MELANIA and Donald Trump will be visiting the Philippines on Oct. 26 and 27.
Well, this is partly fake news, because the catch is that actor Jon Santos will be impersonating them — and many more.
A timely comedic piece, Trumperte, written and acted by Mr. Santos, promises to be a two-day laugh fest.
The performances will be at the PETA Theater in Quezon City.
Mr. Santos will parody political personalities from here and abroad including Mocha Uson and President Rodrigo Duterte, alongside the iconic personalities whom Mr. Santos has been impersonating all these years like actress-politician Vilma Santos and former First Lady and shoe collector Imelda Marcos.
During the preview on Oct. 8, Mr. Santos declared that he is an “equal-opportunity offender.” He said, “I’ve been Erap in front of Erap, I’ve been GMA in front of GMA, I’ve been Kris in front of Kris [Aquino],” adding that there’s definitely tension when he and his subjects are in the same room, but he’s glad that the subjects of his jokes understand the nature of his shows.
Mr. Santos added that the coming senatorial elections in 2019 gave him opportunity to develop new material. He said parts of Trumperte will include jokes about some of the “senatoriables.”
Trumperte is part of PETA’s “Stage of the Nation” season where the lineup of performances are all shows that reflect current politics.
“Napaka-encouraging that we all laugh at the same places. There’s hope na alam pa rin ang tama at mali (there is hope that people still know right and wrong). Nakaka-encourage na people support live comedy as a form of healing. They dress up, they buy tickets, and they brave the traffic to bond with kindred spirits,” said Mr. Santos during “PETA’s… Stage of the Nation” launch on Sept. 21. (READ: “PETA’s State of the Nation”)
Mr. Santos co-wrote Trumperte together with Enrico Santos and Joel Mercado, while Michael Williams will direct the show.
“My lookout is just the front. Kasi voice niya (Santos) ’yung material, eh ’di ko naman siya pwede diktahan ng joke (Because his material is his voice, I cannot dictate his jokes),” said Mr. Williams of his role as the show’s director.
Trumperte tickets are currently on sale at TicketWorld. — Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
