The Reconciliation Dinner
Reviewed by Amanda L. Andrei
Power Mac Center Blackbox Theater at Circuit Makati in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.
Closed
Note: The production reopens at PETA Theater Center, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines: August 5-20, 2023
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Note: This review is part of a reflection essay on Stage Raw contributor Amanda L. Andrei’s sojourn to the Philippines, in order to see the country of her ancestry, and the theater it now produces
Public relations strategist Dina Medina (Stella Cañete-Mendoza) and entrepreneur-baker Susan Valderama (Frances Makil-Ignacio), are intimately and joyfully wrapped up in each other’s lives—old college buddies, constant companions, godmothers to each other’s children. But after several months under the Duterte administration, when the subject of former president Ferdinand Marcos’ burial and the symbolism of a dictator honored as a hero is brought up at a Medina dinner party, the two friends burst into an ugly argument which Dina silences by requesting that they no longer speak about politics.
Cañete-Mendoza and Makil-Ignacio are both giddy and formidable as matriarchs and friends—it is heartbreaking to see the intimate connection between giggly friends turn cold, avoidant, and patronizing. Supportive and loving to their respective families, husbands Bert Medina (Randy Medel Villarama) and Fred Valderama (Jojo Cayabyab) each strongly espouse their political and moral viewpoints—Villarama in particular gives us a chilling moment when he retreats into a humiliated silence that foreshadows a burst of venomous machismo. The Medinas’ daughter, Mica (Mica Pineda), and her husband Ely (Nelsito Gomez) portray a younger generation’s conflicting politics, as well as how family hides their views from each other in order to keep the peace. And Phi Palmos as Norby, the Valderamas’ queer son and drag entertainer/activist in support of Leni, doles out heaps of charm, bravery, and song, all with a smile on his face and thunder in his voice.
From its November 2022 debut to its May, 2023 reprise (the story now taking place this year, the updates to Floy Quintos’s The Reconciliation Dinner to reflect the present are commendable—both the design and dialogue reflect recent events, such as diplomatic talks in May between President Marcos and President Biden. I left the theater wishing I saw more plays in America firing up the audience the way this one did – though I suspect the pressure of living under a second Marcos administration, with the memory of dictatorship lingering in the zeitgeist, would make Filipinos more ardent in their reactions to this play, regardless of their place in the political spectrum or at the dinner table.
Power Mac Center Blackbox Theater at Circuit Makati in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. Closed.
