MANILA -- A standing ovation, echoing the profound impact of the late playwright Floy Quintos’ enduring legacy, greeted the cast of “Grace” as  they confronted their toughest curtain call for Quintos’ swan song, his final masterpiece.

“We feel his loss and we yearn for his presence. We find it in each other, we find it in his text, and in his audience who come and applaud his work that we are so lucky to be part of. Our hearts swell at curtain call and when they reacting to our show— kasi Floy ‘to eh,” Missy Maramara who plays Sister Lucia, said in an interview after the play’s opening night in Makati City, Saturday evening.

“This by far is the most difficult curtain call to do. It was very emotional for all of us. But Floy would say, ‘Stop it. Tama na yan. Bawal madrama. Hala, hala!’So when we start wallowing in grief we catch ourselves. It is what he wants,” said Frances Makil Ignacio, who portrayed Agatha.

Quintos, who was among the beacon of Philippine culture and the arts, passed away in April at age 63 due to a heart attack.

Stella Cañete Mendoza, embodying the role of Sister Teresita and doubling as a producer for "Grace," shared every time they stepped onto the stage after Quintos died was heart wrenching. Yet, they held onto the conviction that the show must go on, as it serves as the most sincere tribute to honor his memory.

“The best way to give tribute to someone who passed is continue his legacy and the work he has been doing for decades. We can’t stop. This is a very powerful medium to change people, transform the hearts and souls, we will try and strive to continue what Floy started,” she said.

According to Mendoza, Quintos regarded "Grace" as the most challenging piece to pen in his decades-long career.

“He said the material has been improving since 2016.  When he wrote the first deaft it was completely different that what you saw. In the process, he told me, this is different. This by far is the hardest material to write. He started doing so many research 3 or 4 years ago, to get all the info correct. But for some reason, in terms of a literary piece, it was different. Floy would usually have an easy time,” she recalled.

Mendoza believed that the piece might have carried a deeper significance, suggesting that Quintos was also responding to a divine calling.

“Maybe what he was talking about [why it eas difficult], was because God was calling him already. That is why it was extra special for us, we know this is bilin niya na sa amin. A week before he passed away, the last message he sent in our groupchat. He finally got the approval of someone he was consulting with for the script,” she explained.

Similar to the other works of the renowned playwright, “Grace” does not seek to dictate a thought but rather to provoke and move the  audience to introspect.

“He isnt telling you what to think. It is asking you to think, to reflect on what you believe and why,” Ignacio said.

“He was very careful because you to know it is very controversial. He wanted to get it right.  It is also more daunting on him because the families of people involved are still around. By getting it right there is a balance. He made sure to show all sides, both pro and antis,” Maramara added.