The cast of 'Streep Tease'. Photo by Oliver Oliveros
“Streep Tease” debuted recently at Joe’s Pub on Lafayette Street to sold-out performances. Roy Cruz, the producer and creator of the show, said he felt bad turning away “so many people” unable to get tickets.
The show is a testament to Roy’s fixation with the greatest actress of her generation, the phenomenal Meryl Streep. It had seven actors delivering swatches of monologues from Streep’s films – anywhere from the dreamy “Out of Africa” to the campy “The Devil Wears Prada.”
“I saw her in ‘Still of the Night’ (1983) at the Manila International Film Festival. She was just so beautiful and has such a mysterious look,” said Roy, a film buff who studied in Manila and Madrid. “The movie was so Hitchcockian;’ she looked cold, detached but so enigmatically glamorous. After that movie I went to see all her movies.”
Among the movie excerpts featured in the New York premiere were “Doubt” (performed by Bryan Donovan), “The Devil Wears Prada” (Roy Cruz), “A Cry in the Dark” (Drew Droege), “Silkwood” (Trent Walker), “Out of Africa” (David Dean Bottrell), “Still of the Night” (Joel Scher), “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” (Matthew Nouriel), and a medley of monologues from 22 of Streep’s memorable movies (Ron Morehouse).
“All of the scenes evolve into a hilarious, outlandish, kooky and sometimes campy romp through Streep’s film repertoire,” said Roy.
His favorites are “Still of the Night,” “Plenty” and “Prada.”
“I can’t count the times I’ve seen them, but I never get tired of watching them,” he told the FilAm. “She makes everything watchable.”
Asked to pick out his least favorite, his reluctant choice is “It’s Complicated.”
The Philippine-born Cruz started out as a graphic designer, stand-up comedian and a visual artist. An essay he wrote about Janeane Garofalo was published in the book, “Out in the Edge: America’s Rebel Comics.” His essay about Faye Dunaway ran in Salon.com.
In between performances, Cruz teaches Tagalog language at the Pasadena Language Center. He’s a freelance Tagalog interpreter for the Los Angeles Labor Commission.
Before coming to the U.S., he was a gag writer for comedienne Tessie Tomas. He also wrote scripts for “ASAP” and “Pops and Martin After Dark,” at the same time that he was teaching French and Spanish languages at the University of the Philippines.
Has Meryl seen his show? Roy said she knows about it because her agent Kevin Huvane got in touch with him saying he wanted to watch the show in L.A. “but couldn’t find time to do so.”
With Streep’s soon-to-be released “Iron Lady,” where she portrays Britain’s former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Roy vowed to add another scene to what Broadwayworld.com has called the “glorious little show.”
“We’re already searching for the right wig!” he said.