PAE Live Presents The Romance of Magno Rubio, Opening 11/4

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! presents five performances each week, three in English and two in Tagalog, with both versions directed by translator 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 premiered off Broadway in 2002 at New York's Ma-Yi Theatre Company where it received rave reviews and eight OBIE citations. That production subsequently traveled to the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila, then received its West Coast premiere at the Laguna Playhouse. Other notable productions include the Midwest debut at Victory Gardens in Chicago and the Los Angeles premiere at LATC.

Playwright Lonnie Carter has spent nearly 30 years writing plays that jump racial and ethnic boundaries. He is widely acclaimed for his hip-hop dialect and rhythms, syncopated poetry and prose, humor, pathos, and sharp social commentary. His plays include China Calls, The Sovereign State of Boogedy Boogedy, The Gulliver Plays (Lemuel, Gulliver and Gulliver Redux), Baby Glo, Wheatley (the Colonial HippeHoppe story of Phillis Wheatley), Concerto Chicago and, most recently, The Lost Boys of Sudan, produced by the Tony Award-winning Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. The Lost Boys (and Girl) of Sudan was produced by Victory Gardens in 2010.

Bernardo Bernardo is an award-winning actor, director, writer and educator from the Philippines. Most recently, he was director-writer-and host of SayAwit, a presentation of classic and contemporary Philippine choral music and excerpts from Filipino stage musicals. As a stage actor, he starred as Prudencio in the Midwest premiere of The Romance of Magno Rubio at Chicago's Victory Gardens, later reprising the role for the Los Angeles premiere at LATC and the Culture Project restaging at the first Asian American National Theater Festival in New York. Bernardo appeared as nostalgic merchant marine Ben Cantil in the Perseverance Theatre production of Voyage, a play based on the lives of four generations of Filipino immigrants in Alaska; and, as the despicable cannery foreman Conrado, in PT's world premiere musical, The Long Season. Recently, Bernardo appeared in A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, companion piece to Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles. In Manila, Bernardo received the Urian Best Actor award for his role in Ishmael Bernal's much-acclaimed film Manila by Night.

Ted Benito inaugurated PAE Live! in 2003 with the Ovation-nominated L.A. premiere of Jason Robert Brown's Songs for a New World featuring Ovation award winner Jennifer Paz (of Miss Saigon). In 2004, he co-executive produced the L.A. premiere of Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters with S.I.P.A. (Search to Involve Pilipino Americans) and Playwrights' Arena, and in 2009 he executive produced Leslie Lewis Sword's one-woman show Miracle in Rwanda at LATC. Ted has produced and/or directed numerous live events and concerts for organizations including The Filipino American Library; Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches; The ABS-CBN Foundation International; and The APL Foundation; and has worked with Asian-American artists including Grammy Award winners Tia Carrere and apl.de.ap (of The Black Eyed Peas); Tony winner Lea Salonga; and Tony nominee Lou Diamond Phillips. He has twice produced Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues with actresses including Tamlyn Tomita, Giselle Tongi, Leslie Ann Huff, Melody Butiu and Tatyana Ali. He directed soprano Stephanie Reese's debut concert at Carnegie Hall, and directed/co-produced the "Thousand Hearts" concert, a fundraising event for the victims of the Japan tsunami and earthquake featuring Mark Dacascos, Iron Chef Morimoto, ABDC's QuestCrew, Hiroshima and Amy Hill. In 2009, he began his association with the Ford Amphitheatre as a summer partner and has branded the "Jazzmopolitan" (featuring artists such as Greg Karukas and Michael Paulo) and "AlohaFest!" (featuring the likes of Willie K and the Brothers Cazimero) concert series there for the past three years. He served as co-producer of Jennifer Paz's debut CD "Awakening" in 2005 and currently serves as International Consultant on Lea Salonga's latest CD "The Journey So Far."

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 www.FordTheatres.org.

 

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