On Romeo and Bernadette

In contrast to the almost always sold out performances of RENT (by 9works Theatrical), Repertory Philippines’ love month offering ROMEO AND BERNADETTE, almost always ran on an empty theater. This is due, perhaps, on Rep’s lack of publicity; add to that the unknown play and author, and RENT getting all the attention from the press/media and even the corporate sponsors didn’t help either.

This is a shame because between the two plays, I actually preferred Romeo and Bernadette (R & B). I compare the two for the following reasons:
1. both opened on February 5 and will close on February 28;
2. both are musicals (with a live band on stage) and both set in New York City;
3. both plays are in English.

The similarities, however, end there. I know I shouldn’t be comparing the two because these are two very different plays. One is very real, the other a farce. One’s a drama, the other comedy. One’s being done by a newly created theater company, the other by the country’s oldest theater company! So, I shall stop comparing and will instead write my comments on R&B. Anyway, I think I pretty much said enough about RENT in my previous post.

So here goes…

Romeo and Bernadette is well, Romeo and Juliet. With a twist. Romeo didn’t die, just fell into a coma and woke up 500 years later to see his Juliet in Bernadette Penza – daughter of Salvatore Penza, leader of a mob family in Brooklyn. Again, I don’t want to waste my time writing about the play’s plot and synopsis so just Google it if you wish.

The play is very tongue-in-cheek; very camp. And I think it’s important for the viewer to know that for him to truly appreciate the comedy, otherwise, the cast would just seem so overly acting and weird. If you enter the theater with this mindset, then everything would make more sense. If not, you’ll probably still enjoy the performance; but would think the actors could use some acting lessons or something.

Notable in the entire play is the cast’s exaggerated Brooklyn accent. I believe this was necessary to show a clearer contrast with Romeo’s Shakespearean English. A great part of the show’s comedy is anchored on the language and accent, and I think the cast did a pretty good job at it. They were consistent at most, that when they falter, you find yourself easy to forgive.

And now, my view on the cast:

- Perfectly casted in the role of Bernadette is Cris Villonco. Cris, I believe, is one of the finest actors (musical or otherwise) in her generation. She said to have had doubts with doing a comedy since she’s done mostly dramatic roles before. But she was very funny. Effortlessly funny. And that voice! She, to borrow a line from the play, “has a voice of an angel.” Perfect.
- Playing Romeo is PJ Valerio, who surprisingly, did an awesome job! I guess the role was perfect for him too. Romeo’s character requires the actor to “ham it up” a bit. A task that was apparently not very difficult for PJ. Believe me, I’ve seen him in previous performances, and this wasn’t a far stretch for him. However, for this particular play, his “acting style” actually did him good. And the singing was nice too.
- The scene stealers of the show are Red Concepcion and Liesl Batucan, although it’s not entirely their fault. Their characters were meant to be that. The comic relief in a comedy about a tragedy. And they effectively played their parts.
- Another notable “scene stealer” is Rem Zamora who played… everybody else. From an accordion player to a tenor to a gay florist, a dance instructor, an immigration officer, etcetera, etcetera…
- Interesting too, were the “senior” actors who played the parents; mafia bosses Dido dela Paz and Jim Paoleli, and Juno Henares as Bernadette’s Veronese mother. Dido’s voice was sometimes annoying though, he should seriously consider quitting smoking. He’s beginning to sound like Baby Barredo!
- The odd men out were Kenneth Keng and Jamie Wilson. Odd men because of the entire ensemble, they were the weakest. Kenneth obviously is new in the business. He seemed like a head-less chicken running around the stage. And he could use some voice lessons too. I didn’t realize, until after watching Kenneth, that Fred Flintstone was from Brooklyn. Jamie, on the other hand, is a veteran of the stage. You would think that after all these years in theater he’d have learned to sing better. They weren’t really that bad, they were just not very good.

Over-all, I found this play rather entertaining; a pleasant theater experience. If only more people knew about it, many more would have had pleasant evenings at the theater.

Franc Lee speaking, Rep’s Romeo and Bernadette was… well, pretty cute.