Cherie sheds villainess persona for Doubt

She’s been in the entertainment industry for 35 years, starting with a bit part in Cofradia (starring her sister-in-law Gina Alajar) when she was nine years old. Then as a teenager, she was trained by direk Elwood Perez at Regal Films, bagging her biggest role in 1981’s Problem Child.

Since then, Cherie Gil has gone on to establish a reputation not just as a first-rate actress, but as one of local showbiz’s finest kontrabidas. Who can forget her memorable performance as Lavinia Arguelles in the 1985 film version of Bituing Walang Ningning, where she lashed with her now-famous line, "You’re nothing but a second-rate, trying hard copycat!" before emptying her glass of water in the megastar Sharon Cuneta’s face.

Most recently, she entertained viewers on ABS-CBN’s TV drama Gulong ng Palad, where she essayed another "maldita" role.

Whatever the role, film or TV, Cherie is one actor who takes her craft seriously. It comes partly from growing up in a family of actors, starting with her father Eddie Mesa, mother Rosemarie Gil and brothers Michael de Mesa and Mark Gil. Even Cherie’s nephews Geoff and AJ Eigenmann and Sid Lucero have followed in their footsteps and have gone on to establish successful careers of their own.

Actually, says Cherie, she’d rather not use the word "career" to describe what her family does. "We’re not in here for a career. We’re here to do what we love to do, which is to act. Fate brought us here."

She feels proud that her nephews are making names for themselves. "I’m proud of them," smiles Cherie. Apparently, everyone in the Eigenmann family feels the same way. "There has never been a sense of competition in our family, only support. We’re all proud of each other."

Surely, her own family – including husband Roni Rogoff and kids – will also be proud to know that Cherie is doing something that she has long dreamed of doing, which is to return to the stage. The vehicle for this return is Doubt, a play by John Patrick Shanley that won the 2005 Pulitzer, Tony and Drama Desk awards for Best Play. Doubt will be staged in Manila by Atlantis Productions, with a run at the RCBC Theater in Makati from June 2 to 24, on all Friday and Saturday evenings of the month.

Set in a Catholic school in the Bronx in the ’60s, Doubt is the story of a priest, Father Flynn, who becomes the center of controversy when he begins to show a little too much interest in the lives of his male students. Sister Aloysius, the principal of the school, wonders what she should do: should she reveal the truth about her male colleague, even if she herself is not entirely sure what the truth is?

Cherie was actually offered the role of Sister Aloysius in Doubt a year ago. She first learned about it through Bobby Garcia of Atlantis Productions. The two of them became friends, partly because her brother Michael, had done several plays – notably Rent – with Atlantis. "He told me, ‘I have this script I want you to read. When can you come by (the office) to pick it up?’" Cherie kept putting it off, but when she finally got the script and read it, she wasn’t all that excited.

In fact, her first reaction was that the character she was supposed to play was so old. "She’s 60 years old!" she exclaimed.

Aside from that, Cherie had other concerns. "I didn’t know anything about Doubt. I couldn’t even finish reading it, so I let it go. I found it too dragging." Cherie tossed it in a drawer, where she let it sit for what she says were "many months."

Then one day, she received a call from Bobby. He told her, "O, you’re doing it na, ha?" On hearing that, Cherie decided to read through the rest of the play. Her reaction then was different. "I said, wow!"

She called Bobby, who was in Hong Kong. She said, "Bobby, I don’t know whether to curse you or thank you for sending this my way, but you trust me (to do the role), and I’m grateful."

Cherie is bringing to the role of Sister Aloysius the same kind of energy, dedication and commitment that she brings to her onscreen roles. She’s no newcomer to the stage or to theater, but the thought of doing this role does make her a bit nervous. "I’m scared, actually. This (doing theater) is a whole different thing, because here, you can’t call a cut. You can’t afford mistakes. Every word, every phrase, really needs to be thought out. It’s very tiring that way, but also very challenging."

Despite this, it’s something that the actor in Cherie cannot resist. She loves the idea of a creative challenge, and is willing to take it on. "I have my doubts if I can pull through," confesses Cherie. "This script is one of the most beautiful I have ever had to work with, but it’s also one of the most difficult. I feel very, very pressured, but especially after reading it, I realized that it’s really special."

According to her, Doubt has a message for everyone. "It’s about the struggle that all human beings experience – we’re all living in doubt about something, and while you may not be in the same situation as the characters (in the play), it may help you answer important questions like ‘Where do we go? What do we do?’ It’s a play that will speak to you. I know, because it spoke to me."

Tickets to Doubt are available at Atlantis Productions (892-7078) or Ticketworld (891-9999).