Blood and aswang return to Los Angeles at a block party

By WALTER ANG
March 1, 2018
USA and Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/10513/blood-aswang-return-los-angeles-block-party

LOS ANGELES - "Bloodletting," a play that involves two Filipino American siblings and their encounter with the supernatural creature aswang, will kick off this year's Block Party program at Kirk Douglas Theatre.

From left: Myra Maracine, Boni Alvarez, Alberto Isaac,
Jon Lawrence Rivera and Anne Yatco.

The program, organized by Center Theatre Group, highlights Los Angeles theater work and encourages collaboration by presenting three recently-staged productions from local theater companies. Each production will be staged for a two-week run.

The play is written by Boni Alvarez and directed by Playwrights' Arena founding artistic director Jon Lawrence Rivera.

"Block Party will shine light on the diversity of our programming at Playwrights' Arena and further showcase our work," said Rivera.

The play was premiered in 2016 by Playwrights' Arena and proved popular enough with audiences that its run was extended until 2017.

The original cast will reprise their roles for the 2018 staging. Included are actors Alberto Isaac, Myra Maracine and Anne Yatco. Playwright Boni Alvarez is also part of the cast.

Edgy and unexpected

Maracine plays Farrah, the sister. The first time she read the script, she found it "exciting and edgy and unexpected."

Scene from 2016 staging of "Bloodletting."

"I remember thinking wow, this is some crazy Filipino folklore taken to another level," she says.

Born in Manila, Maracine's family moved to Canada when she was three years old. She moved to the US after high school to attend the acting conservatory program at American Academy of Dramatic Arts in California.

Yatco, on the other hand, plays Leelee, a character that the siblings encounter in the Philippines. The first time she read the script, "I was immediately struck by the brother-sister relationship between Bosley and Farrah."

Yatco has a master's degree in acting from the California Institute of the Arts and also does improv and voice-over work.

The siblings' relationship to the Philippines as Filipino Americans also resonated with Yatco, who was born in Phoenix, Arizona.

"I've visited the Philippines once, while I was in high school, but I can relate to that dual feeling of recognizing something familiar about the country, but also feeling completely foreign at the same time."

Relationships

Both Maracine and Yatco are excited to revisit the roles they inhabited previously.

Cast of this year's staging of "Bloodletting," 
(from left) Myra Maracine, Anne Yatco, 
Boni Alvarez (also the playwright) and Alberto Isaac.

"Last year, I joined the production for the final three weeks of the extension, replacing the awesome Evie Abat. I had to learn a lot in a very short amount of time," explains Yatco.

"I'm looking forward to have the opportunity to dig a little deeper and really get to play around with the character for this run!" she adds.

Maracine says there are layers to the Farrah character that she wants to explore some more this time around. "And there will be new layers that I know I will discover in this process," she says.

Fascinating

One Filipino mythological creature that stands out to Yatco is the tikbalang. "I find it amusing that there's this half-man, half-horse that just pranks travelers and makes them get lost."

In "Bloodletting," two Fil-Am siblings return to the Philippines
to scatter their father's ashes--a scene from the 2016 staging.

For Maracine, she finds the manananggal (creatures who look like women whose torsos can split at the waist and fly off into the night) the most fascinating and scariest creature.  "I know they are a special breed of aswang that Boni writes about."

"The duwende itim (black elves) kinda cracks me up, and sounds more mischievous and vengeful when you anger them. The boogeyman's got nothing on these Filipino creatures!"

Maracine adds, "In the end, this play is not just about the Filipino culture and folklore with aswang, it's about these people and their relationships with one another."

"Bloodletting" runs Mar. 29-Apr. 8 at Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California. Visit CenterTheatreGroup.org.

READ about Boni Alvarez' inspiration for writing "Bloodletting" here.

READ about director Jon Lawrence Rivera here.

Justine Moral plays Belle in 'Disney’s Beauty and the Beast' in Boston

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 21, 2018
USA and Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/10316/fil-plays-belle-disneys-beauty-beast-boston

BOSTON — Justine "Icy" Moral is portraying Belle in "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" in Wheelock Family Theatre's production until March 4.

Justine "Icy" Moral in a scene from "Disney's Beauty and the Beast."

Belle is a young woman who doesn't quite fit in with the rest of her village. In order to save her father from the Beast, she agrees to become a prisoner in its castle.

Tinola and sisig are the two Filipino dishes Moral would add to the menu, if she could, in the number "Be Our Guest"-where the castle's enchanted staff serve Belle a welcome dinner.

"They are my favorite!" says Moral.

Heart

"The energy from the audience at the end of every show is so palpable and wonderful," Moral says.

This stage version of the animated film has music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice.

Justine "Icy" Moral plays Belle in Wheelock
Family Theatre's "Disney's Beauty and the Beast."

We have had audience members say that this is a very moving production, that they felt the heart and depth that the cast brings to this show.

Direction is by Jane Staab with musical direction by Steven Bergman.

"One of the things said to me that I will always hold dear in my heart is 'Thank you for showing that any girl can be a princess.'"

Old favorite

"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" was actually the first theater production that Moral had seen as a child.

Moral having some fun backstage with a cast mate.

Though she had already been introduced to the animated version, watching the national touring production at the Kennedy Center enchanted and inspired her. She found it magical and beautiful.

Moral is based in Maryland and New York City. She was recently in Ford's Theatre's "A Christmas Carol."

Other credits include national tours of "South Pacific," "Elephant and Piggie" (including the Off-Broadway production) and "Les Miserables."

Regional credits include Constellation Theatre Company ("Avenue Q," "Journey to the West") and Imagination Stage ("The Little Mermaid," "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," "Peter Pan and Wendy"), among others.

Musical family

Born and raised in Maryland, Moral grew up in a musical family. Her father would play guitar, her grandmother would play Broadway soundtracks, and she would wrestle the karaoke microphone from her mother.

Jordan Moral (second from left, back row) plays Nassim
in "The Princess and the Pauper: A Bollywood Tale."

When she was 14 years old, she was signed up by a recording company in Manila and came out with a pop album "Dream Away." She eventually took up classical voice at Johns Hopkins University Peabody Conservatory.

She's not the only sibling who now works in theater. Her brother Jordan is currently in the cast of Anu Yadav's "The Princess and the Pauper: A Bollywood Tale" at Imagination Stage in Bethesda, Maryland.

Inspired by Mark Twain's story "The Prince and the Pauper," this children's musical is about a spoiled princess who switches identities with a shy dressmaker's daughter and learns how unfairly her kingdom's people are treated.

"He plays the character Nassim, a family friend to the dressmaker's daughter and her family. I am very excited for him!"

Brunch

Wheelock Family Theatre also has Brunch with Belle and Friends on Sundays prior to the 2 p.m. matinee until March 4. Belle and other characters from the show visit diners as they partake of an all-you-can-eat buffet at Wheelock Dining Services (2nd floor, 150 Riverway).

Featured menu items include a make-your-own waffle station, pancakes and French toast, scrambled eggs and breakfast potatoes, bacon and sausage, a pizza bar, a made-to-order sandwich station, a full salad bar, and more. Vegetarian and gluten-free options will be available.

"Disney's Beauty and the Beast" runs until March 4 at Wheelock Family Theatre, Wheelock College, 180 Riverway, Boston. Visit Wheelockfamilytheatre.org.



"The Princess and the Pauper: A Bollywood Tale" runs until March 18 at Imagination Stage, 4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda, Maryland. Visit Imaginationstage.org.

A musical on friendship in the time of an eviction

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 15, 2018
USA and Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/10203/musical-friendship-time-eviction

LOS ANGELES — A new musical about two men-one Filipino and the other Irish-who form a friendship as eviction looms for the both of them, will be performed at the Sanctuary, Pico-Union Project this month.

From left: Andrew Shubin, Charmaine Clamor,
Winston Raval and Sal Malaki at rehearsals.
Photo by Rick Gavino.

Written by Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier and Reme Grefalda, "Warrior" is about two fictional residents of the International Hotel in San Francisco.

"They decide they have one last fight left in them. This is it. They will not leave," says Bonnivier.

"The musical is deeply inspired by the nine-year struggle, waged by 150 old-timers who lived in the International Hotel-the last vestige of what had once been a vibrant community in San Francisco's Manilatown."

Dramatic

The hotel was a single-room-occupancy accommodation for many Chinese and Filipinos, some of whom had immigrated to the US as early as the 1920s.

Because of existing laws upon and after their arrival, Filipino immigrants were not allowed to marry white Americans, own businesses nor land-as such, some of the Filipino men grew into old age as bachelors with little savings and lived in working-class hotels such as the International Hotel.

Protests were held from 1968 to 1977 to fend off the eviction of the residents, most of whom did not have family support and had nowhere else to go.

"We have a very dramatic story. At one time, there were 8,000 protestors surrounding the hotel, locked arm-in-arm as a human shield, protecting the old-timers from the authorities," says Bonnivier.

Sing with outrage

"The musical is about the astonishing struggle against all the political and legal power a city can bring to bear, but you won't leave the theater in tears. You'll leave singing with outrage and filled with love," she says.

The production will be a "musical reading" or a concert-style performance, similar to a staged reading of a play.

"Combining cadenced dialogue and songs, the actors will move dynamically on the stage, and sometimes off, near the audience," she says.

Opera singer Sal Malaki will play Gabi, the titular warrior, a World War II veteran from the Philippines.

Andrew Shubin will play Ian, the Bard of Hannigan's Irish Pub-an actual pub at the hotel's basement.

Also in the cast are jazz singer Charmaine Clamor, who plays an activist lawyer, and poet Oscar Peñaranda, who handles narration duties.

Composite

Though the musical is about an incident from the past, it addresses current (and recurring) issues.

Playwrights Reme Grefalda and Carlene Sobrino Bonnivier.
Photo by Paul Tanedo

Bonnivier says, "We are performing in a neighborhood that is undergoing gentrification, where eviction notices are served daily to people who have lived in their homes there for decades."

The characters in this musical have been percolating in Bonnivier's mind for over 20 years. The Gabi character, in particular, is a composite of the men from her childhood.

"I grew up in what is now called 'Historic Filipinotown' in Los Angeles. The manongs then were still young and were called `the boys.' They came over to our house because they didn't have any family here.

"My father died before I was born, so they were collectively my father. Most of them were farmers or bartenders or house boys/chauffeurs."

Collaborators

Bonnivier has edited the anthology "Filipinotown: Voices from Los Angeles" and has authored fiction novels "Autobiography of a Stranger," "Seeking Thirst," and "Okinawa 9/11: Six Lives Breaking Symmetry."

Co-writing the musical is Reme Grefalda, who is a playwright and director, and was previously artistic director of QBd Ink, a Filipino American theater group based in Washington, DC that was active in the 1990s to the early 2000s.

The music, by jazz musician, musical director and film composer Winston Raval, will incorporate gongs and flutes from the Banaue region of the Philippines.

"The music moves fluidly to the reeds and drums of ancient Ireland, to the music of the '60s and '70s, and to both smooth and searing contemporary jazz," she says.

The reading will be directed by Nenita "Tita" Pambid and Ferdinand Galang.

Pambid has trained with Philippine Educational Theater Association in Manila and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles. She works in theater, television and film.

Galang has worked in film and television in the Philippines and is currently developing several films under his production company Third Millennium Projects.

Part of the proceeds of "Warrior" will go to the Philippine Heritage Collection of Echo Park Public Library.

"Warrior" runs Feb. 24 and 25 at The Sanctuary, Pico-Union Project, 12th St. and Valencia, Los Angeles. Tickets at Tickettailor.com. Fundraising page is at Gofundme.com/warrior-the-musical-reading.

Ogie Zulueta stars in not your grandma's 'A Streetcar Named Desire'

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 12, 2018
USA and Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/10117/ogie-zulueta-stars-not-grandmas-streetcar-named-desire

SAN FRANCISCO — Ogie Zulueta plays the male lead, Stanley, in Ubuntu Theater Project's staging of "A Streetcar Named Desire," running at Alice Collective until Feb. 25.

Ogie Zulueta in a scene from "Streetcar Named Desire."

Written by Tennessee Williams, the play is about Blanche, who, having lost her finances, moves in with her sister, Stella, and brother-in-law, Stanley. Envy, secrets, rumors and revelations lead the trio to clash violently.

Zulueta plays opposite Ubuntu's associate artistic director Lisa Ramirez, who essays the role of Blanche, and Sarita Ocon, who plays Stella.

The first thing Zulueta did to prepare for this role was to stay away from the classic 1951 film version of the play starring Marlon Brando (Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather") as Stanley.

Partly because the film shifted the focus to the Stanley character. "The stage script delves into Blanche's past in more detail that makes her a richer character on stage," he says.

And partly because the film version casts an indelible shadow on the play. "Those performances were legendary, and Brando's was considered groundbreaking."

Diverse

So how can a current staging of this material written in 1947 strive to have its own interpretation?

Zulueta (right) during rehearsals. 

This staging employs a cast of diverse backgrounds to fill the characters, "which is Ubuntu Theater Project's mission," he says. (On the page, the sisters are of French heritage and Stanley is of Polish heritage.)

"This is not your grandmother's `Streetcar' for sure," he adds.

"Our director, Emilie Whelan, has a very muscular vision for this play, setting it on a bare stage surrounded by the audience."

Process

"All my preparation for the role came during the rehearsal process," he says.

Zulueta plays Stanley.

For assault scenes, the cast rehearsed under Dave Maier. "He's one of the best fight choreographers in the business. In stage fights, he always stressed the story we're telling and worked off of the actors' instincts to craft the best and safest way to tell the story through the fights and assaults."

Given the current #MeToo movement and increased awareness of abuse and power inequality against women, how did he flesh out the role of an abusive, violent man?

"We were all aware that the type of male Stanley is in this play is one who is not always popular today. But these males do exist.

"We wanted to stay true to what Tennessee Williams laid out in his beautiful, poetic and savage script. And acknowledge the more complex and difficult question of what it means to be a man.

"Williams did not write Stanley him to be a one-dimensional caveman. Williams was perhaps also pondering this question what it means to be a man."

Open

"I'm hoping audiences take home a different version of the play. So far, our audiences have been very open to our take on this iconic American classic. And our production is also what America looks like," he says.

Zulueta's rendering of the character has received praise. The San Francisco Chronicle notes his ability to imbue his character with unpredictability and building up Stanley's jocularity to contrast with "something sinister." The Daily Californian describes his work as "exceptional" and "remarkable."

For his work in Ubuntu's "Rashomon" (an adaptation by Japanese American playwright and director Philip Kan Gotanda) last year, Zulueta has been named as a nominee for Best Principal Actor in a Play in a Theater with 100-300 Seats in the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Excellence in Theatre Awards for 2017. The award recipients will be announced and presented in March.

In June later this year, Zulueta will be performing in Ferocious Lotus Theater's staging of Leah Nanako Winkler's "Two Mile Hollow."

READ about Ogie Zulueta's work in the 2016 staging of "Dogeaters" here.

"A Streetcar Named Desire" runs until Feb. 25 at Alice Collective, 272 14th St., Oakland, California. Visit Ubuntutheaterproject.com.

Fil-Am actresses reap Ovation Awards in Los Angeles

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 9, 2018
USA and Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/10055/fil-actresses-reap-ovation-awards-los-angeles

LOS ANGELES — Actresses Deedee Magno Hall and Isa Camille Briones have won the 2018 Ovation Awards for Lead Actress in a Musical and Featured Actress in a Musical, respectively, for their work in East West Players' staging of the musical "Next to Normal."

2018 Ovation Award winners (from left)
Deedee Magno Hall for Lead Actress in a Musical,
Nancy Keystone for Direction of a Musical,
and Isa Camille Briones for Featured Actress in a Musical--
all for East West Player's "Next to Normal."

Magno Hall and Briones played mother Diana and daughter Natalie, respectively, in the musical—where the mother's mental health conditions affect her family.

The Ovation Awards are the only peer-judged theater awards in Los Angeles, created to recognize excellence in performance, production, and design in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Organized by the Los Angeles Stage Alliance, the awarding ceremony was held at Theatre at Ace Hotel.

Honored

"I am still pinching myself about winning the Ovation award!" said Magno Hall.

Deedee Magno Hall won the
2018 Ovation Award for Lead Actress in a Musical.

"To be able to do what I love for a living is already a blessing, and I feel so honored and grateful to the LA Stage Alliance and Ovation voters to have been recognized for my work. But I wholeheartedly share this award with the entire cast and crew of `Next to Normal' at EWP, especially my stage-husband and real life-husband, Clifton Hall!"

Briones had the difficult task for competing against herself, three times over. She was nominated for three roles she had done, with two nominations for the same role for different theater companies: the Natalie role for EWP and for Triage Productions/Standing Room Only Productions, which she had performed prior to the EWP staging.

She was also nominated for her work as "Mistress" in Cabrillo Music Theatre's production of "Evita."

"It was all so surreal," Briones said of being nominated thrice in the same category. "It's just such an honor to be recognized for shows that had such a huge impact on my life. I cherish each of them and what they taught me.

"And on top of that, East West Players being so highly rewarded for their great work is amazing."

Celebration

The winners celebrated with their colleagues at the after-party. However, the Hall couple had to leave early to relieve their babysitter.

Isa Camille Briones won the
2018 Ovation Award for Featured Actress in a Musical.
Photo by Megan Briones.

"It was a school night which meant an early next morning, so we hurried home and scarfed down leftover pizza," said Magno Hall.

"However, Clifton is taking me and our kids out for crab legs this weekend to celebrate again! I'm very excited!"

Isa Camille Briones, on the other hand, is now based in New York and returned to Los Angeles to attend the ceremony. "Just being able to be back in LA with my family for a few days was one big celebration," said Briones.

Other nominations

EWP's "Next to Normal" also won Best Production of a Musical in a Large Theater and Best Direction of a Musical (Nancy Keystone).

Filipino Americans involved with East West Players' "Next to Normal" 
at the awarding ceremony, (from left) Clifton Hall, Isa Camille Briones, 
Deedee Magno Hall, Randy Guiaya, and Marc Macalintal.

It received nominations for Best Acting Ensemble for a Musical and Music Direction.

The cast included Clifton Hall, who is of Filipino heritage, and Fil-Ams Anthea Neri (Diana understudy) and Randy Guiaya (Doctor Fine/Madden/Anesthesiologist).

Musical direction was done by Fil-Am Marc Macalintal, who is also handling musical direction for EWP's upcoming production of the musical "Allegiance."

Fil-Am playwright Boni Alvarez's play "Bloodletting," which was directed by Fil-Am Jon Lawrence Rivera for Playwright's Arena, received a nomination for Sound Design in an Intimate Theatre for Howard Ho.

Upcoming

Briones' father, Jon Jon, has just concluded his Broadway debut as the Engineer in the 2017-2018 revival of "Miss Saigon."

Daughter and father recently played the sister and father of Andrew Cunanan on television series "American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace."

The Hall couple will be performing at the Outdoor Pops concerts in May in Florida where they will be singing with the Sarasota Orchestra.

Magno Hall also voices the character of Pearl in Cartoon Network's animated series "Steven Universe." "We will start recording again for the next season in a couple of weeks," she said.

RELATED STORIES:

READ about Deedee Mango Hall and Isa Camille Briones' work in "Next to Normal" here.

READ about Boni Alvarez's play "Bloodletting" here.

READ about Jon Jon Briones' Broadway debut in "Miss Saigon" here.

READ about East West Players' upcoming production of "Allegiance" here.

Leviathan Lab to stage dramedy on racism, xenophobia

By WALTER ANG
Feb. 2, 2018
USA and Canada Section, Inquirer.net
http://usa.inquirer.net/9882/fil-led-leviathan-lab-stage-dramedy-racism-xenophobia

Ron Domingo (far right) and the rest of the cast of "Trigger,"
from left: Christina Pumariega, Susan Hyon, Anna Ishida.

NEW YORK — Leviathan Lab will stage "Trigger," to be helmed by the group's artistic director Flordelino Lagundino.

The dramedy is about Lee, who must deal with a friend's racist rant, a deteriorating domestic situation, ancient goddesses, and house flies.

Aside from Lagundino, other Filipino Americans in the production include actor Ron Domingo. Leviathan Lab was founded by Fil-Am Ariel Estrada.

The play aims to ask theatergoers "How can we connect people in a time of heightened fear and anger?"

Also an actor and photographer, Lagundino is a recipient of the 2017 Drama League New York Directing Fellowship.

His recent directing credits include a reading of John Kim's "Un (a completely true tale of the rise of Kim Jong Un)" for Pan Asian Repertory Theatre and a staging of David Henry Hwang's "FOB" for the Drama League, both in New York.

He recently acted in "Vietgone" for Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Anger

"Trigger" was written by Sam Chanse shortly after the presidential election in 2016.  "I was thinking a lot about anger, wrestling with it, wondering about it, how to understand it, where it comes from, and what to do with it," she said in a fundraising video for the play.

"This play came out of that place, a lot of anger and a lot of uncertainty about how to handle that anger. For me, this play feels raw, personal and urgent.

"I'm really excited and grateful to be developing it with Leviathan."

Chanse, who is of Chinese and Pennsylvania Dutch (Swiss-German) heritage, has worked with other Filipino American-led theater groups such as Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco and Ma-Yi Theater in New York, where she has been a member of its Writer's Lab, a support group for playwrights, since 2010.

Misunderstandings

Lagundino cofounded Tsunami Theatre in Washington, DC, and was founding artistic director of Generator Theater Company in Juneau, Alaska.

Flordelino Lagundino.

"I was really blown away by the play," says Lagundino of the first time he read the play.

"I was immediately taken by its energy, audacity and intelligence and how it speaks honestly about the situation that the country finds itself at this moment.

"The play deals with the divisiveness and misunderstandings people have when coming from polar opposites of the political spectrum. Sam has found a way to make it personal by putting two old friends together who hold these differing views."

Lagundino also notes that the play deals with social media and how it affects our daily lives.

Hard-hitting

A staged reading of the play was held last December to test the material.

Leviathan Lab founder Ariel Estrada (standing left) 
looking at costume designs for "Trigger."

"The staged reading was essential for the development of the play," said Lagundino. "We had some remarkable actors as part of it. What we came away with was a lighter, more hard-hitting script."

And now, the next step in this play's growth is actually staging it.

"I really love being in rehearsals and seeing what everyone brings to the production. I get really excited with the discoveries that we find in the room.

"The biggest challenge is staying open to how we're responding to the material. It's important to always be listening and evaluating how the material is landing on us all."

The rehearsal process echoes what Lagundino believes is at the core of the play: "The value of the play is the action of having a conversation with people that don't agree with you and being able to open up a space for that to happen."

Sexy

Leviathan Lab was founded by actor, singer and producer Ariel Estrada in 2009 to provide a space where Asian American artists can find a home, grow and experiment.

In March, the group will hold "The Living Room Series," its annual site-specific laboratory.

"We ask five writers to write on a topic," says Lagundino. "This year, we're focusing on Asian American sexuality with the theme 'Sexy Beast.'"

"How are Asian Americans sexy? How are we oversexualized? How are men treated in the media? It is an exciting topic and goes into a question of why isn't there more visibility of Asian Americans in media."

Other plans this year include continuing the development of writer and performer Joe Ngo's one-person show "Words Words," which looks at his relationship with his native Teo Chew language and the genocide that caused his family to immigrate to the US from Cambodia.

The group will also collaborate with Theater Akimbo and Filipino American actor/director Orlando Pabotoy on a new commedia dell'arte piece.

"Trigger" runs Feb. 23-Mar.11 at IATI Underground Theater, 64 E. 4th St., New York. Visit Leviathanlab.com.