www.pinoywatchdog.com
LOS ANGELES – October 4, 2011 – The Winter Play Season at [Inside] the Ford kicks off with Lonnie Carter’s OBIE award-winning The Romance of Magno Rubio in English – plus the world premiere of Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio, a new translation into Tagalog. PAE Live! in association with Good Shepherd Ambulance Company presents five performances each week, three in English and two in Tagalog, with both versions directed by the translator, acclaimed Filipino actor, director, performer, writer and producer Bernardo Bernardo. The Romance of Magno Rubio opens on November 4, and Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio follows on November 5.
A high-energy stage adaptation of Carlos Bulosan’s seminal short story about a love struck Filipino migrant worker in 1930s California, The Romance of Magno Rubio uses clever word play, rhymes, rhythms and Philippine love songs (“kundimans”) to reveal the lives of migrant workers, their struggles and dreams, and their longings for home and a better life.
“The play traces the story of five different ‘Manongs’ (members of the first wave of immigrants who came from the Philippines to America in the 1920s and ‘30s),” explains executive producer Ted Benito. “It’s a story about hope, disillusionment, betrayal and love. There are original songs, guitar playing and martial arts. But it’s really a lesson in Filipino American history, and it’s personal to me because my dad was a Manong. He came here in 1930 at the age of eighteen and worked the canneries in Alaska and the farmland of California, Washington and Oregon.”
He continues, “There are so few plays written by or about Filipinos. Something on this scale has never been done before, to present a play in both English and Tagalog. And Bernardo has a wonderful new vision for this play that’s a bit darker than previous productions have been and more in keeping with the tone of Bulosan’s original story.”
Agrees Bernardo, “I wanted to better balance the humor and Romance with the grittier side of reality faced daily by mud-encrusted stoop laborers pursuing the American dream in the 1930s. A huge, hand-painted graffiti will be the dominant backdrop, evoking the iconic discriminatory signs posted in some American establishments in the 1930s: ‘No Dogs and Filipinos Allowed.’”
Jon Jon Briones (Magno Rubio), Antoine Diel (Prudencio), Elizabeth Rainey (Clarabelle), and Muni Zano (narrator) each appear in both the English (E) and Tagalog (T) casts, while Giovanni Ortega (E) and Frederick Edwards (T) share the role of Nick; Erick Esteban (E) and Gelo Francisco (T) are Claro; and Eymard Cabling (E) and Jet Montelibano (T) double as Atoy.
Musical direction for The Romance of Magno Rubio/Ang Romansa ni Magno is by Gelo Francisco; choreography is by Peter De Guzman; fight choreography is by Felix Roiles; scenic design is by Akeime Mitterlehner; lighting design is by Gerry Linsangan; sound design is by Rani de Leon; projection design is by John Geronillo; costume design is by Dori Quan; production stage manager is Jaclyn Kalkhurst; associate producer is Lorely Trinidad; producer is Ed Ramolete; and executive producers are Ted Benito and Paul Policarpio.
The Romance of Magno Rubio / Ang Romansa ni Magno opens on Nov. 4 and continues through Dec. 11. Performances in English take place on Thursdays and Fridays @ 8pm and Sundays @ 3 pm. Performances in Tagalog take place on Saturdays @ 3 pm and 8 pm. The performance on Sunday, Dec. 4 (in English) will be signed for the hearing impaired. There is no matinee on Saturday, Nov. 5, and no performance on Thursday, Nov. 24. Tickets are $25, except opening nights (Nov. 4 & 5) which are $34 and include a reception with the actors. Full-time students with ID are $12. Two previews, on Nov. 2 (in Tagalog) and Nov. 3 (in English) @ 8 pm, are pay-what-you-can.
[Inside] the Ford is located in the Ford Theatres complex at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068, just off the 101 Hollywood Freeway across from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios. On-site, non-stacked parking is free. For reservations and information, call the Ford Theatres Box Office at 323.461.3673 (323.GO1.FORD) or go to http://www.FordTheatres.org.
