MICHAEL Williams and Agot Isidro in “Rabbit Hole” photo by RAUL MONTESSA
I must have been in a melancholy mood as the Chinese Ghost Month came to an end. Friday and Sunday, I took in theater offerings that made me want to reach for my proverbial stash of tissue paper: Red Turnip Theater’s “Rabbit Hole” and 9Works Theatrical’s “The Last Five Years.”
Both plays deal with loss—“Rabbit Hole,” the death of a child; and “L5Y,” the deterioration of a romance.
They are not the first to seek cathartic release via a good cry. Atlantis Productions’ “Next to Normal” provided that in spades (I’m such a masochist for this one, that I saw it twice in Manila, crying buckets each time … damn right, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Jett Pangan and Bobby Garcia!), and Sandbox Collective’s “Dani Girl” did as much, with bracing honesty and incredibly heartfelt portrayals. (I have to laud Toff de Venecia’s direction, and single out Reb Atadero’s and Shiela Valderrama-Martinez’s performances, but the entire cast was wonderful.)
With the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Rabbit Hole” (by David Lindsay-Abaire), I had no idea what to expect, plot-wise. The only thing I knew going in was that this was Topper Fabregas’ directorial debut (and an auspicious one it was), and that it starred Agot Isidro and Michael Williams.
Bull’s eye
It was heartbreaking enough to learn, as the action unfolded, that the play is about how a married couple, Becca and Howie, deal with the death of their 4-year-old son. Actually watching it turned heartbreaking into bracing, stinging, honest and bull’s-eye accurate. No two people on this good earth mourn in the same way. While one would feel the need to purge the entire house of every single reminder of the one who passed; another might have the compulsion to hold on to every painting, crayon drawing and home video.
How must it feel, seeing a mother and child arguing at the grocery store? How do you deal with watching kids playing at a friend’s barbecue? When the kid who ran over your son as he raced into the street decides to come visit, write you a letter or send you a story that he wrote and dedicated to your dead son, how do you react? If you’re that mother’s sister, or mother, what do you say? How do you say it?
As humorous as “Rabbit Hole” is in spots, whenever the narrative returned to the main plot point, watching Howie and Becca fight about anything and everything that had to do with their loss was painful. I mean that in a good way.
When you see a show like “Rabbit Hole,” you do it not only to support a new theater company comprised of your friends. You head over to feel, to hurt, to cry, to get a dipper of ice water (spiked with razor blades) splashed in your face. And to feel relief that perhaps your life, which you think sucks, isn’t all that bad.
More familiar
“The Last Five Years” is a little more familiar. This Drama Desk Award-winning musical by Jason Robert Brown is a popular piece, and is staged often. I’ve seen it at East West Players,
JOAQUIN Valdes and Nikki Gil in “The Last Five Years”
starring Jennifer Paz and Michael K. Lee as Cathy and Jamie, and I’ve sung “Still Hurting” in a concert before. The 9Works production starred Nikki Gil and Joaquin Valdes.
“L5Y” is the story of a relationship that unfolds and falls apart in a span of five years. The way the story is told can be a little tricky: She’s telling her story backwards; he’s telling his forwards. The tales converge only once on stage, the day of their wedding. At times they share the performance space physically, but not temporally.
From the initial blush of love to the heartbreak of divorce, Cathy and Jamie are singing their stories from individual points of view. “Jamie’s convinced that the problems are mine,” sings Cathy. “I will not fail so you can be comfortable, Cathy, I will not lose because you can’t win,” sings Jamie.
It’s like watching two shows at once. There are no winners and losers in a story like this. To their credit, Nikki and Joaquin give laudable performances. One highlight for me was the Audition Sequence, where we hear Cathy’s inner monologue as she auditions for a musical.
No, I’m not always looking for “happily ever after.” Sometimes, watching a character claw his/her way out of his/her own private hell is more interesting. At the end of each show, the main characters find resolution, their own ways of coping, dealing with the days ahead. It’s not always pretty, but it is moving forward. And sometimes, that’s the best you can hope to get.
Condolences
On Monday, one of our finest film and television actors, Mark Gil (born Raphael John Eigenmann), passed away after a battle with liver cancer. He is survived by his parents Eddie Mesa and Rosemarie Gil; siblings Michael de Mesa and Cherie Gil; his wife Maricar Jacinto-Eigenmann; and children Timmy (actor Sid Lucero), Maxine, Gabby, Ira, Andi and Stevie.
The entire Eigenmann family has our condolences and prayers. At this sad time, we hold you all in our hearts.