Fake Love: Loving Yourself

Spanians Theatre
Written by Colby Brennen
Directed by Ritchel Summon
Drama Center, SPA BLDG
Runs until April 5, 2019

Those who didn’t snooze through Diplahan NHS’ Grade 9 – SPA’s Recital 2019 know
the tragic tale of Elizabeth, Perth and Homme. Three young lovers divided by injustice,
immaturity, prejudice, and their relationships. Despite the obvious dismal overtones of the play
and in contrast to the title, it is often referred to as “the greatest love story ever told,” or “the love
story from which others come,” or something equally pompous. It’s pretty easy to agree, though,
that it is a story about love — until you see the version at the Spanians Theatre.
At first glance, the performance was very stylized. The stage was simple: a long rectangle
filled with dark sand and, for stage edges and walls, just metal grating. The audience sat on two
opposite sides of the stage, creating a feeling of a “theatre in the round” or a black box theatre.
The music was funky and ranged from hip-hop to pop, reggae, rock and soul then heavy metal to
classical to blues. The props were simple and sparse, and only the lighting, which varied from
chandeliers to a bright spotlight from stage right, was intricate and significant. The choreography
was well-executed and each character had a unique physical presence.
The flag ceremony scene was the height of the stylization of the play. Four rows of
students were laid under a shiny, long flag pole, and the latecomers entered in three lines,
dancing with violent and exaggerated movements to loud hip-hop music that shook the entire
theatre. The men were dressed in plain pants and black blazer lavished by white buttons, satin
gold cufflinks and collars while the ladies were dressed in the same tops except their skirt is
checkered with colors: gold, red and black. Even through the scene where first meet, the raucous
dancing continued on the edges of the stage and the music was so deafening that the magic of the
moment was completely lost.
Despite the obvious effort that the directors put into giving the show a unique ambiance,
the majority of the actors let that effort go to waste with forced acting and lack of depth and
nuance. From beginning to end, the usual wit and tender emotion of the script was missing.
Unfortunately, most actors did not grasp the opportunity afforded them by the audience’s
nearness to deliver a rich performance. For example, the opening scene that features the famous
line, “I forgot the route when I wandered. Now I'm lost and I'm starting to fade to what you want
to see. Sadly, for your happiness, I have lost all of me.” was played rather cold — as if the actors
did not realize that the whole scene should be emotional.
 Things only got worse when Perth (Andre Delizo) appeared on stage, and from his very
first lines it became obvious that he was going to express one emotion the entire play: coldness.
Perhaps previous interpretations of the lovesick Perth have predisposed the viewer to a false
expectation of his character, but lines such as “For you, I would pretend I’m happy I would put
away my sorrow. For you, I would feign strength, numb the pain, and be the man you can depend
on/ I trusted in a dream which is a hopeless cause. Now I’m watching the flowers as they
wither,” should not be dully sputtered. His frigidness continued throughout the play until the
very end, by which time his only mode of expression was monotonic. From the time he left
Elizabeth, Delizo seemed to lose his personality and became oddly zombie-like in his lack of
both vocal and physical expression.
Andre was not the only character who (should’ve but didn’t) exhibited anger and
violence throughout the entire play. Homme (Fernando Martos III), in his encounter with the
other student named Lisa (Jolan Genova) as he seeks to confirm Elizabeth’s affections to Perth,
threatened her with a scandalous photo of her as he cruelly queries. Also, Jackson, Elizabeth’s
father, physically abuses both Elizabeth and her mother, Rosé (Demple Catamco) in his rage
over Rosé’s refusal to entertain him. Finally, the seemingly playful bantering of Andre, Marshall
(Ashly Alfuente), and Victor (Christine Bayona), turned into vicious and crude jeering. The
extreme portrayal of violence and hate in scenes where a lighter tone was obviously intended
made the play dismal and bland to watch. By the end, every character was enraged and there was
no variation to keep the interest of the audience.
Fortunately, three key actors saved the play from utter failure. Shining through as the
obvious star of the show, Elizabeth, played by Evette Angelique Lenciano, stole the hearts of the
audience with her vibrant and balanced portrayal of a young girl torn between her family, her
love, her best friend, and her growing insecurity and depression. Portrayed in this version as
somewhat of a modest woman, Lenciano walked with a stride in her knee-high boots and effused
an air of a masked self-confidence. Evette dispelled the common notion that Elizabeth is a flaky
young girl and used the brilliant lines Brennen provides in order to show Elizabeth’s intelligence.
Most importantly, Angelique gave a balanced performance of the character and through her
words and actions, accurately portrayed a girl going through a difficult period in her life. At
times she was angry, like many others in the production, but this was balanced with episodes of
self-doubt, and moments of true tenderness.
Elizabeth’s nurse, played by SPA veteran actress Jazlyn Feliciano, added a touch of
levity to the otherwise somber atmosphere. Feliciano played her character with a good balance
and a keen believability. Her character was not the doting nurse of some other productions, but a
guilt-tripping though always loving ‘lover’ figure for Elizabeth. Despite her best intentions,
however, her flawed side showed through in her manipulation of Elizabeth’s curiosity after
meeting Perth again, just as her pathetic side was played out in her helplessness after her and
Perth’s arugment. The myriad of emotions that Jazlyn clearly portrayed made the Nurse one of
the most memorable characters of the night.
Finally, Cristal Bogsangit’s Carly, a trans woman friend of Homme, was the icing on the
cake of this wonderful trio. Not only was Cristal able to depict a believable character, but she
was a master interpreter of Brennen’s words. In the character’s most prominent scene, where she
coaches a love-struck Homme before a Perth’s party, Bogsangit brought down the house with her
sly tactics and expressive monologues. Her unusual use of rhythm that does not adhere to the
strict metering of Brennen’s pentameter enables her to bring more meaning and emotion to the
monologue. Though Carly disappears in the third act, her performance alone makes the play
worth seeing.
It is obvious what the producers were looking to portray in this version of Elizabeth,
Perth and Homme. Though Brennen does reference suicidal thoughts, dishonesty, and sadness
throughout the entirety of this play, he originally listed it as a comedy. It is as if the great author
intended for there to be a dichotomy between love and hate, life and death, and comedy and
tragedy. The SPA production of the “trio” managed to get half of this messages across: (1) be
careful with who you get associated with, (2) Suicide is not the solution to every problem,
especially love problems, and (3) Slowly but surely, love yourself.

I encourage you to go see this production. At this time of year, hundreds of theatres are putting
on this show, but I guarantee you won’t find one quite like the Grade 9 – SPA’s Theatre’s
rendition. If you want to escape from the hustle and bustle into a magical forest in downtown Los
Angeles, then come out and support these fine players!

Fake Love: Loving Yourself runs every Friday afternoons and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at
3 pm through April 5th at Spanians Theatre, located at Drama Center, SPA BLDG. For tickets
call 0932-232-7658 or visit their website at SpaniansTheatre.com