The United States proves far from paradise for six Filipino women seeking a brighter future for their unborn (or recently born) infants in Boni B. Alvarez’s captivating and compelling hot-button-issue dramedy America Adjacent, a Skylight Theatre Company World Premiere.

Not that Aimee, Divina, Janelle May, Paz, Rosheylyn, or Sampaguita have any intention of seeking illegal employment in the U.S. once their babies have their American passports, nor have they entered the country illegally.

Still, it only takes the sound of a police siren anywhere near the one-bedroom East Hollywood apartment they’ve been jammed into to send shivers down their spines, particularly since all six have been forced to surrender their documents and valuables to the leggy Filipino-American “Administrator” who has orchestrated and supervises their nine-month stays, by the end of which their tourist visas will have long expired.

Not only do the reasons for their current or future (albeit only temporary) undocumented status defy easy stereotyping, as individuals the women are just as hard to categorize.

Paz (Toni Katano) for instance, comes from a moneyed Manila family, but whether she’s actually engaged to the Tantoco Telecom heir or a pregnant problem her supposed fiance’s family wants out of sight depends on whom you ask.

Roshelyn (Angela T. Baesa) is not only college educated, she’s an English professor at the University of the Philippines, which probably explains her bossy, judgmental attitude where her housemates are concerned.

Janelle May (Evie Abat) may have already given birth to an as yet unnamed child, but that doesn’t stop the Manila socialite from leaving her baby to be cared for by the others as she steps out against house rules for some not-so-secret nighttime dates with taco truck owner’s son Ruben.

Aimee (Sandy Velasco), a happily married mother of one, is as crazy about sex with her husband as she is about her Lord and Savior, which is pretty darned loka. (“Whenever I see the statues, I think of Jesus, what did he wear? I wonder if I can go underneath his …”).

Divina (Arianne Villareal) is proud to declare herself husband-and-boyfriend-free, so who exactly is the baby-daddy she defends, and why, when his identity is revealed, do her housemates react with shock, disapproval, and even revulsion?

 Sampaguita (Samantha Valdellon) may come from so far out in the boonies that she doesn’t even understand Tagalog, but that doesn’t stop her from being outraged at her father’s broken promises of jaunts to Hollywood and Disneyland, movie studios, and beaches.

Last but not least is the glamorously garbed, hard-edged American-accented strings-puller known only as Administrator (Hazel Lozono), popping by from time to time to lay down the law.

Fervent Trump supporters, should they by some chance happen to find themselves in attendance, may remain every bit as staunchly anti-immigrant upon leaving the Skylight as they did when they entered.

Still, it’s hard to imagine even the most heartless remaining entirely unmoved by these women’s American Dream, or failing to fall under their ever so engaging spell, particularly with director Jon Lawrence Rivera eliciting finely-delineated, stereotype-defying pitch-perfect performances from his simply divine septet of Filipino-American stars, seven gifted comediennes every bit as capable of eliciting tears as they are adept at inspiring laughs.

Scenic designer Christopher Scott Murillo and properties designer Lily Bartenstein have replicated a crowded, cluttered Larchmont Village-adjacent apartment you will probably not want to move into, and Mylette Nora’s costumes tell us almost as much about the women wearing them as does Alvarez’s script.

Matt Richter’s expert indoor-outdoor lighting and sound designer Austin Quan’s just-right guitar-based musical underscoring and assorted effects (including wailing sirens and babies) complete an all-around topnotch production design.

America Adjacent is produced by Gary Grossman and Tony Abatemarco. Giselle Töngi Walters is associate producer. Christopher Hoffman is production stage manager. Casting is by Raul Clayton Staggs.

Aimee, Divina, Janelle May, Paz, Rosheylyn, and Sampaguita may be strangers when you meet then, but don’t be surprised to find yourself wishing that the show’s touching final fadeout didn’t mean having to say “Paalam.” (That’s goodbye in Tagalog.) America Adjacent is one to celebrate and remember.

Skylight Theatre, 1816 N. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles.
www.skylighttheatrecompany.com

–Steven Stanley
March 4, 2019
Photos: Ed Krieger

Tags: Boni B. Alvarez, Los Angeles Theater Review, Skylight Theatre Company