Mga Ama Mga Anak

Nanding Josef

The 27^th MensaHEROs season of Tanghalang Pilipino closed out with a star studded production of Nick Joaquin’s Mga Ama Mga Anak at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) under the helm of distinguished film, television and stage director Joel Lamangan.

The Nick Joaquin play, originally in English titled Fathers and Sons (a three-act play adaptation of his short story Three Generations) was translated into Filipino by Virgilio Almario aka Rio Alma and Jose “Pete” Lacaba. The play tackled the rise of the new generation taking over their weakened predecessors and the inter-generation struggle that arose from this shift in power.

Cris Villonco and Raquel Villavicencio

Director Joel Lamangan stated that directing Mga Ama Mga Anak is significant for him because a PETA production from many years ago his first foray into theater acting when he played the small role of handyman. And for his directorial stint with Tanghalang Pilipino, he has assembled a cast of heavyweights led by award winning film, television and stage actor Robert Arevalo portraying the role of the aging patriarch Zacarias Monzon with Spanky Manikan, another veteran, alternating the role.

With a stellar cast, a big name director and National Artists for Literature writing/translating, I was expecting this to completely blow away the previous straight play from the company which was the excellent Der Kaufmann. Instead, I was under whelmed not just by the staging but ultimately, by the material itself which didn’t have enough layers to satisfy me. I was bogged down by the exposition at the beginning courtesy of Mrs. Pablo, an enamored neighbor who probably desired to be a member of the Zacarias family. Her lines basically told the status quo and how things were before. It made me wish that they could’ve showed the audience more instead of being told a lot. The revelations also when Celso had become exactly like his father Zacarias whom he loathed and that he had a hidden desire for his father’s lover Bessie were seen miles ahead.

The set design by Tuxqs Rutaquio creating the interior of the Monzon household was indeed very lovely but I think that the stage overall was too big for this kind of material. And with all the action taking place inside the house, I sometimes wished for more variety.

Watching a show with a matinee audience, made up mostly of young students/young adults, is always an interesting experience for me. Not only do I watch what’s happening on stage, but I also take note of how the audience response to the material. And as expected, the young audience guffawed and struggled to contain their laughter when Sofia mentioned to her son Chitong (Marco Viaña) the word masturbation.

Tanghalang Pilipino aimed to end their 27^th Season on a high note with a production that boasted a who’s who in the industry. But Der Kaufmaan set such a high standard for me that Mga Ama Mga Anak had an unenviable task of either matching or exceeding the previous play.