'Request Sa Radyo': All the feels for a whole lot of nothing

"Request sa Radyo" is perhaps the most anticipated theater event of the year, for good reason. Beyond the stellar cast of Dolly De Leon and Lea Salonga alternating for each other, "Request sa Radyo" is on a super limited 20-performance run this month.

Directed by Bobby Garcia, the play runs for just 70 minutes and because there is no script — there are no song numbers! — "Request" easily blurs the line between theater and performance art.

There is a voyeuristic quality to "Request." The stage is set right smack in the middle of the theatre, with very little space between audience and actor.

Here, we see a woman, Ms. Reyes, coming home to a small, empty apartment on a Friday night after a long day. She tends to herself, joylessly it seems, finding comfort in her favorite radio program. 

Depending on where you sit, you'll get a closer look of the woman in a particular room of the apartment: The one near the kitchen will let you see her cooking and washing dishes. The one near the toilet will let you see her washing her face, taking care of herself, and even peeing. The one near her table will let you see her as see tries to occupy herself, and finally near the little altar will let you see her praying fervently. 

Bobby Garcia's rendition of the Franz Xaver Kroetz's landmark piece brings the material closer to home by featuring an OFW — presumably a medical worker, based on the scrubs she is wearing — and having the fictional radio program play familiar OPM songs from artists like Ben & Ben, Bamboo, and the like.

But taking front and center is the acting. "Request sa Radyo" is a wordless play, and as such, it requires the caliber of acting at the level of a BAFTA-nominee like Dolly or a Tony Awardee like Lea; any less and the play runs the risk of being absolutely boring, a complete waste of your 70 minutes and your ticket money.

Being wordless is the challenge, both actresses said ahead of the play. “I am terrified about boring them [audiences] to death," Dolly told GMA News Online last month. "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.” 

We got the chance to see Dolly perform at the preview, and she managed to take the audiences for an emotional 70-minute ride.

The play requires a certain kind of weariness that seems to naturally emanate from the actress' entirety. It's there, present like her shadow, from the minute she steps into the little stage all the way until the lights go out in the end. 

At first, it feels strange watching a woman in her apartment. It almost feels as if the play is making a peeping tom out of you, if you will.

But Dolly is Dolly, and slowly, whatever hyper-awareness and unease about watching her a little too intimately disappears. You instead become concerned for her, or the character she plays. She is so diligent at taking care of herself and her apartment — she cleans the toilet every time she pees. She washes the dishes and her hands so religiously — and yet you can tell she is next-level tired, and not just from enduring a long day. It is shown in the way her shoulders slouch.

Her loneliness is conveyed in her droopy eyes, in her downturned mouth. It is conveyed in her facial expression, especially during that little scene where she looks out the window.

Her longing for a connection is shown in the way she would pause what ever it is she is doing to listen for the next song: What are they going to play next? Will it be my request? It is revealed in the way she lit up and danced as her favorite song came on. 

The same can be said of Lea, who deftly uses her eyes to convey the character's complex and deep emotions — sadness, longing and pain. The Broadway legend with a powerful voice managed to capture the audience's attention as well as their concern. 

Suddenly, you feel for the woman you are watching. Does she not have friends? Where is her family? Why won't she stop working and cleaning? What is up with her routine, so fixed and perfect? Is that a sign of obsessive-compulsive behavior? But surely, she can do the dishes another day.  

The depth by which "Request" — or yes, Dolly and Lea— can make you feel is astounding. It explains why the material is so hyped, and why both Dolly and Lea are the celebrated actors that they are.  

Despite being wordless, "Request" speaks volume. The message was clear, and the impact, incomparable. 

"Request" is a slow-burn that doesn't really end when the theater lights go up. While there were some audience members who wondered out loud if the play was over, others were pulling out tissues and silently sobbing. Others still were quiet as they make their way out of the theater. 

It's almost as if "Request" forces a confrontation of oneself that extends all through the drive home, until you enter your house, late, dark and quiet after seeing the play. Then you realize you're mirroring Ms. Reyes as you take care of little responsibilities, locking the doors, checking the mail, maybe even washing the dishes.

If you're lucky, you'll realize that limiting your self-care to simply ticking off your mundane to-do list can have you ending up exactly like Ms. Reyes: dead tired, isolated, lonely, and still tending to life's endless responsibilities. — with reports from Sherylin Untalan

"Request sa Radyo" runs until October 20 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater, Circuit Makati. Tickets.