Divas who care, divas who dare

There’s a lot to love in the new restaging of Care Divas, PETA’s (Philippine Educational Theater Association) hit original Filipino musical by the multi-awarded team of playwright Liza Magtoto, composer Vincent de Jesus and director Maribel Legarda. 

The irreverently hilarious and heartwarming comedy-drama has acquired quite a following: one diehard fan posted on Instagram that he actually saw it 12 times and still enjoyed the latest viewing. The premier in 2011 was a triumph, garnering seven Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards including Outstanding Musical Production, Outstanding Ensemble Performance, Outstanding Stage Direction, Outstanding Original Libretto and Outstanding Musical Direction. As one of its most successful shows, PETA gave it the honor of kicking off its 50th anniversary celebration this year.

Even for second- or nth-timers, there are delights to look forward to: two new songs have been added, aside from rearrangements of the old favorites. The costumes by John Abul and sets by Leo Abaya have also been enhanced for more atmosphere and spectacle. Aside from the original stellar cast of Melvin Lee, Ricci Chan, Vincent De Jesus, Buddy Caramat, Dudz Teraña and Jason Barcial, there is an alternate cast which includes PETA artists Ron Alfonso and Gio Gahol (both part of PETA’s other phenomenal hit, Rak of Aegis), ABS-CBN talent Thou Reyes and seasoned thespians Red Concepcion, Jef Flores, Paul Holme, Sherry Lara, Leo Rialp and Myke Salomon to stir things up a bit with their own spin.

The cast of lead characters may at first seem like the usual — your flamboyant neighborhood transvestites with their performance-level hair and maquillage, outrageous outfits and snappy one-liners. They’re the familiar fixture in the corner beauty parlor, in the local beauty pageant or Santacruzan procession. But Legarda and Magtoto wanted to do something different. 

“I was curious to break down gender boundaries in artistic creation,” says Legarda.  “Through all of PETA’s gender-based plays, gay playwrights have written gay plays, women playwrights write women plays, and the same for directing. I wanted to tweak our creative process and hopefully learn something new.” 

Together they came up with the idea of turning the cross-dressers into caregivers working abroad. But to get the brew percolating even more, they set the action in Israel. But why Israel? “Mas kumiliti sa amin ang dissonance ng pagiging bading na Pinoy sa isang bansang may Orthodox Jews,” relates Magtoto.  To add to the tension, there are the complications of the intifada hovering over everyone’s lives. 

Bigotry, of course, is alive and well everywhere, even in the Philippines.  And for Shai, the cynical care diva played imperiously by Vincent De Jesus (yes, he multi-tasks and is multi-talented), it resides in his own home thanks to his mother whose shrill voice keeps ringing in his head even if he’s abroad, nagging him to turn straight and get married when she’s not pestering him to send more money. 

The pressures from home are just one of the many problems OFWs face when working in another country.  There are also the abusive employers like Sarah and Adara (both perfectly played by Sheree Lara at her contravida best) whom Kayla (essayed by the versatile Ricci Chan) has the bad luck of having as his two successive bosses. In this caregiver’s case his situation is made even more untenable by the fact that he’s illegally working without a contract which is fine with the Jewish matron — the better to use as leverage in manipulating him. 

Chelsea (played demurely by Melvin Lee) seems to be the more fortunate one, attending to the kind, elderly Isaac (Paul Holme) who sees it as his duty to teach his Filipino caregiver as much Hebrew as possible to better understand his adopted country.  The sweet, softspoken diva even manages to meet a handsome Palestinian (Myke Salomon) who appears to be the perfect man of his dreams until he discovers that the lover boy has an illegal status and needs Chelsea’s help to hide from the authorities.

The scenes of their daily travails dissolve seamlessly through what Legarda calls the “filmic treatment” that they devised with Magtoto, using clever transition devices that allow a compact cast to do multiple roles. The beautiful songs and music by De Jesus have their own threads of thought and emotion which interweave sublimely with the script written by the playwright.  

After all the hardships, though, the three caregivers give themselves a break together with their two other amigas, the ditzy Thalia (Dudz Teraña) and the bellicose Jonee (Buddy Caramat), meeting up at night to transform themselves into glamorous drag queens. Donning high heels, sequins and feathers, they sing and dance their way to a possible gig in a Tel Aviv nightclub. 

The divas stage some spectacular numbers here with choreography by Carlon Matobato who punctuates the Las Vegas showgirl flourishes with novel movements that complement the lyrics of the songs. In these scenes, the stars demonstrate the perfectly coordinated rhythm that won them an award for ensemble performance, not just in the glittery musical numbers but in the hilarious dialogue as well, with perfect timing in the delivery of witty punch lines and the wickedly bitchy repartee.

The musical is not all fluff, however. It’s a story of migration, after all, which is relevant now more than ever, particularly with Trump’s recent ban on immigration from countries he deems as sources of what he calls “Islamic terrorism.”  

There are also the issues of gender, homelessness and intolerance, all of which the care divas encounter. In the process of writing the play, Magtoto was reminded of the term “the Wandering Jew,” which seems to apply more to Filipinos today with the endless exodus of OFWs to different parts of the world. 

“O baka at-home na rin ang Pinoy sa pagiging wanderer,” the playwright muses.  The OFW is indeed constantly faced with the challenges of leaving home and working in strange lands doing “dark, dirty and dangerous work,” says Legarda.  “But in the hands of a resilient and loving people it can be turned into a life filled with camaraderie, adventure and passion.”

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Care Divas will run until March 19 (Tuesday to Sunday, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) at the PETA Theater Center. For inquiries and tickets, call PETA at 725.6244 or Ticketworld at 891-9999. 

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