A retelling of Shakespeare classic in PETA's 'D Wonder Twins of Boac

By Philippine Online Chronicles

Original Article can be found HERE

 

Award-winning Filipino playwright Rody Vera retells "Twelfth Night," William Shakespeare's comedy of errors in the Philippine Educational Theater Association's (PETA) comedy-musical, "D Wonder Twins of Boac."

Shakespeare's ancient Illyria and the 60's rock 'n' roll era in Manila seem to lack similarities, but the fact that Vera--who is skilled in the craft--is able to do a fitting adaptation only proves the universality of Shakespeare's work as it resonates in another time.

Vera's latest opus, "D Wonder Twins of Boac" maintains "Twelfth Night's" theme of mistaken identity as Shakespeare's lovers and dukes turn into studio producers who regard themselves as royalty and their stable of stars as their minions. The new setting is the 60's Philippine film industry, with two competing studios Campanilla Pictures and BLV Studios.

"D Wonder Twins of Boac" focuses on the story of two aspiring talents from Marinduque, twins named Viola (Cris Villonco) and Bastian (Chrome Cosio), who were separated in an unfortunate shipwreck going to Manila. Driven by her dream to make it big in showbiz and believing her brother to be dead, Viola disguises herself as a boy and auditions to become the 'Elvis' of Campanilla Pictures owned by Doc Orsino (essayed by Bodjie Pascua, alternating with Lex Marcos). Doc Orsino hires Viola (now disguised as Ceasar) and becomes his boy friday. Eventually, her disguise causes numerous complications when she falls in love with Doc Orsino, while Donya Olivia (Shamaine Buencamino), the unresponsive object of Doc Orsino, falls madly in love with her.

Vera reveals that the play also speaks of his personal experience and memory of the 60's, "Part of my childhood is about lining up in Life Theater to watch the next film release of Sampaguita and Vera-Perez Pictures."

Director Maribel Legarda describes Vera's adaptation as one that "taps into a core conflict that plagues the film industry" as the musical tackles the age-old debate of commercial versus artistic films.

"The decline of the studios in the 60's allows us to dramatize a most serious concern as though it were something to laugh about," Vera adds.

"D Wonder Twins of Boac" not only experiments with contrasting eras and tackles the fine line dividing drama and comedy, it also illustrates the inner workings and complex tapestry of the Philippine film industry.

The ensemble includes: Phillip Lazaro, Gino Ramirez, Paolo Rodriguez, Carlon Matobato, Riki Benedicto, Gie Onida, Eric dela Cruz, Roi Calilong, Kiki Baento, Kat Castillo, Tricia Huseña, and Divine Aucina.

The play's music is by PETA's young composer-arranger Jeff Hernandez, with choreography by PETA Senior member Carlon Matobato, set design actor-designer Lex Marcos, costumes by New York-based Filipino designer John Abul, with lighting by seasoned designer Jon Jon Villareal.

 

Catch it on its closing weekend run

MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA

Ticket Prices: 1000, 800 and 600

 

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
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Theater Review: In the golden age of Pinoy cinema with 'D' Wonder Twins of Boac'

By REN V. AGUILA
Original Article can be found HERE

 

It was when I read “Twelfth Night” that the following quote gained a very interesting context: “Some are born great, some are made great, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” 

 

When I learned last year that the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) was going to adapt the comedy and set it in the film scene of the 1960s that my curiosity was piqued. Rody Vera took the studio system and made it into a set-up that made sense. 

 

“Producers were indeed like royalty,” Vera told the assembled press in a post-performance forum.

 

“D' Wonder Twins of Boac” works in the milieu with the prevailing atmosphere that society has forgotten much about the first Golden Age of Philippine Cinema, and what came after. 

 

Studio names like Sampaguita and LVN survive in nothing more than crumbling compounds in the New Manila area – not far from PETA's present place. There is also a sense that, beyond a few plays taught in some high schools, some of Shakespeare's more interesting work has not found wider resonance around these parts. But what PETA has achieved this time is much more than I expected.
 

Cris Villonco stars as both Viola and Sebastian in "D'Wonder Twins of Boac."

It started with the setting. A theater in the round is not the ideal place to stage a comedy, as director Maribel Legarda said in the same forum, “because there is nowhere to hide.” 

 

In the light of what “Twelfth Night” does, and of what this play does, it works. Vera's script, like Shakespeare's, relies on the fact that the audience is all in on the joke and we really know what happens. Or do we? The scene transitions, with the set changes, were staged to feel like what happens in a film shoot, and those were amusing in their own right.

 

Which brings me to the acting. The ensemble was generally good, though I wonder what it would have been like with Bodjie Pascua doing Orsino (his alternate and the play's production designer, Lex Marcos, was the one on stage when I watched). And it is without qualification that I was impressed with the twins, played by Cris Villonco and Chrome Cosio, both of whom are working with Legarda and PETA for the first time. Villonco's Viola/Cesar was convincing enough, with her Cesar showing the appropriate degree of awkwardness, especially in Cesar's scenes with Olivia (played here by Shamaine Buencamino).

 

Still, there were some problems in this very early performance that needed resolution, and hopefully this will be the case by the time you read this. The music, mostly played by a live ensemble, led by composer and arranger Jeff Hernandez, sometimes drowned out the actors.

 

When the actors were able to have their voices heard on the sound system, it was sometimes spotty, especially when they were dancing. Ever since I started watching plays around these parts, I noticed that sound was a problem, though PETA usually has a very good technical track record on this score.

 

Vera's adaptation is the best thing about this play. It is very faithful to the source material, and it keeps much of what I enjoy about Shakespeare's original. Of course, it is up to a point, but I will not spoil it here. His attempt to add color by mentioning personalities from the time whose names still resonate (and others long since forgotten) might go over the heads of younger viewers, but it could pique new curiosity for this transitional time in Philippine cinema.

 

This comes at a very interesting time, indeeed. When the National Film Archive is up and running and slowly piecing together our film heritage. Organizations like the Society of Filipino Archivists for Film (SOFIA) are rallying behind the need to examine our cinematic past. Every so often, new treasures are dug up. A documentary thought to have been lost, from the same era where “Wonder Twins” was set, was premiered on the sidelines of Cinemalaya 2012. “Recuerdo of Two Sundays on Two Roads Leading to the Sea” was found in the archives of a New York organization which hosted a competition to which the documentary was submitted.

 

But for me, what resonated more was the message that our sense of forgetting has, as the saying goes, forced us to repeat it. Just as the film “Shakespeare in Love” was Tom Stoppard's way of talking about contemporary Hollywood in terms of the Elizabethan era, this play smacks with the sharp tang of recognition. 

 

The Philippine studio system has not died yet. It has merely taken a different shape after a long absence. 

 

There may be a need for plays like “D' Wonder Twins of Boac” to help us understand that our task of remembering is to make us think of a different future. It is a future where the cycles of the past are broken in favor of a cinema that both inspires and entertains, and challenges our presumptions about the way things are. To make us remember is a challenge this play has taken on, and in my view, it could serve this purpose. – KDM, GMA News

 

Catch it on its closing weekend run

MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA

Ticket Prices: 1000, 800 and 600

 

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
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REVIEW: PETA's D' Wonder Twins of Boac

By Kate Etoista-Koo
Original Article can be found HERE

For an interesting take on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, schedule a visit to Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and catch D' Wonder Twins of Boac. This comedy play will be staged until March 3 at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City.

Written by playwright Rody Vera, this new play revisits the plot of an old theater favorite and breathes new local and cultural life into it.

The key characters from the original play are all present and deliver excellent over-the-top performances. However, the setting is placed in 1960's Philippines, Manila and Boac, Marinduque. Another modification is that the play is set in an era when two big film studios experienced their subsequent decline.


Director Maribel Legarda decided to stage D' Wonder Twins of Boac in a round arena and thereby provides the audience with a whole new and intimate take on theater. The stage consisted of four round circles set in the middle of the theater and this allowed theater goers to feel as they were part of all the goings on happening on stage. It is the second time in PETA's history that the company decided to do theater in the round, making it a fitting choice to close their 45th theater season.


D' Wonder Twins of Boac follows the story of twins Viola and Bastian from Boac, Marinduque. They've hit the local circuit of fiestas, singing and talent contests, and other competitions and are hoping to make it big. Following the still-popular trend of going to Manila in order to make a name for themselves, the twins get separated from each other when their ship gets shipwrecked in a storm. Mind you, all this is happening within the first two minutes of the play and it is quite dramatic. And the twins end up thinking the other is dead, too.


Here is where the plot of Twelfth Night is interwoven beautifully into the whole play--with the mistaken identities, complicated love attractions, scheming and plotting for financial gains--through fantastic song numbers and intense acting by all the cast.


Viola, played by Cris Villonco, becomes Cesar in order to 1) avoid a life of continued begging on the streets and 2) because film studio Campanilla Pictures was looking for its next big star to the tune of Elvis--a singing, dancing, acting male all-in-one sensation. But instead of becoming the big star she/he hoped to be, Cesar ends up becoming the boy-Friday of Campanilla Pictures owner Doc Orsino Villar, played by Lex Marcos. But because Cesar also proves to be a looker, Doc Orsino employs Cesar to seduce rival BLV Studios owner Donya Olivia Nepomuceno, (cted brilliantly by Shamaine Buencamino) into a partnership with Campanilla.


Cesar agrees because Doc Orsino promised Cesar would be made a star and because slowly, Cesar is developing feelings of complicated love towards Doc Orsino. Cris plays her dual roles really well and is quite believable as male Cesar, with hints of feminity, ala Gwyneth Paltrow's take in Shakespeare in Love. The whole thing is made more hilarious, because even as Cesar was sent as a means of seducing Donya Olivia into a dual partnership with Campanilla (Doc wants the studios to merge and for him to marry Olivia), Donya Olivia falls in love with Cesar.


This unintended love triangle proves to be a strong asset to the entire musical play as it provided the most laughs and drama. Shamaine is hilarious as she tries to seduce Cesar, who being egged on by Doc Orsino because of the deal she made, tries his/her best to avoid the advances.


Lex Marcos, who plays Doc Orsino started with the intention of bringing the two studios together, but ends up inexplicably falling for Cesar as well. Lex proves to be an excellent choice for the strong-willed Doc Orsino role and it is quite interesting to see his transition from treating Cesar merely as his boy-Friday to when he falls in love with Cesar and starts to do counter-strategies in keeping Cesar away from the clutches of Donya Olivia.


Cris Villonco delivers the innocence and naivete needed as Viola and awkwardness and sweetness along with struggling with duplicity and deception as Cesar. Her involvement with Donya Olivia's strong character versus Cesar's more toned down nature is so pleasing to watch and be engaged in. Her chemistry with Doc Orsino is so weird and interesting to witness, even as her character struggles to keep it all cool and macho. You will find yourself gasping for air because of too much laughing or holding your breath for fear of discovery whenever these three are on stage.


Shamaine Buencamino plays Donya Olivia as if the role were written for her. She is eccentric when she first appears as the grieving sole living owner of BLV Studios, after the death of her beloved brother. She becomes all cougar-like when she becomes attracted to Cesar and does everything in her power to make Cesar hers. Shamaine adds so much depth and richness to her character and her interactions with the other cast that it is hard to imagine D' Wonder Twins of Boac without her in it.


Chrome Cosio plays Viola's twin Bastian and becomes a wannabe stuntman looking for a job in Manila. He ends up befriending Antonio (played by Riki Benedicto) who has lusty intentions towards Bastian, which the latter tries to circumvent at all costs. This plot line references the homosexual undertones of Twelfth Night again. Chrome's Bastian is strong and driven and when he gets mistaken for Cesar, dives headlong into it, with hints of incredulity at being pursued by such a beautiful woman as Donya Olivia.


Lao Rodriguez as Malvolio is a high-brow person who personifies "I'm-a-better-filmmaker-than-you" to the tee. He is unwittingly involved in a subplot of intrigue orchestrated by Toma, Donya Olivia's drunken uncle and acted by Gie Onida along with Maria, Donya Olivia's househelp and acted by Kiki Baento. Through a series of calculated conversations and forged letters, they convince Malvolio that Donya Olivia has fallen for him in an attempt to bring the mighty filmmaker down. He ends up making a complete fool of himself and all these antics provide the play with huge bursts of laughter. Lao Rodriguez will have people hating Malvolio and loving how he plays Malvolio's egoistic snobbish character.


The complete opposite of Malvolio would have to be Luciano, played to the hilt by Phillip Lazaro. Luciano is swimming in two lakes because he is both  Donya Olivia's director and Doc Orsino's conspirator in teaching Cesar initially how to seduce and woe Donya Olivia. Luciano is the big-hit shallow director who, as Phillip plays him, lets us love his outlandish ways, "I-won't-take-crap-from-you" attitude, and ability to spread good intrigues all throughout the play.


The supporting cast of Toma, Antonio, Maria, Eric V. Dela Cruz as Rudy, Roi Calilong as Valentino, and Tricia Husena as Juvy indeed give full support in their interactions with and for the main characters. You will find yourself loving each of these quirky, zany characters and more than once, wish you were on the round stage with them, laughing and conspiring together.


D' Wonder Twins of Boac should become choice viewing for all who love a good laugh, excellent scripting, and grand emotional musical numbers. Get tickets now for something new and fun at PETA Theater Center with the dual characters played by Cris Villonco.

 

Catch it on its closing weekend run

MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA

Ticket Prices: 1000, 800 and 600

 

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
  Onay Sales (0917.908.0565)

 

PETA’S “D WONDER TWINS OF BOAC”: OF TWISTS AND TWIN

Article from http://teatroleecundangan.blogspot.com
Original Article can be found HERE

You know what I really, really appreciate when Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) adapts  a work - whether it be opera (TOSCA), a historical novel (NOLI AT FILI), a person's biography (BATANG RIZAL), children's play (LOLA BASYANG) - is that they know where to draw the line between respecting the original material and then in a very out-of-box way, make the material there own.  Such was the case with  “D WONDER TWINS OF BOAC.”

I'm not privy when it comes to the bard's comedies especially with TWELFTH NIGHT since I'm not a huge fan of Shakespeare's comedies especially this being part of his "Joyous comedies" (AS YOU LIKE IT, and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING). Except for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, MERCHANT OF VENICE, I'm more into the bard's 7 Great tragedies.

But with Maribel Legarda's seamless and well executed directorial vision, and Rody Vera's creative and loyal free adaptation of Shakespeare's work, I was able to be drawn back to the script (with a cover that has Helena Bonham-Carter as Olivia on it) which I unceremoniously stashed away and read it for the first time.

Needless to say that's how good the play was and by providing good observations for the production, artistic and acting elements of this play, I guess it shows how I highly admire Ms. Maribel Legarda's tight, well implemented, effective and brilliant retelling of the story on stage.
 
WHAT'S IN A NAME
The first time I heard the title, I didn't have any inkling that it was based on William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night or What You Will". Sabi ko sa sarili ko na ano ba ito Superfriends? (I told myself, what's this super friends).

The title was catchy but then again it's sounded funny, catchy, familiar but a bit...well and baduy :P. But when I read the accompanying press release regarding it, I found it very interesting.

The title itself is interesting especially if you connect it with the actual story.

It's ironically very Filipino which makes relatable to the audience more.  Come on, let's admit it, most of us has this "jologs" side of ourselves. Every Filipinos, does and I really mean it in a good way. Huwag ng pa-social dyan.

The title makes it very Filipino despite using a quasi-English Title because the "D" for the word "the" is of the text language and is also very jejemon which is also an anachronism to modern times. It is also very Filipino because it reflects how we are very creative in using pop culture names and terms and make it our own in different aspects of our daily life whether it be in business, entertainment etc.

MISE EN SCENE
Arriving a few minutes before the show (due to some unforeseen circumstances) at the PHINMA Theatre was a blessing in disguise - of course only for this particular play (I don't advice you to become late at all as it would be extremely better to arrive early so that you would have the best seat in the house and be more relaxed  when watching a play).

But this moment was an exception to the rule, it was really good that I get to sit at the balcony of PETA for a change. When I watched a play I usually sit  at the first floor but I guess having a seat looking at the play below was a huge advantage especially with the set design of Lex Marcos.

Brilliant, literally the audience is treated to an in the round stage (when you say in the round, the irony is that most stages are square and the reason it's called "in the round" it's because the audience are surrounding the stage literally, as oppose to a proscenium stage where the audience is watching face-to-face with the actors performing. A good example of this is a boxing/wrestling ring - these sports are in a way modern theatrical activities as they are reminiscent of the gladiatorial fights in Ancient Rome).

Anyway, back to the set, the top part of the set has this black (or gray tiles) that is in sync with the 60's theme of the play. What is more interesting is that the set is not simply round but is actually a film reel. So by that alone, the set was attuned literally to the director's vision/concept. The set was already a start of an entertaining play even before it started. Much more appreciated is that there were smaller reels of the stage to provide more leeway for performances.

The costumes by John Abul and Lights design by Jon jon Villareal was just perfect for the era. Most notable of Abul's costumes and Villareal's lights design are the ones for Doña Olivia's character. It further emphasized the melodramatic nature of the character and elicited more comic reliefs for her and was a huge help especially when she was introduced to Viola/Cesar.

photo courtesy of PETA website

STAGING ALA SHAKESPEARE'S TIME
During the Elizabethan stage (RE: Shakespeare in Love - The Rose Theatre) the stage is a Thrust Stage or a 3/4 Stage, but then again Thrust, Proscenium, Parallel otherwise is not important - you can have anytype of stage, it's the staging of the play is what I want to emphasize that is very Shakespeare in nature.

During the plays of Shakespeare's time, there are minimal props and in this play it is the same. That's what I love about this production, they understood that a real Shakespeare's play or adaptation has multiple settings and it would be a challenge on how to present that without being boring.

I appreciate that even when the lights were off and the property people had to bring in set props there was movement and dialogue. It provided an illusion that people were really in a movie production and ws just transferring stuff from one place to another. That was very smart of director Maribel Legarda making the transition itself, literally part of the scene.

Another thing, I appreciate in the play is that Legarda utilized harnesses and battens (the rods where the lights are often placed) to lower some set props like the chandelier, Olivia's bed, into place without ruining any theatre moment.

About the story it was a good move by highly respected writer Rody de Vera to be faithful to the story but also amply placing additional and important scenes like the prologue part of the play that gives us a backstory of the twins. This was a great contribution to the story as the original Twelfth Night had we already have Orsino in the first scene, instead of the twins. Vera allowed a more chronological affect for the audiences to understand the play.

The Music of Jeff Hernandez and Carlon Matobato's choreography was psychedelically, strategically and perfectly placed in respective scenes. It help to nostalgically place the audience in the era. It further moved the scene and I was really entertained in all the songs and the way it was executed in the play as they were often hilarious and provided an additional comic strain to an already funny script.

What I didn't appreciate about the the play is how it was divided. Act I was long and entertaining na it actually, to my opinion, could do without the intermission because the laughter, the attention of the audience was still there.

What I also didn't appreciate were the small screens hanging above the stage. Even if I could see it from where I am or where I sat, I hardly notice its change of clips. In directing class, we've been taught that whatever you place on stage there is a reason why one places it there. That was clear, there was indeed a reason however why put something that would hardly merit attention to itself. I personally don't know if that could've been better if there was huge screen like in the movie houses instead of those small television sets hovering on stage.

photo courtesy of PETA website

DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Personally I still think Gwyneth Paltrow didn't deserve her Oscar Award despite having those multiple roles in "Shakepeare in Love" (I still believe Cate Blanchett did a more award winning performance as Queen Elizabeth I).  But in the case of   “D WONDER TWINS OF BOAC”, it's different with Cris Villonco's,  who played the cute and adorable as the feisty probinsyana Viola and the  handsome Cesar. 

Far from her classic or classy ingenue roles, she was able to portray a character na makamasa.  Her accent was very crude something you don't usually expect from someone with her breeding. She gave credible performances both as Viola and Cesar and I personally appreciate that departure. Because she loves her craft, she have cross over to many theatrical groups and continually prove her mettle. It is very refreshing to see a show where Villonco can exhibit her acting chops in a different light.

Notable performances include Lex Marcos (Doc Orsino) who despite his white hair and notorious character you would still love him, and will make your knees tremble ala Viola I guess just to be near him (actually that's why it's a bit sad they sort of change the ending ang ganda kasi nung chemistry, it really provided so much kilig factor). Chrome Cosio's Bastian was also well established it's just that I hope, and this is where I wish playwright Rody Vera didn't follow Shakespeare, he would've been a whole lot better if he had more stage exposure. Basically, it's not his fault but of course his acting is sayang. Just hope he had equal or a little more opportunity to show his acting abilities because Cosio is definitely talented.

Gie Onida (Toma), Lao Rodriguez (Malvolio),Eric dela Cruz (Rudy Castelvi), Roi Calilong (Valentino) played their characters just right and where really funny, with flawless comic timing and they're being comedic is not forced.

But the real scene stealers were Riki Benedicto (Antonio), Divine Aucina (Juvy) and Kiki Baento (Maria/Nanay/Matandang Babae). This is where you can say that "there's really no such thing as small roles" short and secondary their roles were but it made a huge an impact to the audience. Among the lead stars I love Ms. Shamaine Buencamino "over-acting diva-ish, prima donna" Olivia and Philip Lazaro's very smart quips added so much flavor to the comic part of the play. Reminded me very much of Vice-Ganda but still Lazaro has his own version that's classy with a tinge of seriousness especially in the last scene.

BOAC'S ISSUES
I'm sure by now, you've read how much the plot is a visual allegory of the waning quality of filmdom then and now. I love Sampaguita and LVN pictures in fact I used to watch them in Channel 9 and find most plots of modern movies, even at that young age, a rehash of those classic black and white films. New movies has their acting and treatment less bodabil-ish/Vaudeville-ish compared to those early movies, but still I like the way they were filmed which is kindda innocent and pure.

That's actually why I felt nostalgic about this play. It reminded me of those golden years and the downward spiral to the bomba films of the next era was disturbing and sad as people where commercially exploited and lives were destroyed.

Another glaring issue I see in Boac is the gender issue that still exists today. I feel Viola's character that we are still living in a very patriarchal society that women are still to some extent treated as second class citizens, weak, and second fiddle to men. Viola had to be a man to enter showbiz because men usually dominate the silver screen or different media.

 

Catch it on its closing weekend run

MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA

Ticket Prices: 1000, 800 and 600

 

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
  Onay Sales (0917.908.0565)

 

D' Wonder Twins of Boac (PETA)

Article from http://3xhcch.blogspot.com
Original Article can be found HERE

"D' Wonder Twins of Boac" is the last offering of PETA for its 45th theater season. Writer Rody Vera adapted Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and transported the story to the Philippine movie industry of the late 1960s when the film studio system was already on the decline.  I found that a very interesting concept, and furthermore, it will star one of my favorite stage actresses Cris Villonco in the lead.  This was most certainly a must-watch for me.

Viola (Cris Villonco) and Bastian (Chrome Cosio) are the titular twins from Boac, who were a talented song and dance duo.  On their way to try their luck in the movie industry in Manila, their ship capsizes and the two were separated when they were lost at sea.  We later see Viola in Manila as a sampaguita vendor. When she hears that Campanilla Pictures were holding an audition for an Elvis movie, she gets the idea to dress as a boy named Cesar to try her luck.  

The owner of Campanilla Pictures, Don Orsino (Lex Marcos), wants to propose marriage to the recently-widowed Donya Olivia (Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino) of rival BLV Pictures, in order to unite their two studios.  He sends Cesar to be his emissary to Olivia. However, fate has it that Olivia actually takes a fancy to fair Cesar, not knowing that "he" was actually a girl in disguise.  By this time, Viola/Cesar was already falling in love with Don Orsino!

On the other hand, unknown to Viola, Bastian had long been in training as a movie stuntman, so it was inevitable that the twins' paths will cross one day.  However, how will Bastian figure in this already complicated love triangle entangled in a web-like comedy of errors that his cross-dressing sister is now involved in?

This whole absurd situation is hilarious as you can imagine.  The comedy worked back in Shakespeare's time and it works up to now.  The director Maribel Legarda, fresh from her directorial successes in other PETA hit shows "William" and "Care Divas," injected a lot more Pinoy comic touches to tickle the young audiences whom this play targets.  The theater was full-packed to the rafters with high school and college students and they were really howling with laughter in many scenes.

I have never seen Cris Villonco in a role like Viola before.  She was quite "cute" as Cesar.  Of course, she did not really look like a real man, but she looked like she was having a lot of fun doing it.  Her songs were  in a more pop voice and style, rather than the trilling soprano we are more used to hearing her sing in her previous shows like "Walang Sugat" and "Noli Me Tangere." Those scenes of Doc Orsino and Direk Luciano (Roi Calilong) teaching Cesar how to seduce a woman was very laugh-out-loud funny, as with that scene where Donya Olivia turns the tables on Cesar seducing moves.

Chrome Cosio's role as Bastian was not as extensive as Viola's.  His memorable highlight were those scenes with his stunts trainer, the sneaky Antonio (Riki Benedicto), that really brought the house down with laughter!  Chrome was not shy in showing off his physique, to the delight of the high school girls in the audience.  However, since he was showing his body off several times from the first song number to the last, it did look a little too repetitive, thus losing its novelty factor.

This is my first time to see the acclaimed Shamaine Centenera live in action. She was very fierce, funny and fearless as Dona Olivia.  She had a near wardrobe malfunction during the show I watched, but she survived it with aplomb.  Lex Marcos was debonair as Doc Orsino, but also very funny. I cannot imagine his alternate, the older Bodjie Pascua, to be better fit as Orsino than Lex.

A side plot involved Luciano, a low-brow director of masses-oriented "bakya" movies, and his nemesis Malvolio, who is a snobbish director of quality serious films.  The conflict between these two directors was also very interesting as it was funny.  The Malvolio character took time to warm up to the audience though, as played by Lao Rodriguez.  The supporting characters of Olivia's drunken Uncle Toma (Gie Onida), her foolish suitor Rudy Castelvi (Eric V. dela Cruz) and her secretary Maria (Kat Castillo) also had their funny moments.

The whole play worked out quite rollickingly fun. Well, that is, until the ending when they tried to inject something of a historical perspective as to what happens next in Philippine cinema.  In my opinion, it did not really end the show too well, as it felt like a totally different play.  There was that one moment when the audience fell silent also, so I think maybe they did not get it too.  This is only the first weekend though, and maybe they still tweak the execution of that scene a little in the coming shows.  In any case, after that momentary hiccup, the play recovered when the final song number came on and enlivened the stage again.

(photo credit:  PETA FB page)

When I entered the auditorium and took my seat, the first thing I noted was that the old stage was not there.  Instead there was a beautiful multi-tiered stage with a staircase going up to the balcony on one side.  There were now seats all around this stage.  This new stage made everything more exciting.
Congratulations to PETA, Ms. Maribel Legarda, Mr. Rody Vera and the cast and crew of "D' Wonder Twins of Boac" for this most innovative and originally envisioned Shakespearean play I have seen, after "King Lear" also by PETA just a couple of years ago.  May you continue to succeed in your mission to bring to the Filipino youth original interpretations of the Philippines' and the world's best literature!

 

Catch it on its closing weekend run

MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA

Ticket Prices: 1000, 800 and 600

 

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
  Onay Sales (0917.908.0565)

 

'D' Wonder Twins Of Boac' Theatre Review: A Homage To The 60S And Local Films

Article from http://www.showbiz-portal.com
Original Article can be found HERE

PETA THEATRE’s latest offering, “Wonder Twins of Boac', is a local musical based on William Shakespeare's classic comedy of errors and mistaken identity, “12th Night”. Written by Rody Vera with music by Jeff Hernandez, it’s an entertaining homage to the 60s and local films of the big studio era. It ends with the transition in local cinema from wholesome big studio made films to the “bomba era” of the early 70s made by independent companies.

There are many amusing allusions to actual showbiz celebs and events. A talent scout presents to a producer a picture of Nora Aunor, then a weekly champion in “Tawag ng Tanghalan”, as a possible build up star. The producer quickly dismisses Ate Guy “as maitim at maliliit ang biyas. Hindi sisikat yan.” We all know Ate Guy eventually became one of the biggest stars and greatest actresses in local film history.

Leading the cast of “D’Wonder Twins” is Cris Villonco who is great as Viola, doing her song and dance numbers with aplomb even if she’s a bit plump these days. Her role calls for her to pretend she is a man and one of funniest scenes shows a female producer falling in love with her. Chrome Cosio as her twin brother Bastian has less exposure but he nevertheless shines in his own numbers, particularly in that musical sequence where he trains to be a stuntman while his best pal, Antonio, makes a pass at him. There are a lot of gay references in the play and, in the end, the gays, both male and female, lord it over in running local showbiz, which is really the case now.

Giving great support are Kuya Bodgie Pascua as Doc Orsino, producer of Campanilla Films (representing Doc Perez of Sampaguita Pictures), Gail Billones as Donya Olivia of BLV Films (representing Donya Sisang of LVN Pictures), Lao Rodriguez as Malvolio the pa-class director, Roi Calilong as Luciano the pa-masa director and Eric de la Cruz as Cebuano actor Rudy Castellvi. One showstopping number is the quest for Elvis Presley lookalikes, but the best song for us is the finale number involving the whole ensemble, “Ang Pelikula ay Isang Panaginip”. Cris also shines in her solo number, “Mahal Ko Siya”. You have up to March 3 to catch it. Let’s all support local theatre.

 

Catch it on its closing weekend run

MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA

Ticket Prices: 1000, 800 and 600

 

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
  Onay Sales (0917.908.0565)

 

How Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ became the twilight of old Pinoy cinema

By Amadis Ma. Guerrero

Inquirer Lifestyle

Original Article can be found HERE

England’s Poet Laureate John Masefield once called “Twelfth Night” “the happiest and one of the loveliest of all Shakespeare’s plays. Mirth here is so mingled with romantic beauty that few can tire of it.” 


Why, the Oscar-winning film “Shakespeare in Love”, starring Glyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, was “an imagined back story” to this celebrated tale.

The fable revolves around the twins Viola and Sebastian who are lost in a shipwreck and believe each other to be dead. Olivia disguises herself as a boy, calls herself “Cesario” and works for the Duke Orsino, who is in love with Lady Olivia (who, in turn, falls for “Cesario”).

Between Viola and Sebastian (who turns up later in the play) swirl a lot of colorful characters who are always up to some mischief or intrigue.

Lady Olivia’s uncle, Sir Toby Belch, who is angry at her steward Malvolio for the latter’s perceived insubordination, leads him to believe Olivia is in love with him, and causes him to act in a bizarre manner. As a result, poor Malvolio is imprisoned.

At the end, the twins are joyfully reunited; Malvolvio is released but vows vengeance.

Successful production

This is the bare plot (not in the least complete) which translator Rody Vera has adapted for the Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta), inventively situating it within the Philippine movie industry during the late 1960s, just before the “bomba” (sex flicks) rage.
And the production succeeds, thanks to the audacity Peta is known for.

“D Wonder Twins of Boac,” with music by Jeff Hernandez and direction by Maribel Legarda, is on at the Peta Theater Center (behind the Quezon City Sports Club;  call 7256244) until March 3.

It stars Cris Villonco and Chrome Cosio as the twins Viola and Bastian, Shamaine Centenera (alternating with Gail Billones) as Donya Nepomuceno, Bodjie Pascua (alternating with Lex Marcos) as Doc

Orsino Villar, and Gino Ramirez (alternating with Lao Rodriguez) as Malvolio.

The year is 1967. The fable this time casts Viola and Bastian as singer-dancers who want to make it big in Manila. Following the story line, they are shipwrecked on the way from Boac, Marinduque, to the Big Apple, and separated. Viola-Villonco disguises herself as a boy (Cesar) who becomes an assistant to the big-time studio mogul, Doc Orsino (Pascua), head of Campanilla Pictures.

Donya Olivia (Centenera) falls in love with “Cesar,” mistaking him for a boy. And so on.

Wicked satire

The play emerges as a wicked satire on the movie industry, with a lot of one-liners that went over big with the audience during the press preview. Any resemblance to real-life personalities is unintended (probably).

There are hilarious sequences, like regional Elvis Presley wannabes auditioning and dancing (with regional accents and expletives), and a wrestling match between two stunt men (hunks Cosio and Riki Benendicto) with homo-erotic overtones.

Playing against type, Centenera as the hotsy-patootsie Donya Olivia makes every scene count. Villonco is an appealing Cesar although she may not look masculine enough, and Cosio oozes with sex appeal.

At the end, Malvolio announces that, to end the movie industry’s problems of declining box-office receipts, the “bomba” era has arrived.

“‘Twelfth Night’ does not have a happy ending,” notes Vera.

So the coda has the characters turning serious and—in “American Graffiti”-style—predicting what they will become years from now. The one comic element has the prudish Malvolio announcing that he will become chair of Movie and Television Ratings and Classification Board! 

 

Catch it on its closing weekend run

MARCH 2, 2013 / SAT / 8PM / PETA

Ticket Prices: 1000, 800 and 600

 

Contact Us:
Robert Ceazar Marzan  (0922.888.5348)
Jayme del Rosario (0927.202.2017)
  Onay Sales (0917.908.0565)