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| Cris Villonco |
I
thought that I was going to miss it but thankfully, I was able to catch a
matinee performance of D’ Wonder Twins
of Boac during its final weekend. This production was the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s final offering for their 45th Theater
Season that had the theme of No Screen
Bigger than Theater.
Watching
this play gave me a chance to see Cris Villonco tackle a role that is much
different from what I’ve seen from her before. She is without a doubt one of
the most reliable theater actresses right now. But of late, I’ve been seeing
her in productions that had her playing the ingénue. I really want to see her
stretch a bit and my yearning got stronger when I read that she was able to do challenging
roles before. Sadly, I failed to see those.
In D’ Wonder Twins of Boac, Cris played
the role of Viola, who had high hopes of becoming a movie star in Manila along
with her twin brother Bastian. But they got separated during their trip and she
ended up as a beggar in Manila . Opportunities
were scarce and she lost her drive since she felt incomplete without her twin.
But she still tried pursuing her showbiz aspirations as a man (since that was
what a major film studio needed). If only things were that simple in show business.
Soon after, Viola (now acting up as Cesar) gets involved in a muddy and
complicated love/business acquisition between Campanilla Pictures’ Doc Orsino Villar
and rival BLV Studios’ Donya Olivia Nepomuceno. The situation was a bit similar
to Repertory Philippines ’
Leading Ladies but Cris now get to be the schemer instead of the one getting
duped.
During
the matinee show that I was able to watch the roles of Olivia Nepomuceno and
Doc Orsino Villar were played by Gail Billones and Lex Marcos respectively. I
think that Chrome’s character Bastian was underutilized but his scenes with Riki
Benedicto’s Antonio that had homoerotic tendencies drew giggles from the
audience made up of students.
I
felt that this play penned by Rody Vera and Maribel Legarda did a good job in maintaining
the 1960’s vibe without making things dated. The references mentioned were a
bit tricky since jokes that relied heavily on people, places and events from
that era could easily fall flat since the current audience may not get it. One
joked that worked was the dismissal of a certain singer known as Nora Aunor
saying that she had no future in the Philippine entertainment industry. Well,
everyone knows that Nora Aunor became the Superstar and is now considered as
one of the best actresses in the country today. The arena setup with the
audience situated on all four sides of the theater made the experience a bit
voyeuristic and so typical of Philippine showbiz today. And it made it more
exciting for the audience since this play depended much on what the audience
know that the characters didn’t.
The
music in this D’ Wonder Twins of Boac,
composed and arranged by musical director Jeff Hernandez encompassed the
various genres that were popular during that day. Rock and roll, the girl
groups and the grand production numbers of musicals in film were captured
through the music that was supported by a four piece band. The inclusion of
live musicians that played along with a backing track, gave an added dimension
and depth to the music.
Another
season for PETA has wrapped up and I am pleased to be able to see two of their
offerings: Bona and D’ Wonder Twins of Boac. I now wait
what their upcoming season has in store for theater enthusiasts in here.
