When we found out that Lea Salonga would be doing Yasmina Reza’s straight play The God of Carnage, we were curious to say the least.
Having met her formally for the first time, we found this music icon, who opened the doors of the world to Filipino talents, an attractive, articulate person, who stated that being a mother has changed her priorities in life.
She admitted to being more comfortable with singing roles but gamely accepted the four-person Tony Award-winning play by Atlantis Productions with Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Adrian Pang and Art Acuña.
Adrian, her husband in the play, is a Singaporean, who did London stints and now runs the Pangdemonium Productions, a theater company back home. He also recalled working together with Lea years before.
God of Carnage, directed by Bobby Garcia, is a 90-minute supposed meeting of the minds between two middle-income couples: Lea and Adrian whose son had been hurt in a playground fight by the son of Menchu and Art. What starts out as a civilized discussion degenerates into painful name-calling and physical misbehavior until everyone, audience included, realizes how ridiculously funny everyone has become.
Almost like Lea, Menchu practically grew up on the stage of Repertory. At 17, she played Liesle in The Sound of Music and at 43, as Maria Von Trapp. Other memorable roles include Maria in West Side Story, Johanna then Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Eva Peron in Evita, Guinevere in Camelot, Fantine in Les Miserables, Fosca in Passion and Aldonza/Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha.
Doing a straight play like God of Carnage, however, is second nature to Menchu since Repertory remains to this day the only theater company with a season of straight plays which is harder to sell.
“Pinoys love music so we give in to this desire, but an actor learns to act in a straight play,” she explained.
Menchu was active on television in the ’80s in Patok na Patok, co-hosting Disco Rama, Penthouse Live, appearing in teleseryes, but today with her acting and designation as associate artistic director of Rep, there is simply no time to do other things.
Art, who plays Menchu’s husband, is a well-rounded actor who has done theater, television and movies both in the Philippines and the US. He had just won Best Supporting Actor for the Cinemalaya indie film Niño by Loy Arcenas in the recent Gawad Urian 2012.
He has an OBIE award for The Romance of Magno Rubio in New York, and a Best Actor award for Batang West Side from the CineManila International Film Festival.
We first became aware of him upon watching Niño where he ingested into a standard contravida role an intelligent understanding and discernment that made for a riveting interpretation. Even critic Nestor Torre, normally hard to please, stated that “We hope that he can act more often here, because he’s a truly exceptional actor.”
As an artist straddling New York and Manila, Art’s first and final determining factor for accepting an assignment is “Is it a good play/film and is it a role I’d like to do?” which is pretty obvious from his resumé of big and small participations.
Asked how it is working on US TV via Law & Order, As the World Turns, or One Life to Live and in Pinoy teleseryes (he is now in Princess & I), he concedes the schedule is pretty set in the US model, while the teleserye schedule here in Manila is a test of patience at times.
“It’s just a different system, and those very differences oddly enough keep things interesting and non-routine,” he said.
His favorite TV assignment so far is The Kitchen Musical. “I get to act, sing and dance. A real trip flexing all those ‘artistic’ muscles.”
Of his role in Carnage, Art said, “He’s blunt. But really honest. Adrian’s character puts on an act, a societal demand for courtesy and diplomacy, to deal with issues and people. My character doesn’t. He’ll tell you in five minutes of a first meeting if you smell bad, or if your clothes suck, or...”
Of God of Carnage as a dark comedy, he responded, “The play is dark and funny because it hits home: The audience will recognize themselves in the characters. But it’s also, for me, a love story; with all the light and dark colors that go with it.”
God of Carnage, Atlantis Productions’ first straight play offering after four years, will run from July 13 to 22, at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati and in Singapore in November through a partnership with the Singapore Repertory Theatre.
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