“The Romance of Magno Rubio” to Stream Online

Ma-Yi Theater’s The Romance of Magno Rubio will be streaming online starting today until June 4.

The production that will be available on the company’s website was filmed in July 2003 by Francisco Aliwalas at the CCP before a live audience.

Set in the central valleys of California in the 1930s, the play follows Magno Rubio, an illiterate Filipino farm worker, and his pen-pal courtship with Clarabelle, a white woman from Arkansas who advertises in the back pages of a “lonely hearts” magazine. Believing he’s found the woman of his dreams, Magno fantasizes about their life together, only to soon realize that reality and dreams do not always align.

The play is written by Lonnie Carter based on the short story of the same name by Carlos Bulosan, with additional Filipino text by Ralph B. Peña, music by Fabian Obispo, lighting design by James Vermuelen, and movement by Kristin Jackson. It is directed by Loy Arcenas, who also serves as scenic and costume designer. It is co-produced by Suzette Porte and Jorge Z. Ortoll.

The cast features Art Acuña, Antonio Del Rosario, Ramon De Ocampo, Ron Domingo, and Jojo Gonzalez.