Ties bind a Filipino-American family a bit too tight.
Reluctantly facing a milestone birthday, family matriarch Maggie calls together her Filipino-American crew for a wound-healing celebration at their home in Cerritos to start Nicholas Pilapil’s world premiere showing of “God Will Do the Rest”.
Played by Rinabeth Apostol, Maggie retains the glow of her youthful lounge singer glamour, even as she tires easily now. Working shoulder to shoulder with Maggie is husband Ferdie (Reggie Lee), once a doctor at home in the Phillipines and now a nurse working around the clock during the Covid epidemic.
Maggie and Ferdie are obviously devoted to each other, but each betray a secret sadness at the heart of what starts as a comedy and devolves into a drama.
Rinabeth Apostol, Ellen D. Williams,Josh Odsess-Rubin, Jason Rogel,and Ryan Nebreja (Photo by M Palma Photography)One particular joy of Pilapil’s play is the look it provides into the pressures Filipino families face coming to America and attempting the penetrate the dominant society, while hanging onto age-old family traditions—to the delight of the opening night audience.
Fleshing out the comedic family circle are newly divorced older daughter, Connie (Ellen D. Williams), unforgiven for her teenage pregnancy, and her son, Tanner (Ryan Nebreja), a gay teenager working to be a world-famous chef. Stylish and successful younger daughter, Fritzie (Josette Canilao), arrives with her Jewish fiancé, Nate (Josh Odsess-Rubin), fresh with news of their impending marriage and her Jewish conversion.
Completing the circle is Maggie’s sister, Babette, often painfully direct and either a cross-dressing man or simply a female character very cleverly played by a man (Jason Rogel).
Reggie Lee, Rinabeth Apostol, Ellen D. Williams,Josh Odsess-Rubin, Josette Canilao, Ryan NebrejaOver nearly two hours, the one act reveals family tensions and hurts going back decades, while ultimately focusing on the hard secret the parents—and maybe their children as well—do their best to avoid facing directly. The adroit acting by all characters and the steadfast directing make “God Will Do the Rest” well worth the trip downtown.
God Will Do the Rest runs through September 29 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 4:00 p.m. at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. For info and tickets: (213)489-0994; LA Theatre Center.
