On its 10th Year, the Sandbox Collective presents Tiny Beautiful Things at the Power Mac Spotlight Theater at the Circuit Makati for its final production of the year. It’s a brave and bracing exploration of vulnerability, psychological issues, and the constant search for solutions and resolution. 

The dramatic premise centers the narrative on Sugar, an agony aunt/advice columnist working via her laptop, and the various people who write to the column, seeking advice. And the advice solicited runs the gamut from the serious and tragic to the light, humorous, and mundane. It works, as the letter writers do reflect the diversity of what people write in - from the days of Dear Abby to the advice and sex columnists of today, from the sexually abused to the kleptomaniac and the estranged.  

Iza takes on the role of Sugar, while in the evening, I watched Ketchup, Eusebio, Regina de Vera, and Brian Sy as the various letter-writers. On other particular nights, we’ll have Gabby Padilla and Rody Vera. 

The set design speaks of domesticity in a good way, as it reflects various parts of a regular apartment - bringing home the notion of how we’re talking about regular people and the multiple issues they face daily while going through their lives. 

My personal highlights when I watched the Dress Rehearsal would be Regina as ‘Still Not Buying It’, and when Ketchup talked about his narcissistic father. Iza was the steadying influence throughout the drama and kudos to her for being so kind as to give and let the others shine.

If I were to levy a criticism on the source material, it would be that it’s too dependent on the soliloquies of Sugar. You have the device of having them physically together, yet you don’t make it more dynamic with dialogue. 

Tiny Beautiful Things, directed by Jenny Jamora, runs from Nov. 16 to Dec. 8. It’s an emotional roller coaster that deserves an audience.