Manongs in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD — Yes, Manong, this historic California theater was originally built in the 1920s  when Pinoys, by law, could only get work hereabouts as waiters, drivers, houseboys or stoop laborers for the farmlands around Los Angeles, California. And, finally, Filipinos were center stage.

I must admit it was definitely Pinoy pride time to see our actors rock the Ford Theater via Magno Rubio. Through Ted Benito’s PAE Live!, we put together an excellent cast — and it was a delight to watch Filipino actors in major roles, in a play about Filipinos, performing in repertory (in English and Tagalog versions!) on a mainstream theater, five times a week for six weeks to critical acclaim, standing ovations and sold-out houses.

We had an outstanding cast led by Jon Jon Briones as Magno, with Eymard Cabling and Jet Montelibano as Atoy, Giovanni Ortega and Frederick Edwards as Nick, Erick Esteban and Gelo Francisco as Claro, Antoine Reynaldo Diel and Joseph Gelito as Prudencio, Muni Zano as the Narrator, and Elizabeth Rainey as Clarabelle. 

With the help of Gelo Francisco, doubling as musical director and orchestrator of the Stomp-style improvised sound for movement, choreographer Peter de Guzman outdid himself in inspired/inventive choreography that utilized found objects. We also had martial arts master Felix Roiles as consultant for authentic moves in the exciting arnis fight scenes.

That’s me (rightmost) with Magno Rubio lead actor Jon Jon Briones (left) and Assemblyman Luis Alejo

During the run, it was as if Carlos Bulosan was alive and well in California and one can almost feel the spirit of the Manongs celebrating with us. More so, when Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Salinas) came to watch the show. Originally, I invited Assemblyman Alejo to watch Magno Rubio, hoping that we could dedicate an eveningís performance to him for initiating ACR 74 — Californiaís historic formal apology for nearly a hundred years of injustice against Filipinos. I felt Mr. Alejo deserved to be part of our tribute to the Manongs whose memory he fought for with such dedication — ACR 74 was recently passed unanimously by the California Senate and Assembly.

To our surprise, not only did Assemblyman Alejo graciously accept my personal invitation to come and see the show, he also presented the cast and production staff with a copy of ACR 74. He drove all the way from Sacramento! It was an amazing night. 

Before presenting the copy of ACR 74, he talked about the Filipinos who were part of youth and eloquently touched on the infamous anti-Filipino riots in California during the 1930s. The truth is that the history of Fil-Ams is not taught in American schools. In fact, younger Fil-Ams and mainstream folks were shocked to see the graffiti on stage, based on actual signs prevalent during Depression-era California: “No dogs and Filipinos allowed.” There was not a dry eye in the house. 

Incidentally, there was also a touch of karmic closure and irony during the event ó we found out that Assemblyman Alejo originally hails from Watsonville, California, scene of the most violent anti-Filipino riots in the 1930s.

With Magno Rubio’s original playwright Lonnie Carter

Apart from the mainstream audiences, the Fil-Ams who came out to support the production included a number of entertainment celebrities — the likes of Regie Lee, Ramon de Ocampo, Rodney To, Giselle Toengi, Clifford Banagale, Louie Reyes, Miguel Vera and Joey Albert who cancelled her original flight to Canada to see the show. There were occasional busloads of second generation Fil-Ams who came; wide-eyed children of Manongs who did not know a thing about the sad plight of Filipinos during the 1930s. And, memorably, there was even a goose-bumps-time encounter — the closest it ever felt like the spirits of the Manongs were watching over us — when a tiny lady walked over to congratulate us and we find out that she’s Julie Bulosan, the grandniece of Carlos Bulosan, the seminal Filipino writer who wrote America is in the Heart and the slim short story on which Magno Rubio was based. 

It was an overwhelming experience. One after another, Magno Rubio received more than 13 rave reviews including LA Times Critic’s Choice and “Must See Play of the Season!” We were all thankful, naturally, but somehow, one of the most awaited reviews was from the original playwright himself, Lonnie Carter, who flew in from the East Coast to catch both versions of the show. 

Candidly, Lonnie noted that, “...the intensity of the Tagalog production seemed to me as serious, if not more so, as any of the English productions I’ve seen. And Iíve seen about a dozen here and abroad. I think my reaction comes partly from having within a few hours seen the English production with the same cast but with this difference. The chorus of the English became the chorus of the Tagalog and vice versa, with the incomparable JonJon Briones playing Magno in both languages.”

A scene from Magno Rubio at the Ford Theater

Additionally, Lonnie shared: “Some have pointed out, and of course they’re right, that the Pinoys in the ’30s were not speaking English in the bunkhouse. They may not have been speaking Tagalog either but rather Cebuano or Ilocano (wasn’t that Bulosan’s tongue), but somehow I was moved by the Tagalog show in a way that was deeply primal, as if we had all been brought closer to the DNA of the manongs. I did not see the earlier translation into Tagalog by Joi Barrios, so I don’t know how this compares to Bernardo Bernardo’s translation, but I feel that it must be melodious and grand. That’s how it comes into my ear. And funny as well. I don’t want to let that slip by without emphasizing that there is a great deal of humor in Magno’s story. It’s the humor that any oppressed people must have merely to survive. I always think of the great satiric whispers and shouts that came out of Eastern Europe under the Soviet rule. It’s what kept them going under crushing restrictions... All in all, a transforming experience for me, a gringo humbled to be in the presence of so much talent and beauty.”

(Note: The author’s reinterpretation of Lonnie Carter’s award-winning play The Romance of Magno Rubio and his Tagalog translation titled Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio opened the Winter Season of the prestigious Inside the Ford Theater recently.)

Magno cast (clockwise) Jon Jon, Gelo Francisco, Antoine Reynaldo Diel and Jet Montelibano