DRAGON LADY ROARS AT CENTER REP
Sara Porkalob’s solo tribute to her grandmother is both an astounding theatrical event and a master class in storytelling. Part biography, part autobiography, part cabaret musical, and part comedy, the show is a tour-de-force, on a sumptuous set by Randy Wong-Westbrooke. Dragon Lady runs at the beautiful Lesher Theatre in Walnut Creek through November 24.
Written and performed by Porkalob, with wonderful musical backing by three members of Washington-based band Hot Damn Scandal—vocalist/guitarist Pete Irving, bassist Mickey Stylin, and trombonist Jimmy Austin, all of them onstage in a little alcove behind Porkalob—the tale spans most of the life of Maria Senora Porkalob, the playwright/performer’s matrilineal predecessor and a first-generation Filipina immigrant.
The hyperkenetic Porkabob recites the two-hour tale almost entirely in the first person, embodying characters as diverse as a Manila gangster, a heartless proprietress of a nightclub catering to hordes of drunken American sailors, her own mother, several children, and residents of a trailer park where the Porkalob clan lived. She achieves all of this with seemingly no effort, moving from one character to the next with only a shift in intonation and body posture.
She also manages to occupy the entirety of the Lesher’s abundant stage, transformed into an extravagance of bordello-like red velveteen. Directed by Andrew Russell, it’s a dazzling magic show—and an engaging musical, with Porkalob performing songs as diverse as “Sway,” “A City Where it Never Rains,” and “Blue Bayou.” She’s a wonderfully evocative singer, gliding easily from contralto to alto.
The first act includes grandmother Maria’s backstory as a young woman doing janitorial work in a Manila nightclub, who gets boosted onto the stage by an overbearing boss after being heard singing at work. Reality hits hard as we learn that she witnessed the torture and murder of her own father at the hands of Manila gangsters, one of whom fathered her daughter in a forced mating.
Maria later came to the States as the wife of a smitten US sailor. Their relationship didn’t endure, but she managed to keep her family afloat even when it required days or weeks away from home, leaving her namesake daughter to care for herself and five kids. Other than the mention of Maria Jr.’s biological father and grandma’s unfaithful bridegroom, there’s no explanation of the parentage of kids Sara, Charlie, Junior, AnneMarie, and infant Lilly. It’s as if they all popped out of the womb of their own accord. It’s a huge omission in an otherwise compelling family story, but as Porkalob informed the audience, Dragon Lady is only the first part of a planned family trilogy.
The second act is mostly a retelling of life in the trailer park, including a somewhat overly-long bit about underfed siblings Charlie and Junior in borrowed Boy Scout uniforms, going door-to-door with a wagon, collecting food for “the needy.” Porkalob’s channeling of the kids and their “donors” is priceless.
She closes the performance as strongly as she opens, with a brilliant mashup of “Love for Sale” and “Holding out for a Hero,” and ending with the most-appropriate “Trouble is a Family Trait.” Dragon Lady is an inspiring, wonderfully entertaining survival yarn and a superb evening spent in the theater. Added benefit: the Lesher’s adjacent parking structure charges only $5 per event.
photos by Kevin Berne
Dragon Lady
Center Repertory Company at Margaret Lesher Theater
Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr, in Walnut Creek
Tues-Fri at 7:30; Sat at 2:30 & 7:30; Sun at 2:30 & 7
ends on November 24, 2024
for tickets ($74 – $85), call 925.943.7469 Wed-Sun, 12-6pm, or visit Lesher Arts
###
Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: [email protected]