November 30, 2008 - 8PM
Performed by: Tanghalang Pilipino
Based on a novel by Benjamin Pimentel
Three minutes into the play and I was already shedding tears. Haha! Maybe that's the sappy girl I am, but the play happened to make me remember my late grandfather, who was also a war veteran.
Minus a couple of slips or two, and the rest of the theatrical presentation was one of the most heartwarming plays I've ever seen. There's an enjoyable mix of comedy and drama as the story of five World War II veterans who carry the cold and loneliness of winter in their hearts was told. As they wait for that "long-distance call from heaven", they look back into their life, and reveal heart clenching stories about the war, their families, their women, their desires, and their dreams of being able to return home when they finally die.
You'll laugh and cry with the actors as you watch them perform "Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street." However, it is another thing to wait with our war veterans as they look forward to the equity bill that would hand the benefits due to them, long after the play had ended.
There are about 6,000 Filipino veterans who live in America, all of them waiting for the government of the United States to fulfill their promises that were made half a century ago. The $600 a month compensation for a veteran can only be received if he lives in American soil. This does not include certain benefits or cover other expenditures.
