OFW musical ‘Care Divas’ returns

Original cast member Jerlad Napoles (center) is returning for the special run of “Care Divas.” Angelo G. Garcia
Original cast member Jerlad Napoles (center) is returning for the special run of “Care Divas.” Angelo G. Garcia

There are certain local musicals that no matter how many times they’re re-staged, people still line up and watch.

And homegrown comedy/drama-musical “Care Divas” falls into that category.

First staged in 2011 by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), “Care Divas” is considered one of the local theater group’s most important productions as it brought in a different kind of Filipino audience.

“We consider it one of the landmark plays of PETA. The reason, PETA has always tackled a play that has some kind of social significance. ‘Care Divas’ deals with the OFW (overseas Filipino worker) migration experience. We value ‘Care Divas’ because it’s one of the first plays that brought in non-theater goers. We ran it in 2011 and we were surprised by the kind of audiences that came. They came and they found the story so heartwarming.

“In a sense we can fault ‘Care Divas’ as one of the precursors of ‘Rak of Aegis’, which brought in a new different set of audiences to PETA who have never been to theater,” explained PETA president CB Garrucho during the press conference of the show’s special rerun.

Written by playwright Liza Magtoto, ‘Care Divas’ tells the story of five transgender Filipino caregivers in Israel who work diligently during the day then perform as fabulous drag queens at night.

Like most OFWs, these caregivers struggle to make money just to help their families back home. But at the same time, they fight for acceptance in a place they call their second home.

Theater review: New cast inject verve to PETA’s ‘Care Divas’

The five “care divas” will be played by well-respected theater actors. These include Melvin Lee as Chelsea; Vince De Jesus and Ron Alfonso as Shai; Dudz Teraña and Jason Barcial as Thalia; Gio

Gahol, Jerald Napoles, and Ricci Chan as Kayla; and Thou Reyes and Phil Noble as Jonee.

The musical will be directed by Maribel Legarda with Vincent de Jesus as musical director.

What is special about this re-staging is the fact that it is dedicated to OFWs and their families. The rerun is being done in partnership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the government agency in charge of taking care of OFWs and their families’ well-being.

This is also part of OWWA’s 35th anniversary celebration.

“We support this kind of play for our OFW families, especially our migration community. The story shows that there are deeper issues in our migration community,” said OWWA’s Jojo Sanchez Tobia.

According to one of the actors, Melvin Lee, what makes the musical so successful is that the story resonates so strongly with most Filipinos. And that’s the reason why theater groups like PETA produces shows like these.

“One remarkable reaction to the show was not right after it, it was months after the run. Someone would approach me and they would still remember the material, maybe because the show really resonated with them,” Lee said.

“Care Divas” will open on June 24 and will run until July 30, only during weekends.

For tickets, call (02) 725-6244 or at TicketWorld at 891-9999, or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph




Re-published from ABS-CBN News



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on