Ilustrado Restaurant celebrates the 150th birthday of Philippine National Hero Jose P. Rizal with a theater dinner presentation titled “Leonor” - an adaptation from The Love of Leonor Rivera (1952), a three-act play written by National Artist Severino Montano.

First staged in the 1950’s as a signature production of the Arena Heater of the Philippine Normal College, the play explores the romantic aspect of heroism and love of country, presenting Jose Rizal and his childhood sweetheart Leonor Rivera in a Philippine turn-of-the-century version of Romeo and Juliet.

Set in the world of 1882, “Leonor” captures the Filipino love for melodrama as it unfolds the pages of history on the real-life story of the hero as a young man forced to leave his country in order to pursue his plans for peaceful reform and to sacrifice his love for his cousin Leonor Rivera, now become a symbol of the nineteenth century Filipina who had no choice but to obey her parents at the cost of her own happiness.

Directing the play more than fifty years after she had played in it - no less than the original Leonor of 1954, now CCP Gawad Awardee Naty Crame-Rogers whose rendition of Leonor for more than a thousand times within a ten-year run has earned her a very special place in Philippine theater.

Leading the cast of characters are Zuri Valbuena of Tanghalang Ateneo as Jose Rizal and Paula David of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the Amingtahanan Philippine Drama Company playing the fragile Leonor who dies of a broken heart at the age of 24.

The rest of the cast are resident actors of the Philippine Drama Company Sala Theater, the resident troupe of the Naty Crame-Rogers Amingtahanan Sala Theather and members of the Tanghalang Ateneo. Naty Crame-Rogers plays Narcisa Rizal. Dona Sylvestra, mother of Leonor is played by Lala Castillo. Rosuette Alvarez plays the comic Doña Victorina. Other members of Rizal family are played by Claude Despabiladeras as Paciano Rizal, and Bea Gulinao as Soledad. Matt Hebreu plays Don Antonio Rivera, father of Leonor. Jody Cruel and Nadie Xavier play the old maid aunties Tia Carmen and Tia Sabel, respectively. Gaby Castillo plays the doctor and Grace Jusi plays Doray the maid. Guest actor Robert Lane of Silahis Arts Center plays Henry Kipping, the British engineer whom Leonor eventually marries. Playing wedding guests and dancers are: Hedy Reynoso, Samboy Lim and LA Caguioa. Music by Renee Camu and choreography by Angela Caparas Guillermo.

A special feature of the production is the rendition of the song “Adios, Leonor”, a song written by the National Hero himself for the woman he loved and lost.

Leonor, The love of Jose Rizal on its second year run at Ilustrado promises to be true to sala drama theater and will be staged on the 25th of June, 2011, Saturday, at the Sinagtala Ballroom, Ilustrado Restaurant in Intramuros, Manila. Cocktails will be served at 6PM, curtain will be at exactly 7PM. Dinner will follow shortly after. Tickets are priced at Php 1,200.00 which will include cocktails and dinner.

For ticket inquiries and table reservations, please call 527-2345, 527-3674, 0922-8401678, 0922-8234981; email [email protected] and visit www.ilustradorestaurant.com.ph

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