01 September 2015 – The Philippipne Consulate General in New York, in cooperation with the Ma-yi Theater Company, celebrated the Buwan ng Wika on August 17 at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center. The commemoration featured an interpretative reading of Juan Miguel Severo’s critically-acclaimed play entitled “Hintayan sa Langit”.
The reading was directed by Herbert Sigmund Go, a New York-based director and former actor and artistic director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Pilipino. The remarkable cast was composed of Jojo Gonzalez as Manolo, Madeleine Nicolas as Lisang and Bambi Diaz as Bantay.
Hintayan sa Langit is a romantic comedy about two people who were hurt by their romantic relationship in the past, had nursed their wounds for years and then finally found themselves together in a waiting room in the afterlife while waiting for their entry into heaven. Their sarcastic, straightforward, amusing but ultimately loving conversation ends with healed hearts. The play was first featured in the Virgin Labfest at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last June. It was originally written in English but was translated to Filipino by Ralph Peña, Ma-yi’s Artistic Director.
In his welcome address, which was delivered in Filipino, Philippine Consul General Mario L. De Leon, Jr. underscored the importance of the national language in shaping Philippine culture and national identity. “Language has a significant role in our country’s national development”, underscored the Consul General.
Renowned Philippine artist Manuel Baldemor, who attended the event, commended the reading of the play. A number of Filipino-American community members expressed the view that they looked forward to see more Filipino literature, both classic and contemporary, to be featured in New York, particularly by talented Filipino artists in the area. Many others suggested the re-staging of “Hintayan sa Langit” as full-scale theater production.
The Ma-yi Theater Company is a Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning theater company founded in 1989, whose primary mission is to develop new and innovative plays by Asian-American writers. Since its founding, Ma-Yi has distinguished itself as one of the leading talent incubators of New York, helping in shaping the national discourse about what it means to be an Asian-American today.
Ma-Yi’s first engagement, in cooperation with the Consulate and the Philippine Economic and Cultural Endowment (PEACE) was the play “Portrait of an Artist as Nick Joaquin”, celebrating the life and work of the beloved National Artist, held in October 2004. END