Fr. James Reuter: Life at its fullest

At 92, Fr. James Reuter has still not lost his sense of humor and wit. In an intimate interview with a group of writers from different publications, Fr. Reuter, without batting an eyelash, says that at his age, he is still waiting for God’s bigger plan for him. This is coming from a man whose lifespan encompasses the emergence of Philippine theater arts into the modern era. An American by birth but whose 70 years of living in our midst has made him into an epitome of the Filipino soul.

That plan would probably be about his latest theater venture: Our Children’s Children, a play Fr. Reuter wrote and directed as homage to St. Paul University (formerly St. Paul Manila) which is celebrating its Centennial year in 2012. It is a biographical narrative of St. Paul Manila, from the first pre-school in 1912, through the pre-war years, WWII, EDSA I to the present time.

It had been 40 years since St. Paul Manila, known to be the “Broadway of Herran,” has conducted a play at the Fleur de lis auditorium. On Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., the door to the historical auditorium once again opens to the public as it mounts its first major drama production after a long hiatus.

An honorary alumnus, Fr. Reuter was an iconic figure at St. Paul Manila having spent more than half of his life with the school since entering its gates in 1952. It became an enduring love story between the young Jesuit priest and this historic educational institution. When not teaching, he was directing plays or giving retreats to generations of Paulinian students — who would become mothers and then their daughters and their granddaughters as well.

Our Children’s Children is a play born out of Fr. Reuter’s love for the school where he has played a crucial role in more than a half a century of dedicated and artistic service. For this play, he divulged that it took him a few days to finish the script. “When I write a play, I think of it from the first line to the last line and then I begin writing,” Fr. Reuter said. “But I don’t start writing the first scene until I know what the last scene would be,” he added.

What makes this play more unique and intimate, in a sense, is that it has tapped only members of the Paulinian family (students, nuns, alumni, administrative staff, children of alumni, et al) to be part of the production. Wynna Medina, president of St. Paul University, reported that most of the cast “are nursing and education students who have to come back to the school from their OJTs in order to rehearse.” There are around 65 cast members who have to play 100 roles. “It’s an all-school production but what makes it more special is the bond that we have created since we started rehearsing for this play,” Medina enthused. “We have formed our own artistic community.”

Apart from telling St. Paul Manila’s story, one of the reasons why this play was conceptualized was to form the Fr. James B. Reuter Professorial Chair in Drama. “Fr. Reuter does not allow his name to be used loosely for fund-raising projects or whatever but he has agreed to this project,” Medina disclosed. “It is our way of honoring Fr. Reuter who is a known multi-media personality and a living hero in the country’s art and drama circles.”

Some of the highlights of the play would be the depiction of the roles of two alumnae who figured prominently in the EDSA 1 revolution: June Keithley, who kept the hopes and the energy of the people alive by broadcasting the movements on EDSA on Radyo Bandido and Celeste Legaspi, who shed her celebrity status as she manned and cooked non-stop for the soldiers and broadcasters during those fateful days. They will watch the Nov. 8 premiere presentation and take a bow with the students who are essaying their roles.

In most of the scenes, the message is clear: the Sisters of St. Paul are driven in accomplishing their missions of teaching and nursing by only one thing alone: Love. Love for the children, love for the poor, love for the sick — coming from the love of Christ.

Our Children’s Children will have the following playdates: Nov. 8, 7 p.m.; Nov. 9, 3 p.m.; Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, 7 p.m.; Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m., gala night. Tickets are at P100 for the matinees and P200 for evening performances. For details, call Fe at 536-1473 or Susan at 523-4259.