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ACCLAIMED Fil-Am novelist, visual artist, poet and
playwright Jessica Hagedorn flew into
Manila for the opening of her critically acclaimed play
Dogeaters, which is being directed by Bobby
Garcia featuring an all-star cast.
Born and
raised in
Manila, Jessica moved to
San
Francisco with her mother when she was 14. She began
writing poetry with the encouragement of Kenneth Rexorth
and for 10 years led a rock band called the Gangster
Choir. She went to New York in 1978 for a series of
readings and fell in love with the city and decided to
move there. She has written numerous novels including
The Gangster of Love, Dream Jungle and Dogeaters,
which won the American Book Award and was on the New
York Times bestseller list.
 In
2001 she adapted Dogeaters as a play and it
opened at the Public Theater in New York to critical
acclaim. Included in the New York cast was Joel Torre, who is recreating his roles for the
Manila
production. Also in the star-studded Manila cast are
Gina Alajar, Michael de Mesa, Jon Santos, Rez Cortez,
Leo Rialp, Andoy Ranay, Ana Abad Santos, Chari
Arespacochaga, Lao Rodriguez, Jenny Jamora, Jerald
Napoles, Che Ramos, Richard Cunanan, Nicco Manalo and
Teresa Paredes Herrera.
In
Dogeaters, Hagedorn tranformed her best-selling
novel about the Philippines during the Marcos reign into
an equally powerful theatrical piece that is a
multilayered, operatic tour de force. A wildly disparate
group of characters—from movie stars to waiters, from a
young junkie to the richest man in the
Philippines—become caught up in a spiral of events
culminating in a beauty pageant, a film festival and an
assassination. New York Times theater critic Bruce Weber
writes, “In Dogeaters the journey is as
titillating as a great vacation that leads you willingly
into danger. The play carves a clear narrative line out
of a dense literary pastiche—a real accomplishment by
Ms. Hagedorn.”
While in
Manila, Hagedorn was billeted at the Dusit Hotel in
Makati. She is currently working on a new musical, entitled Most
Wanted, with composer Mark Bennet. It recently had a
workshop staging at the La Jolla Playhouse in
San
Diego.
Dogeaters runs until December 2 at the Carlos P. Romulo
Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. Parental discretion is
advised due to explicit content.
For
tickets: 892-7078, 840-1187, 891-9999. |
