Virgilio Lorenzo Jr

Theater review: ‘Jonah’ finds trauma beneath innocent coming-of-age story

Article (news)

Chelsea Nikole Apolto shines in 'Jonah.' Spike Theatre/Facebook

Fred Hawson

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 960px; display: block;" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1788663018030785363324_18087014792439116_1735795073244344696_n.jpg" style="width: 960px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"><span class="fr-inner">Chelsea Nikole Apolto shines in &#39;Jonah.&#39; <em>Spike Theatre/Facebook</em></span></span></span></div><p>Ana (Chelsea Nikole Apolto) studied in a boarding school on a scholarship. One night, while she was trying to sneak in a bag of gummy worms, there was a boy her age who followed her around. He introduced himself as Jonah (Riel Celi) and confessed that he liked her. With his repeated visits to her room, they soon became good friends. Their conversations dealt with regular kid stuff at first, until later they would also talk about more intimate topics.&nbsp;</p><p>From this cute and innocent beginning, we will eventually see Ana also interacting with two other boys in her room, ostensibly from different periods of her life. One was Danny (Johnny B. Maglinao), her step-brother who sought Ana&#39;s relaxing head massage when he suffered injuries inflicted by his abusive father. The other guy was Steven (Edward Solon), a big fan of a book written by Ana and who wanted to pick her mind about how she wrote it.</p><p>Playwright Rachel Bonds had come up with a complex memory play about a young woman&#39;s coming-of-age by way of three boys/men who had visited her rooms. Bonds segued from a scene with one boy to a scene with another boy seamlessly with nary an explanation and just let her audience form our own interpretations as to when each boy was in which part of Ana&#39;s life. Bonds did clear Ana&#39;s whole story out before the play ended, very satisfying. &nbsp;</p><p>Director Edith Garcia should be commended for being able to motivate her cast of young actors for coming up with very raw, honest portrayals of their challenging roles. They were all fascinating to watch as we get to know their characters better, especially since this is the first time I am seeing any of them onstage. They were all perfectly cast, very confident in their performances and rapid-fire delivery of their long intricate lines in unaffected English.</p><p>With his curly hair and boy-next-door looks, Riel Celi was a delightful Jonah who had this easy rapport with Ana as her first love. The parts with Danny were most intense, uncomfortable and even scary to watch, and Maglinao was remarkably convincing in his dark obsession. At first, you&#39;d think Edward Solon&#39;s Steven was comic relief, but it was due to his palpable sincerity that Ana opened up and shared her most personal insights. &nbsp;</p><p>The bravest actor on that stage was no other than Chelsea Nikole Aploto as she literally bared body and soul in her heart-wrenching performance as Ana. As harrowing as her story was, it was only Ana who had a complete character arc, and Aploto was impressively consistent believable as a girl whose resilience tided her over even as she was weighed down by emotional trauma that had pervaded her teenage years to her adulthood. &nbsp;</p><div><br></div><div><em>Spike Theatre&#39;s maiden production &quot;Jonah&quot; runs at the Dance Royalties Studio, Pavilion Mall, Mandaluyong until September 6, with shows at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.&nbsp;</em></div><div><br></div><p>This review was originally published in the author&#39;s blog, &ldquo;<a href="https://3xhcch.blogspot.com/2026/09/spike-review-of-jonah-vexing-visitations.html">Fred Said</a>.&rdquo;</p>

<p>What begins as a sweet story of first love unfolds into a haunting portrait of trauma, memory and resilience in Rachel Bonds’ ‘Jonah,’ anchored by a raw and deeply affecting performance from Chelsea Nikole Aploto.</p>

What begins as a sweet story of first love unfolds into a haunting portrait of trauma, memory and resilience in Rachel Bonds’ ‘Jonah,’ anchored by a raw and deeply affecting performance from Chelsea Nikole Aploto.