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On a sunny morning, a young Filipino woman is boarding a plane bound for New York City – it’s a one-way ticket and as she ticks off her passport, her lunch and her three bags “weighing 99 pounds”, she is joined by five other passengers embarking on a similar journey. She waves goodbye to the throngs of people from her small town who have come to see her off. She has no idea when she will see them again as she joins her fellow passengers boarding the plane for JFK.
“One Way Ticket”, the opening number of “On This Side of the World” is full of hope and wonder and was one of my favorite songs of the twenty new songs at the premiere of Paulo K Tirol’s new musical at East West Players. As we watch her plane inch across the globe on a large projection of the plane’s route map, we are treated to a song cycle of Filipino immigrant stories that have come along with this woman, Jemmalyn, in her memory – perhaps they are her family and friends mixed with stories she has heard throughout her life.
For fellow immigrants or second generation immigrants in the audience, the self recognition was palpable as people laughed easily, joined in anything celebratory and were painfully silent when things cut close to the bone. For those outside this particular background, it was a fascinating, intimate look into the varied immigrant experience from a UPS manager to a homecare assistant, a drag queen, a spoiled Gen Z girl, a years-long undocumented restaurant server, a successful daughter and more.
Each song is its own story, like the “Cool Tito” who is expected to send money and gifts to family back in the Philippines that secretly enjoys being known as the successful American uncle even though he is going into debt to remain so. The cast is uniformly strong and spot on in their interpretations as they embody several characters each. Michael C. Palma is said cool uncle and gets some great laughs on this song and he is equally effective in his other roles including one half of a very sweet, gay couple awaiting the decision of an immigration officer who is determining the status of their marriage as they anticipate the idea of adopting. Shaun Tuazon is the other half of this couple and the two have a lovely chemistry in this scene. The charismatic Tuazon goes on to play several more characters including an undocumented restaurant worker who poignantly wonders if “Maybe Today” might bring an end to the life he’s built for himself.
Steven-Adam Agdeppa is striking and has a piercing voice that elevates every number going from a flamboyantly fabulous “Rice Queen” to one of the most moving pieces in the show, “In This Kitchen”, as a young immigrant holding on to his past, his memories and his culture through cooking his grandmother’s recipes.
Andrea Somera sings, along with the other two actresses, about being the “Light of the Home” as a home caregiver. You could hear the audience collectively wince in pain with her as Anna, a woman pining over her marriage of convenience that was merely “A Simple Transaction.” Somera really shines as the fully Americanized daughter of a mother who is different in “My Mother is an Immigrant”, wanting only to fit in and feeling the heat of embarrassment as a child only to come to realize as an adult just how proud she is to be her daughter. Proud and grateful. Whoo, so many tears.
Cassie Simone has a beautiful moment in the second act as Kayla, a young woman missing the traditional Christmas lanterns that are so prevalent in her home country and brings her lovely lyric soprano to the emotional “Lantern in the Window”. She is fantastically rubberfaced and I mean that in the best way! She’s so funny and manages to completely transform into a gossipy grandmother “reluctantly” telling stories in church to her best frenemy while lamenting that these things would never happen in the Philippines in the hysterical, show stopping “Ay! Amerika”. Has there ever been a more precise interpretation of Filipino moms’ penchant for gossip? I think not.
Which brings us to Zandi De Jesus, as Jemmalyn, who anchors all of these characters in her mind and story. De Jesus has a breathtakingly stunning voice that soars, making you feel all of her fear, doubt and excitement as she flies to her destination and new life. She sings a tenderhearted song about having a crush on her language teacher and completes the kvetching grandmother duo in “Ay, Amerika”, taking it to comedic heights. It was an audience favorite for sure.
There is much to like in this new work from the catchy, Broadway pop songs that take flight and invite you on a journey to a collective story of merging two worlds, vividly exploring how we assimilate to new surroundings while holding on to what makes us unique. While I did attend with a predominantly Filipino audience, there as part of a FilAM ARTS community night, who laughed uproariously at every inside joke and choked back tears of recognition, “On This Side of the World” transcends any one race and speaks to every immigrant story and to those who feel “othered” in our society. It’s a celebration of the human spirit willing to begin again wherever it lands.
“On This Side of the World” runs at the David Henry Hwang Theater May 11 through June 4, 2023. Produced by East West Players. Ticket range $39 – $69. Pay What You Can performance May 22, 8pm. Visit EastWestPlayers.org or call (213) 625-7000. Box office is available 11am – 5pm Mon – Fri as well as one hour before all performances.
