Best Actress in a Musical category for playing Mrs. Lovett in ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery's "Sweeney Todd;" and Justin Huertas in the Best Actor in a Play category for playing Louis in Book-it Repertory Theatre's "Welcome to Braggsville."

ERRATUM:
This article previously mistakenly mentioned that Ben Gonio was nominated in the People's Choice for Best Actor in a Musical category for playing Sweeney Todd in ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery's "Sweeney Todd." The statement has been removed.

Hosting the awards ceremony at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall were Huertas and Sara Porkalob, who recently concluded her one-person play "Dragon Lady," about her Filipino gangster grandmother, for

Iago

Rivera currently plays Iago in Disney's "Aladdin" on Broadway, which he's been doing since the show opened in 2014. Iago, a parrot sidekick to the villain Jafar in the animated film, is human in the musical.

Sara Porkalob (left) and Justin Huertas hosted the awards show.

Rivera originated the role in the musical's world premiere in Seattle and through its developmental run in Toronto prior to opening on Broadway.

Princess Jasmine's singing voice was done by Lea Salonga in the animated film that the musical is based on.

Other Fil-Ams in the "Aladdin" machinery include Reggie de Leon who plays Iago in the US national tour together with Adam Jacobs as Aladdin, who originated the role on Broadway. Jacobs' sister Arielle opened the show in the Australia production, where Fil-Australian Aljin Abella (Blue Ranger in TV's "Power Rangers Jungle Fury") plays Iago.

Rivera and his wife have moved to New Jersey, after a brief stay in Brooklyn, because of the job, which he is contracted for until next year. Disney management allowed Rivera to join "La Mancha" last year.

Dancing

"I was gone from 'Aladdin' for about seven and a half weeks. Alan Muraoka, who you might know as Alan from `Sesame Street,' took over the Iago role while I was gone and he was fantastic! He's a Broadway vet and one of the sweetest, most humble people I know," says Rivera.

Corinna Lapid Munter (left) and Ben Gonio in "Sweeney Todd."

Rivera's parents immigrated to the US in the '70s and his father, Danny, became a founding member of Filipino folk dance group Kultura. It's no surprise that he grew up learning to dance tinikling and itik itik; and eventually joining kaSAma, a hip-hop dance group.

Rivera, whose acting credits stretch from Shakespeare to children's theater, was bitten by the acting bug in high school and took up acting at Cornish College of the Arts.

Songs

Rivera is also a playwright and composer. He's written the book for children's musical "Harold and the Purple Crayon," adapted from the children's book; and he's co-composed and co-written children's musical "Adventures With Spot."

Rivera as Sancho Panza in "Man of La Mancha."

For Philippine history buffs, one of the musical's songs, "The Impossible Dream," is associated with anti-Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship activist Evelio Javier and politician Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino.

Rivera's favorite song from "La Mancha" is "To Each His Dulcinea." "Nick DeSantis, who played the Padre, sang it so beautifully every night," says Rivera. "There is always something worth fighting for. There is always beauty in the world."

READ previous coverage of Seattle-based Filipino American theater artists:

Actress Sara Porkalob stages the story of her gangster lola

Fil-Am actors play homicidal couple in musical thriller "Sweeney Todd" in Seattle

Anti-beauty pageant Fil-Am teens to be depicted on stage

Musical 'Portrait of the Artist as Filipino' to screen in San Francisco

By WALTER ANG
Nov. 8, 2017
USA & Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/7855/musical-portrait-artist-filipino-screen-san-francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — "Ang Larawan" ("The Portrait"), a Tagalog musical adapted from Nick Joaquin's play "A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino," will be screened with English subtitles on November 9 at the Cinematografo International Film Fest, Kabuki 8 Theaters.

Rachel Alejandro (left) and Joanna Ampil
play the Marasigan sisters.

Variety has praised the film as "stunning . impeccably performed and crisply photographed . Clearly made with the utmost love and care . beautifully decorated and top-notch in every technical detail," based on the film's world premiere at the Tokyo Film Festival on October 29.

Directed by Obie Award-winner Loy Arcenas, the film features Filipino actresses Rachel Alejandro and Joanna Ampil as the Marasigan sisters. The two are having financial difficulties and must decide if they should sell their father's last great painting.

"This movie is our love letter to Filipinos everywhere to look back at our heritage," says Arcenas, who will be at the screening together with Alejandro for a talkback session with the audience.

"The core of the story is about commerce versus art and love for family. We want our Filipino American youth to think about what is truly important in life," says producer Girlie Rodis. "Candida and Paula could make a fortune selling the painting and their lives could change. It's important for us to know what's behind their final decision."

Behind the scenes

Libretto is by Philippine National Artist for Theater and Literature Rolando Tinio (who studied for a master's in Creative Writing from State University of Iowa) with music by Ryan Cayabyab.

Arcenas designed sets for Broadway and Off-Broadway productions and directed theater in New York with groups such as Ma-Yi Theater ("Flipzoids," "Romance of Magno Rubio") before shifting to filmmaking in the Philippines.

Ampil is a mainstay in West End musicals and has played Kim in "Miss Saigon," Mary Magdalene in "Jesus Christ Superstar," Christmas Eve in "Avenue Q," and Fantine in "Les Miserables." Her most recent credit is Grizabella in a UK touring production of "Cats."

Alejandro's recent stage credits include "Avenue Q," "Xanadu," "Aida," and "Rock of Ages."

Production design for the film is by Gino Gonzales, who has a master's degree in set design from New York University and recently won 2nd place in the costume category of the World Stage Design competition earlier this year. [READ ABOUT IT HERE.]

Provenance

First published in 1952, Philippine National Artist for Literature Joaquin's "Portrait" has been a staple on Manila stages both in English and in Tagalog translations. Director and theater teacher Edgardo de la Cruz staged the English version at University of Hawaii Manoa in the early '70s. Ma-Yi Theater staged it in New York in '97.

Joaquin had written "Portrait" at the behest of his sister-in-law, theater actress and director Sarah Joaquin (who later retired to Washington, DC and staged Filipino productions there in the '90s).

Lamberto Avellana's Barangay Theater Guild edited down Joaquin's original script to the definitive staging version. He also directed a film version in 1965.

In 1997, Musical Theater Philippines (Musicat), now Culturtain Musicat Productions, headed by singer Celeste Legaspi and producer Girlie Rodis, commissioned and staged "Ang Larawan" at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, with Legaspi playing one of the sisters.

A bit of trivia: Musicat has also produced a musical, "Katy!" on the life of jazz and bodabil (Filipinized vaudeville) singer Katy de la Cruz, who was popular in Manila in the 1920-'30s and performed at San Francisco's Forbidden City nightclub in the late '40-'50s.

Books

To celebrate Joaquin's birth centenary, Penguin Classics (headed by publisher Elda Rotor) published "The Woman Who Had Two Navels and Tales of the Tropical Gothic" earlier this year, a collection of his works that includes "A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino." The book has a foreword by New York-based writer Gina Apostol and an introduction by scholar Vicente Rafael.

Culturtain Musicat has also published a book "Ang Larawan," which includes the Tagalog libretto, the English play, the Tagalog screenplay, and behind-the-scenes photos of the filmmaking process. Limited copies are signed by the film's actors.

"This material was originally written by Filipino genius Nick Joaquin in English but the soul of the story is Filipino. Then it was translated into Tagalog by another genius Rolando Tinio. They are both National Artists. The music was created by Ryan Cayabyab, who obviously will one day become a national artist," says Rodis.

Filipino American theater groups or cultural organizations interested in staging "Ang Larawan" can contact Rodis at culturtainmusicatprods@gmail.com for arrangements.

Cinematografo International Film Fest runs Nov. 9-12 and features shorts and documentaries by Filipino American filmmakers and full-length films from the Philippines. (List of films can be seen here.)

Alejandro and her cousin Nino will have a concert featuring Original Pilipino Music (OPM) songs on Nov. 12, 8 pm at Fort McKinley concert hall in South San Francisco.

"Ang Larawan" screens Nov. 9, 6 p.m., AMC Dine-in Kabuki 8 Theaters, 1881 Post St., San Francisco. Visit Cinematografofilmfestival.com.