Kularts presents Jason Magabo Perez in THE PASSION OF EL HULK HOGANCITO, a poignantly humorous multi-media performance reading of his novel-in-progress.

The Passion of El Hulk Hogancito, by Jason Magabo Perez, is an exhaustive digression from traditional literary and performative practice. Part literary reading, part lecture, part homage to childhood heroes, and part performative historiography, Perez wrestles with authorship and manic obsession, presenting an historical moment—the murder conviction of two Filipina nurses in the 1970s—as undeniably personal, traumatic and of course, always, of course, political.

In June of 1976, two recently-immigrated Filipina nurses, Filipina Narciso and Leonora Perez (the author’s mother), were accused of murdering ten patients at the Ann Arbor Veteran's Administration Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After an extensive trial guided by racist accusations, and manipulated by the FBI, the two nurses, referred to as "slant-eyed bitches" during the process, were convicted on three counts of poisoning. Eventually, at the appeal of the defense and based on the FBI’s gross misconduct, the decision was overturned and the nurses were freed. U.S. v. Narciso-Perez serves as a critical point in the history of America, demonstrating that post-1965 immigrants, professionals full of hope and wonder for the “land of milk & honey,” continue to dream in the face of American racism.

The show will also feature CLICK by Allan S. Manalo, an eerie, twisted monologue about obsessive infatuation, Stevie Wonder, and frappuccinos. Written inside a Manila Starbucks, the anti-hero, Bick, performed by Dennis Rodis, is based on a true-life composite of a university student who failed to act upon his fantasies.