Lea Salonga, Dolly De Leon 'excited, terrified' about their wordless play 'Request sa Radyo'

Two of the world’s most acclaimed Filipina stars, Lea Salonga and Dolly De Leon, are set to mark their return to the theater stage in October for “Request sa Radyo.”

During an exclusive session on Wednesday, the multi-awarded stars shared how excited and terrified they feel about going back to Philippine theater with a “wordless play.”

“The first thing I’m excited about is hindi ako kakanta, yehey! Wala. So there’s that, where there’s no 45-minute vocal warm-up,” said Tony and Olivier winner Lea — a sentiment that the BAFTA nominee Dolly shared.

“Exactly that, that wordless thing, there are no lines, it excites me the most. First of all, because the thing I hate the most about acting is memorizing lines. So I am so happy na walang lines,” she added.

Lea and Dolly will alternately perform the one-woman play “Request sa Radyo,” a Filipino adaptation of “Wunschkonzert” or “Request Program” by Franz Xaver Kroetz.

COURTESY: REQUEST SA RADYO

The play tells the story of a woman through her meticulous evening routine. As she navigates her quiet, solitary life, her actions and her favorite radio program reveal the profound loneliness and yearning for connection that lie beneath.

Despite being known as two of the country’s finest performers, Lea and Dolly admitted that being in a wordless play is a challenge and is still terrifying.

“I am terrified about boring them to death, but at the same time, it’s a challenge I welcome because that’s how a person who lives alone lives. They have no one to talk to, they have nothing. And I think it’s exciting that we are going to tell a story of a woman or a person who has no one to talk to,” said Dolly.

Meanwhile, Lea said she is continuously navigating how to keep the story interesting and that they will be trusting the material and director Bobby Garcia.

“I’m just going to trust the material, and your director, tell the story as truthfully as possible, and try to remember that this is not about me, I am not doing this to perform or to act. It’s to tell someone’s story, to tell 1.9 million stories around the world, who are working abroad, working from home, who are so lonely,” Dolly added.

Blurring the line between theater and performance art, this piece speaks to the silent struggles of isolation and the deep human need for connection.

Clint Ramos, a six-time Tony Award nominee and the recipient of a Tony Award for his designs for the play "Eclipsed," is the creative director and producer of "Request sa Radyo."

“I have always been so moved by this play as a piece of modern theater. Its intimate package belies the vastness of exploration of the human condition. When we got the blessing to bring it to Manila at the Samsung Theater and have it speak to a specific Filipino condition, we could only think of two of the Philippines’ premier actors, Lea Salonga and Dolly de Leon, to star in it," he said.

The strictly limited engagement with 20 performances will run from Oct. 10 to 20 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati City.

"Request sa Radyo" is produced by Clint Ramos, Bobby Garcia, and Christopher Mohnani for Ayala Land and GMG Productions.

Tickets are available via TicketWorld, with prices ranging from P8,240 to P9,785.00.

— CDC, GMA Integrated News