It’s the little things that matter

While monitoring the Instagram posts of some Pinoy showbiz idols, we came across actor-game show host Dingdong Dantes’ posts about the Sandbox Collective play Tiny Beautiful Things: A Play About Life — In Letters.

The postings completely surprised and puzzled us since Dantes is not known to be a theatergoer. 

We had momentarily forgotten what the play is all about and who are in its cast. We googled and found out that it’s about a warm and emphatic advice columnist known as “Sugar” and the local staging has film actor Iza Calzado playing the lead character. 

The play is based on the book whose complete title is Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar. It is a self-help book by American writer and podcaster Cheryl Strayed (born in 1968). The book, published in 2012, is a collection of essays compiled from Strayed’s “Dear Sugar” advice column which she wrote anonymously in The Rumpus, an online literary magazine that exists to this day. 

The book was a bestseller, thus prompting stage actor Nia Vardalos to adapt it into a play with the shorter title Tiny Beautiful Things. Vardalos herself portrayed Sugar at The Public Theater in New York in 2016 December — with all runs sold out.

Strayed revived her Sugar persona in a podcast called “Dear Sugars,” which she hosted alongside “Dear Sugar” creator, Steve Almond. It ran for four years, the final episode airing in 2018 September. 

In April 2020, in response to an outpouring of requests from readers for her to revive her Sugar persona yet again, Strayed premiered her newest podcast, “Sugar Calling.” In each episode of this podcast, Sugar asks questions in conversation with a different author over the age of 60. The second podcast, recorded over Google Hangouts, is intended to provide relief during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vardalos reprised her performance at The Public in September 2017 for an extended return engagement.

In June 2022, Hulu produced a TV series adaptation of the book, starring Kathryn Hahn. The miniseries premiered on 7 April 2023.

Going back to Dantes and Calzado, we soon remembered, too, that they are close friends since both are officers of Aktor Ph, an organization of Filipino actors, mostly from films and TV. 

The Sandbox Collective play is directed by stage actor Jenny Jamora and it has been showing at Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Circuit mall in Makati since 8 November and will go on till 8 December. 

Calzado may have requested Dantes to post about the play or the host of GMA7’s Family Feud could have decided on his own to plug the production. 

Also cast in the straight play are Rody Vera (yes, the award-winning playwright), Gabby Padilla, and Ketchup Eusebio with Gawad Buhay awardees Regina De Vera and Brian Sy as swing actors (portraying various characters) at certain performances. 

Friday shows of the play begin at 8 p.m. while Saturday and Sunday shows run at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. 

Calzado is mainly preoccupied with being a wife and mother to a daughter with businessman Ben Wintle. Calzado’s lead involvement in Tiny Beautiful Things is actually rare and should really be worth watching. The cast members are all seasoned actors, though some people think Gabby Padilla is a newbie. She’s really more of a stage actor though she tied with Marian Rivera as best actress in this year’s Cinemalaya film fest in August. 

And, oh, speaking of Dantes, his daughter with actor Marian Rivera received a surprise “beautiful birthday gift” from global pop star Olivia Rodrigo who has a Filipino grandfather. Rivera recently took to social media to share a photo of Rodrigo’s gift to her daughter, which was a Guts World Tour merchandise box that included a letter, a T-shirt and a Tumbler. 

“Thank you so much, Olivia Rodrigo! Ate Z is so happy with your gift. No wonder so many people admire and love you. Zia loves you so much!” Rivera captioned her post. 

In the video Rivera posted, her daughter is captured beaming with happiness and on the verge of tears of joy as she unwraps the gift from the pop star.

Zia is going back and forth as she could not contain her happiness. She hugs and thanks her mother for the surprise.

Last month, Rodrigo held her GUTS tour in the Philippines. Rivera accompanied her daughter to the concert and posted a video where the American singer appeared to be waving back at Zia, which made her say to her mother that Olivia “said hi” to her.

It’s very good to know that showbiz idol mothers like Rivera spend enough time hanging out with their children. After all, they have earned more than enough so they can pass up job offers that can steal time from their children’s hours. It’s the reason the couple has no entry in the forthcoming 2024 Metro Manila Film Festival. 

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Filming for some of the eight full-length entries in the 2025 Puregold CinePanalo film festival to be held in March has begun. The festival’s organizer and main sponsor (Puregold supermarket chain) has been seeing to it that all eight entries will be of high quality regardless of genre and lead cast.

A few months ago, festival director Chris Cahilig disclosed that it has partnered with CMB Film Services, Inc., for a grant of P1 million worth of equipment rental to the eight full-length film entries. 

This time around, Cahilig reveals that Puregold has partnered with Terminal Six Post (T6), a well-known name in the post-production industry for turning out exceptional quality films and series to companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. 

Terminal 6 Post will give exclusive discounted rates on its state-of-the-art services to the eight full-length film entries in 2025 Puregold CinePanalo.

The company will oversee the final assembly and Digital Cinema Package (DCP) creation for each film, including quality assurance that the films are technically-ready for theatrical release and digital streaming. 

Chad Vidanes, T6 chairman, has remarked about the tie-up with CinePanalo: “We laud Puregold CinePanalo’s efforts to be part of the creation of beautiful and heartwarming Filipino films. It has always been part of our goal to produce technically excellent work, and this is another opportunity to do that meaningfully and share it on such a large scale, in the cinema and through streaming platforms.”

Puregold senior marketing manager Ivy Hayagan-Piedad shares: “We believe that the films of Puregold CinePanalo should be no less than excellent as they carry within them the narratives of Filipino joy and culture. So we thank T6 for generously sharing their competence and expertise with us, helping our films reach an even wider audience.” 

Termiball 6 Post will also host a one-day post-production workshop for the filmmakers, covering vital topics such as long-term archiving, preparing films for promotion and distribution after their festival run. 

As part of the partnership, T6 will be credited in the closing credits of all participating films and will likewise present special awards to selected festival participants. 

Meanwhile, some 25 promising student filmmakers have each received a P150,000 short film production grant.