He sat there. Quietly.
A small boy in the audience watching every motion, every song, not
giving an inch to any distractions, glued to the performance on stage. Tears poured onto his tiny cheeks and sobs
were heard. How could men treat other
men this way? So small he held on to the back of a seat and cried and cried
watching his father. It was touching to
see a small boy, with so much heart, loving his father doing what he does
best. *
The Romance of Magno Rubio by Lonnie Carter and directed by
Bernardo Bernardo at the Ford Theatre is absolutely wonderful! In all my many years in theatre I have not
seen anything like this. It is a terrific
show from the moment the actors appear on stage to the moment they leave. This show is magnificent and inspiring! It will also break your heart. Run to see this production!
Lonnie Carter’s Obie Award winning play comes to Los Angeles
for a limited engagement through December 11th, 2011 and is
performed in both English and Tagalog. The
show is presented by PAE Live! in association with Good Shepherd Ambulance
Company. (What? Good Shepherd Ambulance
Company? This is a story in and of itself!)
The Romance of Mango Rubio is a romance that takes place in
the heart of a “Filipino boy, Four foot six inches tall. Dark as a coconut. Head small on a body like a turtle’s.”
Mango Rubio (Jon Jon Briones), a small Filipino man, works harvesting
crops in the 1930’s California. He has
come to America, like other Manongs, wanting to live the American dream only to
discover life is not so easy here. He was
allowed to immigrate as a “national” since the United States colonized the
Philippines. Like Chinese and Japanese immigrants,
he cannot own property or marry a Caucasian woman.
Mango Rubio is a migrant worker, living under terrible
conditions. He is filthy from head to
toe but lives an infectious life of optimism, curiosity, and love. From a Lonely Hearts magazine, Mango Rubio falls
hopelessly in love with Clarabelle (Elizabeth Rainey). It is a love that knows no boundaries even
though she is all the way in Arkansas.
He enlists a friend, Claro (Erick Esteban), a 2nd
grade graduate to write letters to his girlfriend but Claro want too much money.
So Rubio asks his college-educated friend, Nick (Giovanni Ortega), to read and
write letters to the love of his life, Clarabelle.
Nick does so but when they get the letters come back from
Clarabelle, Nick thinks she is up to no good.
“Western Union me. ASAP.” – Clarabelle
Clarabelle wants only his money. But Mango Rubio is so hopelessly in love he
works harder to support her ailing dad, sick brother, and anyone else dying in
Clarabelle’s letters. Try as they might no one can convince Mango Rubio that
all is not right with Clarabelle.
But Magno Rubio is blinded by love and the thought that, one
day, this six foot two inch bundle of woman, Clarabelle, will join him in holy
matrimony. The men have a grand time
telling him that Clarabelle will eat him alive.
Jon Jon Briones
as Magno Rubio is one of the finest actors you will see bar none. His
physicality and characterization is second to none. He has an incredible voice and his movements
on stage make you want to stand up and cheer. He takes great joy in going after
and achieving his objective one hardly believes he is doing it all in
rhyme. This is one of the finest performances
I’ve seen all year.
Eymard Cabling as
Atoy had a very nice personality on stage and that personality becomes very
infectious. But we didn’t get a clear
idea of his objective and seem to be one of the boys without a clear path. Still, this was a very nice job.
Giovanni Ortega
was engaging as Nick. He is the
collective conscious of the men. There was a reason this college-educated man
decides to skip college and work with the migrant workers. His thoughts are his own but that doesn’t
exclude him from mentally recording the farm workers actions and deeds if for a
purpose he doesn’t yet understand. Still, somebody has to tell their story and
it might as well be him. This was a very fine performance by a very engaging actor.
Muni Zano as the Narrator
was not as sharp as he could have been.
The words did not come easily this night and it was unfortunate to see
this in a program that was incredible.
Perhaps it was an off night, or possibly he was thinking in Tagalog. Oo!
Ed Ramolete
played Prudencio. Antoine Reynaldo Diel
usually plays this role, but for whatever reason, he was not available. Ramolete had two days to fill the role. This is almost an impossible task. Ramolete had the lines in pots, in his hat,
in boxes, on cards, anything that could help him remember the spoken
words. (Think Marlon Brando in the
Godfather.) This was unfortunate for a play of this caliber. Still, Ramolete had a good look for the role
and the lines he did remember worked very effectively.
Erik Esteban as
Claro was very ambitious in character and deeds. He thought that he was better than the other
guys because he got as far as the second grade.
His words, loved by the men, were his weapons against Rubio. Still, he had a little bit of the devil in
him in trying to steal from his friends before he ran away.
Elizabeth Rainey
as Clarabelle was marvelous in the role.
There are many layers to her performance. Her captivating physical life turns the small
space she occupies into a dream. A come
hither dream at that. Her love only goes as far as the last dollar bill, or the
last reception to a Western Union receipt.
This was a marvelous job and a wonderful performance.
Vincent Reyes
played wonderful guitar in the show and the rest of the music was just
inspiring.
Bernardo Bernardo,
the director, gave us a wonderful interpretation of the play. It is the work of a true master of the craft
of storytelling. This was just a
wonderful production and just what we need to liven the spirits this holiday
season.
Lonnie Carter,
the writer, did a marvelous job. He uses
clever word play and rhymes to move the story along. One would think the actors were speaking
dialogue. The singing of Philippine love
songs make you want to stand and cheer for all of the actors on stage.
Ed Ramolete did a
wonderful job as the producer despite problems he had filling in for a missing
actor.
Additional lyrics and text were by Ralph Pena and The World
Premiere of a New Tagalog Translation Ang Romansa Ni Magno Rubio was done by
Bernardo Bernardo.
Frederick A. Edwards
plays Nick, Anthony “Gelo” Francisco
plays Claro, and Jet Montelibano
plays Atoy in the Tagalog versions, which will be performed on Saturdays. Please check the listings.
The Set Design by Akeime
Mitterlehner was very well done. Felix Roiles as the Martial Arts
Choreographer did an incredible job moving the actors in a wonderful fight scene.
Dori Quan as the
Costume Designer did an incredible job.
The costumes transported you back to another time and place. Just a wonderful job.
Inside the Ford has plenty of free parking and is a great
venue for theatre!
Run to see this production.
* The boy is the son of Jon Jon Briones who plays the lead role of Magno Rubio.
* The boy is the son of Jon Jon Briones who plays the lead role of Magno Rubio.
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