Written and performed by an incredible Sara Porkalob, DRAGON LADY arrives in Los Angeles at the Geffen Playhouse. Porkalob definitely qualifies as a shapeshifter as she assumes the roles of dozens of people who were important in her family’s life, including a terrifying gangster, her own kids as they begin to grow up, and pretty much every other soul that her grannie met in her long and eventful life. And, besides that, she has a heavenly voice to add sugar and spice to the often poignant and frequently funny goings-on as time passes and the Filipino-born Porkalob transitions to a tough life in the U.S.
Sara Porkalob – Photo by Jeff Lorch
DRAGON LADY premiered in Seattle in 2017, where City Arts Magazine described her play: “DRAGON LADY is the work that launches the actor/director/writer/singer’s ascendant career. It began as a solo performance about her Filipino grandmother’s stories of a gangster past and was born from a craving to explore her identity inside the crush of white cultures…the short monologue grew into a longer version with multiple characters, Porkalob shifting between personas with nothing more than a raised eyebrow or a jut of the chin.” City Arts Magazine also named her to its 2017 Future List (of performers to watch). In 2018, DRAGON LADY made its East Coast debut; and, in 2024, it has arrived in Los Angeles.
Sara Porkalob – Photo by Jeff Lorch
DRAGON LADY handily highlights 60 years and three generations in one Filipino gangster family. When grandma Marie Sr. decides to tell the story of her origins, an apparently quiet past suddenly becomes an exciting account of crime, murder, and the indomitable spirit of one woman – brown, poor, and newly American – as she learns how to deal with the punches that life throws her with grace (mostly), humor (lots), and a perpetually optimistic eye to the future. For Marie Sr. is not a matriarch to be trifled with. From one of the help at a nightclub/brothel in the Philippines, Marie rises to a lounge singer, an unwed mother, a fugitive, and a hard-working immigrant who must provide for her family of five. Intertwined among humorous/sad/fascinating vignettes about her family’s life, Porkalob inserts intermittent song accompanied by a live band of three (guitar/ vocals/band leader Pete Irving; trombone Jimmy Austin; upright bass Mickey Stylin), who do a superb job of capturing the emotions inherent in the tunes.
Sara Porkalob – Photo by Jeff Lorch
Seamlessly directed by Andrew Russell, DRAGON LADY always feels honest, authentic, and heartfelt as Porkalob describes her life’s journey. Porkalob, of course, is the center piece in the tale as she portrays dozens of people – from infant to adult, from male to female – each with that one special trait that makes him/her stand out in Porkalob’s crowd. This is a woman with the gift of keen observation, innate talent, and the ability to bring so many different folks alive with the merest of a head shake or a slight change in posture. Audiences clearly shared Porkalob’s incisive and intimate observations in this story about one woman’s true grit.
Sara Porkalob – Photo by Songbird Studios
DRAGON LADY runs through October 6, 2024, with performances at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays through Fridays, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sundays. The Gil Cates Theater is locate at the Geffen Playhouse, 10885 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024. Tickets range from $36 to $139. For information and reservations, call 310-208-2028 or go online.
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