All the world’s a stage

At the age of nine, on a trip to New York, I, together with my siblings, was brought by my parents to Broadway to watch Oliver. From the first time the chorus chimed Food, Glorious Food, I was hooked, and my love affair with theater began. Whenever good fortune would allow the family to go on trips abroad, London’s West End and the Big Apple’s Great White Way would always beckon. Musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Annie, Miss Saigon; and plays like The Importance of Being Earnest, Equus and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead remain vivid memories of this lifetime affair. Naturally, there would be many plays I would miss out on; and would just read about them, wishing there would be more opportunities of travel, with nights at the theater a given part of the itinerary.

If in previous decades some frustration about our local theater scene would creep in, I must gladly concede that things have drastically changed; and just in November alone, I was treated to a four-time lucky spate of play openings, productions that would reward any audience. Local thespians are really world-class, and production values have improved in bounds, making The Producers, The Addams Family, Maxie and Grease all worthy of our attention.

In the order I got to see them: 9Works’ Grease at the RCBC is a nostalgia-filled, high energy music excursion to yesteryear, with Gian Magdangal, Francheska Farr and Rafa Siguion-Reyna as my cast standouts. With so many familiar songs, this is the safest of the four, and is another feather in the cap for 9Works. Maxie at the PETA is a reworking of the multi-awarded Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros indie film, and if for nothing else, heralds the birth of an amazing young actor, Jayvhot Galang, a fourth year high school student who takes on the exhausting title role. Controversial and incendiary, yet also gentle and funny, this is one magnificent transition from film to musical.

At Greenbelt’s Onstage, don’t miss The Producers. I loved the Mel Brooks film this musical was based on, and with Carlo Orosa and Topper Fabregas taking on the roles immortalized on Broadway by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, you can guess these are big shoes to fill, but the cast comes through with flying colors. Kudos to Rep and director Jaime del Mundo for a great job, and for making such scene-stealers of Audie Gemora and Noel Rayos. The theater world, the gay world and the Third Reich have never been spoofed with such gleeful abandon. Atlantis’ The Addams Family at the Meralco Theater is an eye-popping production with costume and makeup design that has to be seen to be believed. And look out for Arnell Ignacio and Eula Valdez, who tease, surprise, and impress in equal measure. Based on the immortal comic strip (that became a TV series and a film franchise), this is fun family entertainment that deserves to be watched!

For anyone who loves theater, this has got to be a good time to be in Manila. So many quality productions running at the same time makes Manila a mini-version of Broadway or our very own “East” End.

The life we think we know

The three novels today deal with protagonists thinking they have a grasp on their lives, and finding out things are very different. In the case of Greer’s novel, it’s a story of possibilities, while Osborne’s deals with the clash of cultures. In the case of Benacquista, it’s all about hilarious second chances.

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer (available at National Book Store) Time travel is a well-worn concept utilized in novels about romance, relationships and love. In this novel, Greer has Greta, existing in 1985, undergoing electroconvulsive treatments for depression, and she awakens in both 1918 and 1941. While the premise strains credulity, we suspend disbelief on account of the more than sensitive and perceptive writing. In 1985, there’s twin brother Felix, who is dying from AIDS along with his lover, Alan. What Greer does is he recreates versions of Felix, Alan, Greta’s boyfriend Nathan, and so on, in all the eras where Greta materializes. There’s also a great sense of place in this novel, with Lower Manhattan the center of all that happens in the three eras. An absorbing read.

The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne (available at National Book Store) What starts off like a travel guide to Morocco becomes a fast-paced intriguing read about much darker themes. Invited to the palatial residence in the Moroccan mountains of an expat gay couple for a weekend of festivities, an English doctor and his authoress wife get into an unfortunate road accident, killing a young Moroccan man. What follows is a double helix narrative, with one strand following the couple and their sense of privilege and entitlement because they’re Westerners, coming face to face with the bereaved father of Driss, the road fatality. The other strand follows Driss, and his life before the fatal incident. Full of acute observations, poetic justice, and a great sense of time and place, this is a strong “global” novel.

Malavita by Tonino Benacquista (available at Fully Booked) Recently released as the film The Family, starring Robert de Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, this is the novel on which the film was based, written by a César-winning screenplay writer from France. Take a minor Mafia Don who snitches on the mob, and place his family under the Witness Protection Program, and relocate them to a small Normandy village. Like fish out of water, but in this case, piranha, sit back and watch how the family adapts and integrates into the rural French community. Add on the fact that the “capo” now languishing in prison puts out a contract on Giovanni, and have hit men descend on the village in due course. Colorful characters and intricate plotting make this dark comedy so much more fun than the Hollywood treatment.