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Sunday, November 14, 2004
Luab: After ‘Oliver’
By Evelyn R. Luab
Light sunday
Charles Dickens’ Oliver swept Cebu, and Cebu will never be the same again. I watched the play Friday night, Oct. 29, and the theatre was overflowing with people, with love, with warmth and with pride.
I was seated with the proud papas of their “baby,” Oliver. The three Jesuits were Father Ernesto Javier, Father Julian Hernando and Brother Louis Trembley. All were aglow with the radiance of fatherhood. Their “baby” came out howling with success. Kudos to the co-chairpersons and their members.
Of course, the musical Oliver would never have made it without our first and best director ever, Benjie Diola, who to us is a byword in discipline, talent and perfection. (I would have tarried backstage, Benjie, but I had an early morning flight to catch to Manila. Another feather in your cap, my friend, but to me this is a foregone conclusion.)
Oliver, however, was a production of success that can be attributed to so many people. It was made up of every single effort, every drop of sweat, every burst of talent that came forth from each participant.
I was told on the night of the 29th that Fagin (Kenneth Acap) was down with chicken pox. Al Anthony Sacris got my vote as the best male performer for that night when he took over. Of course, Dr. Shawn Espina was on an admirable level of perfection. The next time I get sick, I will see Bill Sykes bending over me.
In every play, the bonding which takes place cannot be forgotten: the close shaves, the sound system not taking care of one mike, grips rushing in a tumble, and so on, but these behind-the-curtain scenarios are the treasured parts that make every play a golden memory.
The glow of adulation, the warmth of a job well done, the rounds of applause that will live on through the years, the sigh of relief that one’s speaking parts had no flaws, the high note that was reached and the vibrant voices reaching the very last chair in the audience and thrilling the crowd are the rewards of a director, a chairman, an actor and the people involved in the play. Again, congratulations to all who gave Cebu a taste of great magnitude, in a great classic, with the local participation of young blood.
Today, all of us are tasked with the success of a bigger production. We have been given the huge job of turning a floundering Philippines around. As I am writing this bit of sharing, the news that gasoline price will reach P30 per liter has reached my ears.
It is getting harder and harder for the average earner to make both ends meet.
Employers complain that most of their personnel have gotten into the habit of making vales (I.O.U.s). But the question “Who else can they turn to?” becomes rhetorical.
Leasers complain that rent money gets delayed by two to three months. Often they have to contend with the plight of their lessee. Lately, relatives shun each other out of fear that the others are just visiting in order to borrow money. Even friends become regular borrowers to the point that some become a burden. They often are avoided.
The wonderful actors behind our sets are the owners of small karenderiyas (restaurants) that allow salesgirls, taxi drivers, janitors, roomboys, merchandisers, and so on, to survive on as little as P50 for three meals a day, plus snacks of fried bananas or pan de sal.
We also have malls whose activity centers provide entertainment for free, thus allowing a certain amount of fresh air into the lungs in tired and depressed wage-earners.
We still have enclosed beaches that do not require an entrance fee so families can still go for a swim there, even if their food consists of a few bananas and sweet kamote.
I guess the people I am giving credit to this Sunday are the non-government organizations, the lay apostolate, the philanthropists who to this day are still very generous with their time, their money and their love to help their brother Filipino rise above the squalor of poverty.
Oliver spoke of his search for home, family and love. I guess Mother Philippines is still hoping that as a family living in the same house, we too, can give love to each other. Only love can make this nation of ours turn around; complete unselfish love. Corny as the last line may have sounded, one need only to see the sisters of Mother Theresa at work, or the volunteer workers in hospitals or the laity in depressed areas all over Cebu, to know that if it isn’t love going around, what else does?
(November 14, 2004 issue)
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