Photo / The Sandbox Collective
Why do we feel more comfortable opening ourselves up to strangers? On Reddit, users anonymously share painful and sensitive stories about family, friendship, love, loss, and many other things we are too afraid to open up to people we know.
Most likely, it’s the anonymity. Being vulnerable around people we don’t know is easier since they can only judge our actions, not our whole selves. That is the appeal of Tiny Beautiful Things.
Photo / The Sandbox Collective
Tiny Beautiful Things is a bestselling book by Cheryl Strayed, adapted into a play and TV show. The book is a compilation of questions from the author’s “Dear Sugar” advice column, which she answered anonymously. Its stage adaptation is laid out in epistolary form, with a revolving door of Letter Writers appearing onstage and asking Sugar for life advice. The letters are genuine and written by real people, highlighting the common threads between our human experiences.
Rody Vera, Gabby Padilla, and Ketchup Eusebio play the letter-writers who recite the letters onstage.
The letters are varied: there are lighthearted ones, like about a writer who has a partner with a Santa fetish, and there are heavier messages, like the one from a survivor of sexual assault. One letter writer asked if they should reconnect with their parents, who disowned them after coming out as transgender. The trio portrays the nuances of each letter, and it’s impressive how they shift from playful to anxious to angry.
Tying the whole show together is Iza Calzado, who was outstanding as Sugar. She was so earnest and tender that it’s easy to think she is answering letters from the heart instead of reciting lines from memory. It helps that kamukha niya si Mama Mary, but we know that the actress took great care internalizing the role and bringing it to life.
Tiny Beautiful Things is an engaging watch because Sugar doesn’t only answer letters. The play examines how she got the column, the questions about her identity, the letters’ authenticity, and even the inconsistencies of her answers. Sugar also answers letters with stories from her own life. We get to know the letter-writers, even if they are anonymous, and we get to know Cheryl, too. And perhaps, in these moments, we also get to know ourselves.
Tiny Beautiful Things runs from November 16 to December 8, 2024, at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Black Box Theater, Circuit Makati. Friday shows will begin at 8 PM, while Saturday and Sunday shows will run at 2:30 PM and 7:30 PM.
Regina de Vera and Brian Sy round out the cast as the swings and letter-writers in certain performances.
Jenny Jamora directs the show. Joining Jenny are Marcel David as assistant director, Charyl De Guzman as production manager, Pachot Festejo as head stage manager, Kiefer Sison as lighting designer and technical director, Kayla Teodoro as set designer, Krystal Kane as costume stylist, and Arvy Dimaculangan as sound designer and for musical scoring.
Tickets are available at Ticket2Me and through official show buyers.
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