Wazzup Pilipinas!
To end its 50th season, Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) proudly presents "Night Mother" - a Filipino adaptation of Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama adapted by Ian Lomogo under the direction of Melvin Lee.
‘‘Night, Mother is a taut and fluid drama by one of America's most talented playwrights. It won the Dramatists Guild's prestigious Hull-Warriner Award, four Tony nominations, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, an the Pulitzer Prize in 1983.
It had its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in December 1982. It opened on Broadway in March 1983, directed by Tom Moore and starring Anne Pitoniak and Kathy Bates; a film version, starring Anne Bancroft and Sissy Spacek, was released in 1986.
"Night, Mother" shall feature Eugene Domingo, who is returning to the theater scene after a five-year hiatus, along with veteran actress Sherry Lara.
Domingo performs the role of Jessie, a divorced woman suffering from epilepsy who reveals to her mother Thelma (essayed by Lara) of her plans to end her life that very evening. Over the course of 90 minutes, which happens in real time, audiences are kept glued to their seats as Thelma desperately convinces her daughter that life is still worth living.
Director Melvin Lee says that despite it being written and produced back in the 80s, ‘Night, Mother' remains to be relevant today, as a thought-provoking play that touches on the universal human concerns of family relationships, isolation, alienation and loneliness.
He further notes that ‘Night, Mother talks about issues such as conventional thinking versus new age thinking, and the questioning of the norms of the typical Filipino.
It also brings forth many issues that are rarely talked about, issues that are still considered taboo and shrouded in shame like family dysfunction, mental health and suicide.
‘Night, Mother' runs from February 2 to March 18, 2018 at the PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City.
Call TicketWorld at 891-9999 www.ticketworld.com.ph.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
