Sunday, January 17, 2010

# Duets # play

A Dose of Smart Comedy

My first Repertory experience is watching The Emperor's New Clothes at Shangri-La Mall back in elementary. It was very memorable for me since their show was way better than the plays we had in school. After watching that play, I fell in love with theater and The Emperor's New Clothes served as a standard for me to what a good play should be. I even wanted to join their summer workshops back in high school but the schedule didn't fit with my other summer classes so I just joined our school's drama guild.

The first play of Repertory Philippines for 2010 is Duets. Before watching the play, what I only know is that it's played by Ms. Joy Virata (who is a veteran actress and the Artistic Director of Repertory's Children Theater) and Mr. Miguel Faustmann (who is a veteran actor that played Morrie in Tuesdays with Morrie) which has already made me expect that it's going to be a wonderful show so I did not do anymore research on what the play will be about.





While I was entering the theater, my boyfriend asked me what the play is about. Shyly, I told him that I really don't know except that it's a romantic comedy with four stories and it's played by two very good actors hoping that he will enjoy the show and he did! Duets actually surpassed my expectations! Now that I've watched it, I can share a little bit more on what it is all about. It's about four sets of characters with different relationships but all the stories give a message of hope.


The first set was about Jonathan and Wendy who are on a blind date looking for their true love. They both shared a little history of their love life and somehow the stories of their past causes their attraction. Even though their story can be sad but the way they say their lines makes their sad story funny.





The second set was about Barrie, who is gay, and Janet, who is his secretary. Barrie and Janet are the best of friends despite their work relationship. One can see how Janet takes really good care of Barrie and she has already given up on love which Barrie tries to convince Janet that there must be someone for her. Somehow Janet wishes that Barrie wasn't gay or even if he's gay, he must be the one for her. Janet makes some moves just to prove to herself that Barrie might not be gay which makes the audience laugh their hearts out!





The third set was about Shelley and Bobby who are divorcing after their holiday at Boracay. They open their issues with each other throwing humorous lines about the extra-marital affairs of each other. Despite their hate for each other, you can see somehow they still have some love towards the other.




The fourth set was about Angela and Toby who are middle-aged siblings. Angela is getting married for the third time but she wants this time is the last time she's getting married so she asks for her brother's assurance. Being a brother, Toby makes witty remarks about her dress and her groom which makes Angela unsure if she really wants to get married. In the end, Toby gives all his good wishes to Angela which gave her the courage to go and get married again.




The four stories may sound simple however, it's not the stories that gave life to this show but it's their throwing of hilarious lines toward each other! The dialogues were playful and witty. Also, the audience can see the actors changing in front of them however, they manage to look different each time the lights turn on for them to start the show. I also applaud the stage manager for quickly changing the set in front of the audience! I truly recommend this to all adults who want to have a dose of smart comedy for their boring weekends! Let's support our Filipino artists who strive to give us good shows like this!


Duets is showing at Onstage, Greenbelt 1 on all weekends of Jan 15 - 31, 2010. 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, 3:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Show tickets are P600 (Orchestra Center), P400 (Orchestra Side) and P300 (Balcony). Watch soon before it ends or get left behind!


*Photos taken from:
1. http://philippines.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_Repertory_Philippines_DUETS_Opening_Weekend_20000101
2. http://www.repertory.ph/currentshows.asp

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