Nick Joaquin's The Summer Solstice

On its last offering for its 8th Theatre season, Crystal Cavalier Productions will stage The Summer Solstice,

a tribute to the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin. Renowned director, choreographer and actor Jose "Joe" Galeon will be directing the play.

Set in the 1920's during the early American occupation, it revolves around the issues of gender discrimination and nationalistic pride in a manner that is traditionally and visually appealing.

Lupe, a middle-aged woman of aristocratic stature, is in a state where she starts to wonder about what is the role of a woman other than being subordinate to men. This has been brought about by a couple of occurrences, including a ritual of fertility dominated by women. She then realizes that the ideas and principles of the ritual are in fact true, although initially, she has believed otherwise. Paeng, her husband, still believes in the traditional role of women, as wives, mothers, and home keepers, bowing to their husbands. This is where the conflict begins.

The Summer Solstice, a critically acclaimed masterpiece by Nick Joaquin, has always been regarded as one of the most powerful dramatic pieces to portray the social and even the political liberation of Filipino women.

Clan patriarch Don Paeng finds his rule and power being challenged when his wife, the conservative, formerly subservient Lupe who slowly becomes involved in a secret fertility ritual restricted to women. The issues that The Summer Solstice poses transcend the era where it is set and the period when it was written. It won the Philippines' Free Press citation for Best Short Story in 1945. In the early eighties, its interpretation as the dance musical "Amada" by CCP's Cora Iñigo, gave the dance standards for the ritual. In 1994, two stage adaptations, one in Cebu by Jose "Joe" Galeon and one in Manila by UP's Anton Juan, gave stellar performances.

Yet there may be more to the drama than the war between the sexes. Director Joe Galeon, now weaving the latest version for Crystal Cavalier Productions, claims that a deeper understanding of the script shows that the playwright may have included other meanings.

Nick Joaquin was speaking in myth as he always does and that The Summer Solstice is also about the history of our country. He articulated the strength of the woman so subterraneously, setting it in the American period. For Joaquin, the woman is the mother country, Mother Philippines, overpowered by the United States and Spain. If Paeng represents the rigid Spanish old rule with a typical white suit and cane, the American materialism that corrupted Filipino values and the Filipino way of life is represented by a "modern" cousin, Mike (aka Mikaela), who has just arrived from the US and remains enthralled by it. This cultural invasion is reminiscent of the unforgettable horrific scene in "Larawan," another Joaquin opus, when the thoroughly Americanized youth breaks out into a gaudy dance in a once stately hall of a decaying Old Manila home.

In The Summer Solstice, the disenfranchised voiceless women, mostly from the poorer classes, join the annual ritual (portrayed in an eclectic celebration of dance) to regain the exalted position their gender enjoyed during the pre-Spanish era.

The play stars Glena Seno (Doña Lupe), Franz Noel Tanglao (Don Paeng), Nell Scarlett Canaya (Amada), Eugene Ramirez (Mike), Heather Guilas (Maggie), Shem Moses Cordova (Guido), Carl Daniel Goc-ong (Juanito), Rachelle Ann Paganao (Rosa), Vicel Tabar (Kikay), Ray Zapanta (Entoy), and Ruby Mae Ygo (Ninay). The play is very physical. The ritual is shown as a climax, however it will remain a strong presence all throughout the performance, occasionally emerging into the surface. It occurs from the beginning up to the end. Since history is forever grinding, this ritual is forever happening. Therefore, there is no escaping history.

The Summer Solstice will happen at University of San Jose Recoletos' Performing Arts Center on December 10 and 11, 2005 with shows that start at 1:00, 4:00 and 7:00 pm. This is sponsored by e-Telecare Global Solutions, University of San Jose Recoletos, University of the Visayas, Cebu Colleges and Universities Choreographer's Association, Alcordo Advertising, Gesalem Advertising, Dunkin Donuts, Jonie's Flavored Chicken, Castle Peak Hotel, Viva Mineral Water, YMCA, Monster Radio B.T. 105.9 and Joecel Studio. Tickets are available at the gate 30 minutes before each performance or call 0917-620-9555 for reservations and bulk sale discounts.

Crystal Cavalier Production's first offering for its 9th Theatre season in February 2006, will be an enthralling immortal love story between two souls caught in the smoke of the Vietnam War in Boublil and Schonberg's Miss Saigon. Audition details will be provided soon.