‘August: Osage County’ resonates with Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines – Many know August: Osage County as a hollywood film. But critics say its better seen on stage than on screen.

The Filipino cast from Repertory Philippines add this play delivers all the angst of a telenovela but none of the guilt.
G Töngi reports.

Meet the Westons: A dramatically dysfunctional family.

Repertory Philippines’ latest theatrical presentation is the Pultizer Prize winning drama by Tracy Letts called August: Osage County. Set in rural America in the middle of a hot August. The film adaptation released last year starred Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, both Oscar nominated performances.

Chris Millado directs for Repertory Philippines. He says August: Osage County is a very Pinoy in its melodrama. He says the comparison to the film adaptation can’t be helped.

CHRIS MILLADO, DIRECTOR: One thing that we should remember about the experience of watching theater is it’s liveness! There is nothing that could replace that kind of relationship with audiences. You’ll have the closest thing to a slice of life, because all the actors are playing it at the moment as they live it. I think that’s the exciting energy about doing live theater!

Theater Veteran Baby Barredo plays the matriarch of the Westons, Violet. After a fourteen year hiatus in a lead role, she’s back. She says Violet is perhaps the hardest role of her career because it’s a straight play.

BABY BARREDO, STAGE ACTRESS: In a musical you cannot really delve down because you break into song, so you gotta sing when you are crying, cause everything changes so you have to control. But it’s like playing only for me, musicals. But here, you really delve, you have to go deep in yourself and look for that character and make that character come out.

Actress Pinky Amador returns to Repertory after seven years where she first started acting for the theater company 31 years ago. Amador says Filipinos will be able to relate to the discourse and dysfunction of the Westons.

PINKY AMADOR, STAGE ACTRESS: I think August: Osage County is dubbed the “teleserye from hell” because it represents every symptomatic problem a person or a character or a situation that we see in telenovelas today. It’s in this play! Of course, this play is a modern play. It was just written, it was just work shopped, so it’s very now, it’s very modern and it speaks to all, I think three or four generations of people. It just so happens it takes place in this small town in the Midwest in the states.

Angeli Bayani, film actress for the Camera d’Or Award winning film “Ilo Ilo” says she jumped at the opportunity to work with Repertory.

ANGELI BAYANI, JOHNNA MONEVATA IN AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY: I’m actually from theater. I’m from Tanghalang Pilipino. Its been awhile since I’ve been back onstage and yeah I’ve been doing more film for some reason and when I got the call to do this I jumped at it, really because I have been dying to get back on stage to do a straight play and to be part of this play, and this company on this stage. Oh my God, it’s really a dream come true! I’m not exaggerating!

A stellar cast makes up the ensemble of August: Osage County. Like a telenovela, the gut wrenching performances will pull you in, minus the guilt.
Its a metaphor for the decay of American society that the New Yorker says is better seen on stage than on screen.
G Töngi, Rappler Manila 

– Rappler.com