A boost in Fil-Am representation in LA theater stirs hope for more

LOS ANGELES – Plays about Imelda Marcos, Ninoy Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos, a Dragon Mama, and Luca & Uri are enlivening stages in Los Angeles, stirring hopes for steady Filipino American representation in Southern California’s theater scene.

“Here Lies Love,” the musical on the triumvirate – Imelda, Ninoy and Ferdinand – has been extended to April. “Dragon Mama,” a solo play starring Fil-Am Sara Porkalob at the Geffen Playhouse, no less, opens this March. Lastly, “Luca & Uri,” written by Nicholas Pilapil and directed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, runs till mid-March.

Sara Porkalob and ‘Dragon Mama‘

Sara Porkalob, a Seattle-based artist-activist, premieres in LA “Dragon Mama,” directed by Andrew Russell. This is the second installment of “The Dragon Cycle,” her trilogy of plays about the women in her family. The first, “Dragon Lady,” was described by the Geffen (where the play was also staged in 2024) as “a two-act cabaret musical with a three-person band. On the eve of her 60th birthday, faced with her crumbling legacy and apathetic children, Grandma Maria decides to share the dark secrets of her fantastical life with one lucky grandchild. Intergenerational trauma and healing, lots of karaoke, and one murder.”

In an email interview, I chatted with Sara about her triptych of plays. On how she began writing “Dragon Lady,” the Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University alumna answered: “I started writing ‘Dragon Lady’ in my senior year of undergrad in 2012 for a solo performance class. It was originally eight minutes long, and I played five characters. From 2012 to 2017, I developed and independently produced about 17 different drafts and productions in Seattle, all in an attempt to craft the ‘perfect’ play about my family.

“The idea of the trilogy came about in 2017 when I met Andrew Russell (director). We had a two-week workshop, and I realized how much material I had amassed over the last five years, and that collaboration sparked the idea of multiple plays – one play for each generation of my family.”

Asked how tough it was to write unflinchingly about her family, the multi-awarded artist admitted, “The difficulty of making these plays lies in the fact that I’m still living these stories and my family is, too. I want to render their experience as truthfully as possible. And that means wrestling with all of the facets, not just the pretty and easy aspects of their lives.

“I have to be emotionally brave and unflinching in my portrayal of them, but always try to lead with integrity. I have to be honest and say that ‘Dragon Baby,’ the third and final play in the cycle (about me), has been the hardest piece to write.”

‘Her love letter to immigrants everywhere‘

Sara’s grandmother, who passed away in 2023, and mother watched “Dragon Lady” and “Dragon Mama.” “My whole family has seen many iterations of the show,” Sara shared. “Their reactions have run the whole spectrum of human emotions, from initial shock to immediate pride and eventual familial healing.”

On how growing up in a queer, BIPOC household shaped her as an artist, Sara replied, “These social identifiers weren’t ‘buzzwords’ in my household – they were complex, beautiful realities. My parents, more than anything else, wanted me to know and feel that I was loved, and they showed me that every day, every moment, and that’s a powerful thing.”

Sara described “Dragon Lady” in a previous interview as her love letter to immigrants everywhere. “The Dragon Cycle” seems more relevant and resonant in these times when immigrant rights under the current US regime are under siege, as more cases of the Trump administration’s abuse of immigrants are being reported.

“In imperialist America, immigrant rights are never NOT under siege,” Sara stressed. “I think it would be a mistake to consider ‘The Dragon Cycle’ as being only ‘immigrant’ plays because it renders the people in them as ‘other.’ I come from a family of immigrants AND we’re all Americans.

“‘The Dragon Cycle’ is actually a very American story. And immigrants are what make America actually great. My plays are a direct rebuttal and refusal of Trump and his followers’ white supremacist ideology.” She is planning a TV adaptation of “The Dragon Cycle.”

Nicholas Pilapil and ‘Luca & Uri‘

Nicholas Pilapil, another emerging Fil-Am playwright, follows up his well-received “God Will Do the Rest” with “Luca & Uri.” This time, instead of a play with a large cast as in “God…,” Nicholas wrote a two-hander focusing on the titular characters, Luca (Roland Ruiz) and Uri (Kurt Kanazawa), who fall in, out, and in love over a decade in LA, jumping through flashbacks and forwards.

“I wanted to write a love story that felt like real life,” explained Nicholas in our email interview. “So many love stories feel black and white – either blissful or completely broken. But when you’re actually in love, there are so many shadows between those extremes. ‘Luca & Uri’ lives in those shades – between happy love and heartbreak.

“The first spark that made me put pen to paper was the song ‘Live for Me’ by Omar Apollo. It’s about being willing to carry someone else’s pain so they don’t have to. That felt incredibly romantic to me – the idea of loving someone so much you’re willing to absorb their weight.

“It rang true to how I think I am when I’m in love. But the play also questions that impulse – at what point does carrying someone else start costing you yourself?”

“All of my writing is so much informed by my love for and curiosity about my Filipino heritage. Stumbling upon an ancient queer Filipino romance helped me find the heart of the play. This play is about love in the most real, everyday sense, but it’s also about how love can feel bigger than us, almost like destiny.”

‘What pulls them apart isn’t a lack of love‘

With only two characters in the play, “Luca & Uri” benefits from having two engaging actors, Kurt and Roland. “Kurt has been part of almost every iteration of my work,” Nicholas commented. “He was in the world premiere of ‘The Bottoming Process’ and early workshops of ‘God Will Do the Rest’ and ‘My Dog Died.’ He brings so much heart and curiosity to the room.

“We’re the same age, both Filipino, and in most of my plays, there’s always a character that feels closest to me – and so, there’s usually always space for Kurt in the worlds of my plays. We didn’t do auditions for this play. He was the only one I wanted to play Uri.”

As for Roland, Nicholas said, “In earlier drafts, Luca sometimes felt like the villain – the one clipping Uri’s wings. But Roland changed that. He’s such a grounded, generous actor that he helped me flesh Luca out into someone just as worthy of empathy. Now, there are no villains in the play.

“You root for Luca the same way you root for Uri. And that’s what I always wanted – a story about two people deeply in love, trying to stay in love. What pulls them apart isn’t a lack of love. It’s the question of how you move through life together. When life shifts, do you adapt? Or do you let go?”

‘The needle is moving forward‘

Asked if having “Luca & Uri,” “Dragon Mama” and “Here Lies Love” playing at the same time in the Southland is a fluke or a good sign for Filipino talents and plays in theater, “Luca & Uri” director Jon Rivera remarked: “This season, there is certainly a good amount of Filipino representation in the LA theater scene. It is indeed very encouraging. But I don’t think we’re quite there yet as far as year-round representation like our Black and Latino counterparts.

“Yes, the needle is moving forward, thanks in part to companies like Artists at Play, East West Players, and my company Playwrights’ Arena. My hope is for theater companies that are PWI (predominantly white institutions) to begin regular programming of Filipino and Asian-centric plays in their seasons – and not just as a ‘special’ event. The full spectrum of cultural representation is especially essential during these challenging times.”

’Here Lies Love’ opening night

Having seen and thoroughly enjoyed “Here Lies Love” in its Off Broadway and Broadway incarnations, I am glad that the David Byrne-Fatboy Slim musical found its way to LA. Since the Mark Taper Forum has a limited space and the production cost would have been prohibitive to include the moving stages as in the East Coast iterations, this version, directed by Snehal Desai, was less immersive, but with the attention mostly focused on one main stage, the impact is more immediate and intimate.

Joan Almedilla brought the house down as the grieving Aurora Quezon in the musical’s 11 o’clock number, “Just Ask the Flowers.” It’s an appealing cast, gifted with beautiful voices – Reanne Acasio (Imelda), Joshua Dela Cruz (Ninoy), Carol Angeli (Estrella Cumpas), and Chris Renfro (Ferdinand). 

At the opening night party that followed at Vespaio, Jose Llana and Melody Butiu, who played Ferdinand and Estrella, respectively, in both Off Broadway and Broadway productions, mingled with the cast members and guests.

“Dragon Mama” runs in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles. Previews: March 4 to 11; opens March 12; and closes April 12.

“Luca & Uri” runs in the Victory Theatre Center’s Little Victory at West Victory Boulevard in Burbank. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. Closes Sunday, March 15.

“Here Lies Love” runs in the Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles and is extended through April 5.

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