Funny, cause we met in the elevator. I was with my friends that afternoon, on our way down from the recital room on the third floor. Alex had his voice recital and the rest of the pinoy mafia in New York gave their support. We were joking and talking in Tagalog in the elevator when Cristina walked in. She was surprised to ride in an elevator full of pinoys.
"San kayo galing?" she asked with an astonished face.
"Dyan lang po sa Cubao," I replied with a sardonic grin.
Along the freezing 66th street, she lit a cigarette, and I gladly joined her. Then, we started chatting. She invited me to her play, The House of Blue Leaves, which I did watch two days after. I was also surprised to learn that she was the stage manager of Magno Rubio, a play I watched back during the summer and which I had penned a review in haste. The review was published in a Filipino newspaper, but I never had a chance to clip.
The play is about a couple, Bananas (because she's a schizophrenic) and her husband, Artie, a zookeeper who dreams of being a songwriter and a hit in Hollywood. It also involves a hilarious mistress, a deaf starlet and a group of nuns. The story was set in 1967, the year the Pope went to New York. Based on the cacophony of characters, it is a farce, satirical at most. The main theme revolves in Art's desperate dream to make it big in Hollywood and how he perceives and eventually deceives everyone so it can be realized.
The actors are awesome! I guess you wont be in Juilliard if you're just a ham. They were really good, aside from being good looking, and I would bet that they will land in Hollywood themselves in the near future. They are from group 37 of the Julliard drama class. Laura Linney was group 19 and no doubt she had a great education from Juilliard. (I just watched her recently in The Savages and in Kinsey. She is simply amazing.)
I had a cig with Cristina after and told me a lot of things about the Filipino theater culture in the city. She used to have a regular job, but, her love for theater brought her and her friends to establish the Ma-yi Theater downtown (where Magno was staged). I also learned that Magno is a pretty old piece: it was shown in 2000, went out, went off-Broadway and garnered 10 Obie awards. The first Magno is a Fil-Am actor who also did drama studies in Juilliard and later, the role was given to Jojo. Paolo was not part of the original cast and Bernardo is a recent addition to the cast, too. It was overwhelming to learn about this things from an insider because I am fascinated with the play. I think it was ingeniously made and kept the Filipino flavor intact. I was almost in tears when I first watched it.
It is really amazing to find these Filipinos in the city, save for the Filipinos who doesn't speak "Tah-gay-log" cause they moved here when they were 15. I am eager to meet the latter to smash their face on the nearest wall. Well figuratively, of course. At least. Hehe. But no, seriously, I love meeting Filipinos bursting with pinoy pride. It makes a positive affirmation that everything is not lost for the country. Just like everyone else who has hope for the Philippines, it makes us feel a little bit better.
"San kayo galing?" she asked with an astonished face.
"Dyan lang po sa Cubao," I replied with a sardonic grin.
Along the freezing 66th street, she lit a cigarette, and I gladly joined her. Then, we started chatting. She invited me to her play, The House of Blue Leaves, which I did watch two days after. I was also surprised to learn that she was the stage manager of Magno Rubio, a play I watched back during the summer and which I had penned a review in haste. The review was published in a Filipino newspaper, but I never had a chance to clip.
The play is about a couple, Bananas (because she's a schizophrenic) and her husband, Artie, a zookeeper who dreams of being a songwriter and a hit in Hollywood. It also involves a hilarious mistress, a deaf starlet and a group of nuns. The story was set in 1967, the year the Pope went to New York. Based on the cacophony of characters, it is a farce, satirical at most. The main theme revolves in Art's desperate dream to make it big in Hollywood and how he perceives and eventually deceives everyone so it can be realized.
The actors are awesome! I guess you wont be in Juilliard if you're just a ham. They were really good, aside from being good looking, and I would bet that they will land in Hollywood themselves in the near future. They are from group 37 of the Julliard drama class. Laura Linney was group 19 and no doubt she had a great education from Juilliard. (I just watched her recently in The Savages and in Kinsey. She is simply amazing.)
I had a cig with Cristina after and told me a lot of things about the Filipino theater culture in the city. She used to have a regular job, but, her love for theater brought her and her friends to establish the Ma-yi Theater downtown (where Magno was staged). I also learned that Magno is a pretty old piece: it was shown in 2000, went out, went off-Broadway and garnered 10 Obie awards. The first Magno is a Fil-Am actor who also did drama studies in Juilliard and later, the role was given to Jojo. Paolo was not part of the original cast and Bernardo is a recent addition to the cast, too. It was overwhelming to learn about this things from an insider because I am fascinated with the play. I think it was ingeniously made and kept the Filipino flavor intact. I was almost in tears when I first watched it.
It is really amazing to find these Filipinos in the city, save for the Filipinos who doesn't speak "Tah-gay-log" cause they moved here when they were 15. I am eager to meet the latter to smash their face on the nearest wall. Well figuratively, of course. At least. Hehe. But no, seriously, I love meeting Filipinos bursting with pinoy pride. It makes a positive affirmation that everything is not lost for the country. Just like everyone else who has hope for the Philippines, it makes us feel a little bit better.
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