A classic fairytale gets an updated and more humorous makeover complete with a South East Asian flair, in the new solo show written and performed by Alison M. De La Cruz. In short, "L.A. Malong Malong," is a re-imagined version of the classic Brother’s Grimm story, “Rapunzel.”

At its core, the play tells the story of a girl in search of her identity, despite the cards she’s dealt with, which in this case, does include being trapped inside a tower.

However, instead of a princess in distress, the show stars Zelle, a strong-willed and sharp protagonist with a taste for other women and in place of the evil witch, is Zelle’s overbearing Filipino mother.

De La Cruz also embodies various other personalities in the play, using only a malong, a South East Asian cloth ‘tube’ skirt woven with intricate designs to differentiate between the characters.

Typically, solo shows are some of the most challenging types of performing arts to execute-albeit I’ve not seen a large number of them, but my opinion still holds true when I see half the audience drowning in their own drool during an hour-and-a-half monologue.

This was not the case for De La Cruz’s performance as she continuously kept the audience genuinely engaged and interested in the material, through her ability to seamlessly transform from one character to the next.

Co-directors Chris Anthony and Jessica Hanna made great use of the space and the few props that they had to work with by having De La Cruz moving from one end of the stage to the other, incorporating choreography from traditional Filipino folk dances to more contemporary ones.

The dialogue is kept for the most part, light-hearted and humorous although De La Cruz does touch upon some heavier and more emotional issues in the play. It bypasses quickly however, with constant eruptions of laughter from the audience.

It is evident that she has written about what she knows; whether they are experiences from her life in L.A., her Filipino-American heritage or involvement in the LGBT community, De La Cruz proves that her dialogue can be just evocative and fluid as her movement on stage.

Helping to bring this show into fruition is TeAda Productions, a cross-disciplinary performing arts company dedicated to showcasing the works of under represented communities in the area.

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