7/13/2004: Magno was driven to the west..

...in search of greener pastures, but what he found was untilled soil which he would toil and make green under the scorching California sun, which would break his back, but not his spirit. What gives him respite from his daily realities is the promise of love from a girl named Clarabelle, a tall blonde girl he has not met but found only through a lonely hearts magazine. Since then he has pined for her and written to her Cyrano de Bergerac style through his college educated friend’s literary generosity. But Clarabelle would turn out to be nothing more than a leech, playing upon Magno’s naivete and kindness, taking as much as she could take without giving Magno the love he had been hoping for. The Romance of Magno Rubio is as much about Magno’s romantic illusions with Clarabelle as it is about the blind flirtations that dreamy Filipinos have with America. Trusting in the honesty of love, of supposed friendship, and a shared history – Magno Rubio “Fili-Pinoy, 4 feet 6 inches tall, dark as a coconut ball” finds that he is given nothing, nay even a paltry tip. [The Romance of Magno Rubio is a play based on Carlos Bulosan’s short story. The show’s last run was July 11, 2004 at the Victory Garden’s Theater in Chicago.]