Tanghalang Pilipino stages 'Tatlong Mariya' at CCP

MANILA, Philippines - For its 23rd theater season (2009-2010), Tanghalang Pilipino presents Rody Vera’s Tatlong Mariya, an adaptation of Three Sisters, the timeless classic by Anton Chekhov.

Tatlong Mariya will run for four weekends from Feb. 19 to 28 and from March 12 to 21 at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater), with evening performances every Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and matinees every Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. The play will be presented in a theater-in-the-round setting, with the audience surrounding the performance area, making the production more challenging for the director and performers and more exciting for the viewers.

Using contemporary language, Vera’s brilliant rendering breathes an entirely new, maybe even irreverent interpretation of Chekhovian characters that are teeming with heavy human emotions of despair, hope, boredom, longing, anger and love. From turn-of-the-century Russia, the play will move to a remote small Northern Luzon town during the first decade of Martial Law. Tatlong Mariya portrays the life of the Ballesteros sisters, as they struggle to liberate themselves from the dreariness and hopelessness of their provincial existence, and yearn for the excitement of Manila, where their once happy and respectable life used to be.

Tatlong Mariya will be directed by New-York based stage director and scenic designer Loy Arcenas, whose works for Tanghalang Pilipino also include the critically-acclaimed plays The Romance of Magno Rubio and Golden Child. For his works, Loy has received the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award, the Bay Area Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Jefferson Award, the Michael Merritt Award and various Obie citations. He also served on the board of Theater Communications Group.

Leading the cast as the three sisters are top-rate actors Dolly Gutierrez, Mailes Kanapi and Angeli Bayani. Tatlong Mariya also features seasoned stage performers like Mario O’Hara, Dennis Marasigan, Nonie Buencamino, Joan Orendain, Paolo O’Hara, Paolo Rodriguez and Cheryl Ramos. Also included in the cast are members of the TP Actors’ Company namely Bong Cabrera, Jonathan Tadioan, Riki Benedicto, Chromewell Cosio, Russell Legaspi and Kat Castillo.

For ticket reservation, booking of special performances and other information, call the TP office at 832-3661, SMS 0920-9535381 or 0928-5518645, or contact the CCP Box Office at 832-3704 and Ticketworld at 891-9999 for ticket inquiries.