Audie Gemora faces new challenge

MANILA, Philippines - When it comes to the stage or the world of theater, Audie Gemora has seen and done it all. But there are still some things about it that excite him, like playing the lead part in Repertory Philippines’ forthcoming production of No Way To Treat A Lady, describing it as one of his “best roles (yet)!”

Audie, who was last seen onstage in Sweeney Todd, is directing and acting in this comedy-musical thriller based on the 1964 novel by William Goldman, which was made into a movie in 1968. The last time Audie performed a dual role as actor and director was when he appeared in Repertory Philippines’ staging of The Fantasticks in 1982. It was what Audie describes as force majeure. “I wouldn’t recommend it,” he says with a laugh.

One reason he agreed to the show was that he was intrigued by the role of the histrionic serial killer, Christopher ‘Kit’ Gill, who is fixated on his late mother that he preys on older women who remind him of her. Each time he strangles his victims, he puts on costumes and leaves behind an unusual calling card: A pair of lips in garish red lipstick, pressed on their foreheads.

Audie says the character reminds him of Norman Bates in Psycho, tormented by the memory of his overbearing mother. To properly play him, “I had to dig into my dark side. He also plays different characters (Gil, a director and costumer, wears several different costumes in the musical), so I needed to play around with different accents and characterizations. Then there is the comedy, the challenge of how to play him dark and tragic yet comic at the same time.”

Another reason (aside from the intriguing character) that Audie was attracted to the project is because No Way to Treat A Lady is a musical comedy inspired by film noir, a genre he loves. The musical is set in the ’70s, and a lot of Audie’s favorite TV shows at that time — such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, The Avengers, I Spy, Mission Impossible and Wild Wild West — belonged to that genre.

When Rep agreed to his request to have a stand-in — stage actor Jamie Wilson graciously took on the job (although he could not alternate in the role due to prior commitments) — so he could shift to director when needed, the last hurdle was cleared, and Audie signed on to be both actor and director.

At this juncture in his career, Audie says he prefers directing. “But now and then, a good role comes along, and the actor in me jumps at it. I choose to essay the role of Christopher Gil, because it would stretch me.” As director, Audie has given this production of No Way To Treat A Lady a film noir feel, making it look like a black-and-white TV show.

The musical opens on March 1 with other shows on March 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 and 23 at 8 p.m.; and March 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23 and 24 at 3:30 p.m. All performances are at Onstage, 2/F, Greenbelt 1, Makati City. Co-presented by the City of Makati, Ayala Malls, BusinessWorld, HerWord.com, Bizu, Liberating.Jepoy.com, No Way To Treat A Lady is directed by Audie with Liesl Batucan as assistant director; Dingdong Fiel, musical director; Mio Infante, set designer; Raven Ong, costume designer; and John Batalla, lighting designer. Artistic director for Repertory Philippines is Baby Barredo.