About This Show
The Romance of Magno Rubio tells the hard luck tale of Magno, a simple Filipino immigrant farm laborer in 1930’s California. When Magno — only 4 feet 6 inches tall — “meets” Clarabelle by answering a personal ad in a lonely-hearts magazine, his fellow workers try to temper his irrational, long distance love affair. After sending heartfelt love-letters penned by his more educated bunkmate, and large and extravagant gifts, Magno finally proposes, and Clarabelle accepts — if he’ll wire a large sum of cash for her long trip from Arkansas. Through clever word play, rhymes, rhythms, even songs sung in Tagalog, Lonnie Carter’s adaptation of Carlos Bulosan’s short story reveals the lives of migrant workers, their struggles and dreams, and their longings for home and a better life.