Tiny Beautiful Things premiers this November

“BRING a box of tissues,” an audience member quipped after watching an excerpt of Tiny Beautiful Things: A Play About Life — In Letters.

Presented by The Sandbox Collective, the straight play is set to make its Philippine premiere this November, starring acclaimed actress Iza Calzado in the lead role. Describing the play as a “roller coaster of emotions,” during its press launch, Ms. Calzado promised that it will make audiences laugh, cry, and feel comforted, as the story explores the common threads of human experience through real letters from real people sent to an advice columnist who she plays.

Tiny Beautiful Things is based on the book — which was turned into a play, then turned into a limited TV series — written by Cheryl Strayed (the New York Times bestselling author of Wild) and adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos (of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame).

Gawad Buhay awardee Jenny Jamora directs Tiny Beautiful Things. She described the play as a “non-prescriptive map for life.” She told BusinessWorld that audiences will find themselves resonating with the letters, which are brought to life by the characters during the show.

“It allows us to come together in one space — the theater. We come from different places, whether from stressful lives or retirement. We are a community in this one space. Hopefully, we can see one of our stories on stage,” Ms. Jamora said during the press conference last Thursday.

Tiny Beautiful Things will run from Nov. 16 to Dec. 8 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Black Box Theater in Circuit Makati. Performances are scheduled for Fridays at 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.

This production also marks the culmination of The Sandbox Collective’s 10^th anniversary season, which included productions of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Little Shop of Horrors.

LETTERS AND ADVICE
Ms. Calzado plays an advice columnist known by the pen name Sugar, who receives letters from various senders seeking advice on their lives.

The letter writers are portrayed by Gabby Padilla, a theater, film, and TV actress last seen in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Ketchup Eusebio, making a comeback to the stage after appearing in the Ang Tanging Ina films, the Maalaala Mo Kaya anthologies, Heneral Luna (2016), and Un/Happy For You; Brian Sy, known for his role in Mula sa Buwan; and Regina De Vera, who made her theatrical debut in the US with The Underpants.

“I don’t know if my unorthodox approach is right or wrong. Advice columnists are supposed to position themselves as ‘the ones who know,’ but I am not that person; I am the one who is wrong… but this is who I am,” Iza Calzado said in her portrayal of Sugar during the showcase performance.

Eventually, Sugar and the letter writers will converge in a unified metaphorical space. — Edg Adrian Eva