New Yorker in Tondo is a classic satirical play in one-act, written by Marcelino Agana Jr. in 1958. First staged by the Far Eastern University (FEU) Drama Guild at the FEU, Manila. This is one of the more popular Filipino comedies that have been produced many times through the years.
This play in Tagalog is about Kikay who is a balikbayan or a newly arrived from New York. The girl acquires the style, manner, and culture of New York and thus forgets her roots and one true love in Tondo. It also tells how she gets back to being the Kikay of Tondo that her friends and love ones knew.
"New Yorker in Tondo" is a classic Filipino Play by Marcelino Agana, Jr. It is a satire written in the 50's. It is a story about a girl named Kikay who goes to New York and fell in love with it. She acquires all the New Yorkish things - style, looks, language and manners. These things are very obvious when she arrives in the Philippines specifically in Tondo.
ReplyDeleteAling Atang, mother of Kikay, has been carried away by her daughters way of living. She tries to converse with everybody in broken English.
Tony, childhood sweetheart of Kikay, decides to visit and catch things up with her friend. He is a simple guy who got secretly engaged with their other childhood friend, Nena.
Nena is a tomboyish type of girl. On her visit in Kikay's house, she finds her friend different and weird. She gets irritated and even imitates Kikay's ways.
Totoy, the Tondo "canto boy" is their other friend who is funny and has a secret love for Nenan which has only been revealded when the two females had a clash.
Near the end, the secret love of the characters in the story is revealded. And the two pairs end up in each other's arms. Kikay is back to her old self -- simple and kind. Most of all, the Filipino value learned by the protagonist which is "there is no place like home", is a lesson on love of country and its culture.