Theater Review : PETA's Care Divas

Care divas is not a gay-only show. It's a material that encompass a diverse group of people--men, women, gays, elders, overseas workers, and employers--performed by a cast of 10. The story may have used gays as leads, but it is love that you can find in every scene and across differences. Caring is loving. It features love of caregivers to their patients, of OFWs' sacrifices for their family, of friends to each other, of a person regardless of gender, and of people everywhere we may find ourselves in. Love is heart; and it is the heart that is truly captivating in this play.

The play features five divas who are all gay Filipinos working in Israel for their family. Perhaps we can say, they work as a caregiver for their employers at day and performs as a group of divas at night. Each of these divas has a vibrant color of story and character that are worth observing about.

Thalia, the stupid-but-not-really-stupid character, is in fact brilliant and has the widest of imagination in the group. Plus, ner kleptomania condition makes ner funny. Jonee, the eldest and gullible. Kayla, the diva among the divas that is exceptional for ner vocal prowess. Shai, the leader of the group. And Chelsea, the serene and loving character.

As for the actors, they all equally contributed their artistic imagination to give life to their character and make the totality of the show alive and entertaining. Perhaps one of the most notable is Paul Holme's dynamic performance. He played three different patients for the three caregivers and as the club owner; and he does these transitions from one character to another smoothly.

The cast is composed of the 2011 original cast plus the new ones. And I may not have seen the 2011 run, the original cast who performed in this run did a spectacular job. With the new members of the cast, I reckon that their fresh artistic ideas are set to show us more color.

Original music composition and lyrics of Care divas is absolutely beautiful. The divas' clean and heartful words gives it perfect justice.

Written : Daniel Joseph Cruz
Edited & Photos : AXL Guinto

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