Care Divas Returns with a Bang

In celebration of the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s 50^th anniversary, PETA brings back one of its most endearing, successful and critically acclaimed musicals of all time, Care Divas for a limited run at the PETA Theater Center in Quezon City.

This entertaining and uplifting musical written by Liza Magtoto and directed by Maribel Legarda with music and lyrics by musical genius Vincent de Jesus tells the story of five transgender Overseas Filipino Workers in Israel who tirelessly work as care givers during the day and drag queen performers at night. Their daily struggle for acceptance in a foreign land while trying to make ends meet to the point of risking their lives by working illegally in the land of milk and honey makes this one of the most compelling productions of PETA.

It was a huge hit six years ago where critics and theater aficionados were raving about the show. The musical took home seven trophies including Outstanding Musical Direction, Outstanding Musical Production, Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Melvin Lee at the 2011 Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards.

The performance of the cast back then was so memorable that it still resonates in the mind of theater fans to this day. Who can forget the haunting performance of Ricci Chan as Kayla, Vince’s witty portrayal of the pragmatic group leader Shai, Melvin’s inspiring performance as the kind and loving Chelsea, Phil Noble as the temperamental Jonee and Jason Barcial as the ditzy Thalia. They all exemplified excellence in their craft by showcasing wit, charm and impeccable comic timing, which made this show even more extraordinary.

They all exemplified excellence in their craft by showcasing wit, charm and impeccable comic timing, which made this show even more extraordinary.

I am so glad I got to see some of them reprise their roles in this revival, which was still as fresh and invigorating as the first time they did it. I was fortunate enough to watch the brilliant performances of Ron Alfonso as Shai and Jerald Napoles as Kayla who were also a part of the original cast. Thou Reyes is a revelation as the ill-tempered Jonee. You may remember him in Ang TV (a youth oriented show of ABS-CBN in the 90’s).

Bravo to the rest of the cast led by Myke Salomon, Leo Rialp, Gold Villar-Lim, Dom Miclat-Janssen, Sherry Lara, Eko Baquial and Joseph Madriaga who were just as outstanding as the five divas.