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| With the legendary Miguel Faustmann - god, he's such a good actor- y el es un hispanohablante tambien! |
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| With Niccolo Manahan, a new discovery, at least for me, he's really cute in person and tall haha! |
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| One of the stalwarts of local Philippine theater, Bart Guingona - this guy can play anything! |
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| With co-theatre buff MM, whose season tickets allowed us to have center second row seats - lovett!! thanks MM!! |
It's great to see a gay-themed play from time to time. Well, it rarely happens here in Manila, but when I travel abroad, like in London, there are gay-themed plays everytime, especially during the summer.
So anyway, we have been quite lucky lately that the Repertory Philippines decided to stage the gay-themed play, Next Fall. The play has a very New York feel to it - from the stage props to the way the characters talk (since the play was originally an off-Broadway play in 2009) - and the Rep did a great job in achieving both that look in both the stage and in the way the characters act.
I think I understand why the Rep brought the play here. In a country which is predominantly Roman Catholic, it would be a good dinner conversation topic to find out how the local gay men deal with their own feelings towards reconciling their religion with their being gay. And that is the theme which permeates this play - the very interesting relationship between a guy who has a deep Christian faith, and his lover, who maybe labeled an atheist, who does not really care about his lover's faith - or so he thinks.
Well, you'd have to watch the play to see how the whole thing pans out. If you are homophobic or feel uneasy about two grown men being tender to each other (kissing, horsing around) - better steer clear of this. But if you want to experience how the other half lives, then be brave and watch this one!
