D’ Wonder Twins of Boac

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 45^th 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.