#TheaterPH - Linda Faigao-Hall’s The Female Heart!

The Story

The Female Heart begins in the Smokey Mountains of Manila, a 170 acre garbage mound in which nearly 30,000 people scrape together a meager life. Anghel and his mother Rosario make ends meet by gathering and reselling scrap metal and other useful trash from the refuse that surrounds them. Anghel's sister, Adelfa, is one of the few teenagers in Smokey Mountain who is able to attend high school.

Upon hearing Adelfa's valedictory speech, Anghel convinces her to continue with her education in college. He tells her he will be able to pay for her tuition by taking a job as a D.I., or dance instructor, at a fancy hotel. In reality, he is actually earning the money for Adelfa's schooling by working as a "macho dancer" in Manila's red light district.

When Anghel falls ill as a result of the sex work, Adelfa must place a listing in a catalogue of mail order brides in an attempt to secure the money needed to pay for Anghel's medical care. She strikes up a correspondence with Roger, a real estate broker with anger management issues living in Brooklyn, and arranges to marry him on the condition that he sends $300 a month to Rosario and Anghel to pay for her brother's treatment in a private facility. Initially, Adelfa sees the trade as a fair one, but as she is confronted with Roger's anger and violence, the deal she made to save her brother turns sour.

The Highlights

Chase Salazar, a theater actress to watch out for.

Chase Salazar is a natural born actress. At a young age, she portrayed a very challenging and mature role of Adelfa. I can see the innocence in her eyes with a glistening spark of passion for acting. You can feel that there's a bright future ahead of this girl. She made a heartfelt performance in this material and I must admit, she made a brilliant job as she put me into tears. Very effective and intelligent actress indeed!

Al Gatmaitan sizzles with scene stealer performance.

Al Gatmaitan plays the role of Anghel. As to date, this is Al's most daring role as he needs to strip down close to naked to portray a scene doing macho dancing. A great actor will always be ready for any scene if the material calls for it. Just like Coco Martin in some of the most engaging, daring and mature roles he portrayed, Al braved and took the challenge of showing skin in this material. Aside from the scene stealer performance, the heart that this actor shows to the crowd was commendable. His fire transcends and envelopes the stage as one watch him do his magic. I am glad that Al accepts the role and somehow broke the barriers of the conventional go-go boy.

It's Banaue Miclat-Janssen's Directorial Debut.

Adding another milestone before she hit her silver anniversary in the industry, Banaue makes her directorial debut in Linda Faigao-Hall’s “THE FEMALE HEART. She was able to glued everything and produced a revealing, moving and plausible depiction of an inside out reflection.

Why you should watch it?

Linda Faigao-Hall’s “THE FEMALE HEART allows you to exercise your cognitive and find out what The Female Heart really means and at the same time plays with one's feelings while the story builds up. The integration of the Filipino American dream, fight between cultural and sexual behaviors, being hold up with the complexities of realities, these things will surely be part of your journey if you watch this play.

You only have few more chances of watching this play as it closes this week. Remaining shows at Wilfrido Guerrero Theater, Palma Hall, University of the Philippines, July 9, 2016 Saturday (3:00 PM and 7:00 PM) and July 10, 2016 Sunday (10 AM and 3PM). You may get your tickets by contacting Samanta Clarin (09277406124) or Camille Guevara (09178239531). You may also contact Dulaang UP Office at 926-1349, 433-7840, 981-8500 local 2449 or email dulaangupmarketing at gmail.com.

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