Musicals enliven current theater scene

MANILA, Philippines - Like the independent film scene, Philippine theater is infused with vigor and creativity, with a spate of productions both recent and current, and original and revivals, wooing local theater lovers. Viewers may shy away from movie musicals but in theater, they come in droves. And the fare is varied. At the CCP, acclaimed film director Carlitos Siguion-Reyna presented recently a revival of the sarswela Walang Sugat. Here are four of these shows.

Forbidden Broadway. This cabaret revue is a musical buffet from Gerard Alessandrini who first staged the show at a Manhattan nightclub in 1982 and updates it with subsequent “compilations” and rewrites for national and foreign tours, which so far chalked up a whopping 9,000 performances. It is intended to be an intimate show with a club or bar as venue, but for the Upstart Productions’ presentation, the RCBC Theater stage in Makati is perfect.

Forbidden Broadway is a series of sketches to please every Broadway musical buff. The number of musicals and tunes in the program is so big that one is hard-put to enumerate them. Clearly it is satire. Nothing and nobody is sacred. The parody spares no one, from stars and shows like The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly, Camelot and My Fair Lady, to Annie, and the more recent Hairspray, Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera and Rent. Some musicals are given the full barbecue skewer. Other shows are just quoted in passing, with a musical line or two, more like small bites.

Joseph Ison and Shermaine Santiago Macugay of El Filibusterismo

Original lyrics have been rewritten. I remember Mad Magazine of old which changed the lyrics of famous musicals into riotous spoofs. The songs here are like them. No one in the Great White Way is spared. Carol Channing, Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Ethel Merman, Mel Brooks, Cameron Makintosh, Stephen Sondheim.

So there was rivalry between Rita Moreno (who was in the greatest movie musicals ever: West Side Story, The King and I and the movie Singin’ in the Rain) and Chita Rivera (a marvel in Bob Fosse’s Sweet Charity with Shirley Maclaine and Paula Kelly). Fortunately for Rita, she won the plaudits and the awards including the Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. (Chita played Rita’s Anita in the Broadway version of West Side Story.)

From Fiddler on the Roof, the song Tradition becomes Rejection, which is a common, normal experience of every Broadway performer or even star. Rent? How about Rant?

As in New York, the local production of Forbidden Broadway featured only four performers to do the solos and the ensemble numbers, and it’s a hectic, strenuous chore. Under the direction of Joel Trinidad, the quartet delivered the goods to the max, showing how skilled each of them were as actors, comedians, singers and dancers. Bravo to Forbidden Broadway’s fabulous foursome: Liesl Batucan, Caisa Borromeo, OJ Mariano and Lorenz Martinez.

The one-man musical accompaniment falls on pianist Heliodoro “Dingdong” Fiel II who soon after the run had a recital at the UST Museum grand hall. This is showtime for Fiel whose piano education in Germany must have given him true quality classical training. We are looking forward to a new edition of Forbidden Broadway.

El Filibusterismo. Shakespeare is one of two names that are very popular among local theater groups. Having just presented King Lear, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) has announced that their current theater season will end with the production of the Bard’s Twelfth Night. The other name that’s often performed here is Jose Rizal whose two novels have been depicted in film, television, and on stage and in two forms yet — straight and musical.

We have seen live productions of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere such as the one at SM North Cinema last year by Niño Muhlach’s group with Gene Rufino as Ibarra. Its captive audience was an army of eager, if alas also unruly, highschool children. Last Saturday, over at Crossroad 77 in Quezon City, some six buses unloaded schoolchildren to watch the Quezon City stop of this theater production of Rizal’s El Filibusterismo by Sining Pinagpala Theater Foundation.

The original novel, the sequel to Noli, was Rizal’s salute to Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, a tale of vengeance and hope, focusing on the travails and resurrection of the aggrieved Edmond Dantes. In Fili, like Dantes, the character of Simoun comes back (from the previous Noli) with a new look and name and plans to rekindle the revolution to get back at the ruling hierarchy of Spanish, pro-Spanish Filipinos and mestizos. But his tactics are what may be regarded now as those of an anarchist’s or terrorist’s, long before these terms have become very much in use now.

Among Simoun’s quotable quotes: “Ang katalinuhan ay kapangyarihan.” Wisdom/knowledge is power. In today’s technological age, that key line may be the much-quoted “Information is power.”

The play rightly plays up the star-crossed romance between Simoun and Maria Clara, as this elicited gasps and shrieks from the youthful audience. Early on, the couple burst into solo tunes, with the other characters taking their turns later, but these musical moments are few and far between in a show that runs for two hours and 15 minutes with no intermission. Still, the songs are good, one or two are even moving. Two dance numbers are set to classic Latin pop tunes Peanut Vendor (1927-28) and Aquarela do Brazil aka Brazil (1939) which antedate Rizal by a few decades (Fili was first published in 1891).

The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy (rightmost) and her friends head for the land of Oz

But period authenticity is hardly the concern of the music, dance movements and the production design. Some music is derivative, like the frenzied strain from Jesus Christ Superstar (the lashing of Christ) popping up at least twice. And a few notes from Les Miz.

Like Forbidden Broadway in the United States, this Fili by Sining Pinagpala is a touring show that effectively entertains its audience — with wacky frailes to boot. Joseph Ugalde Ison’s Simoun roars with intensity and anger. Shermaine Santiago Macugay’s Maria Clara projects despair and pathos. Among their competent fellow actors are Alvin Paulo Villegas Mañago as Basilio and Rafa Esplana as Isagani.

Some caveat: A momentary rape scene may not be suitable to children while a startling gunshot may not be good for viewers with weak hearts. Otherwise, Anne Villegas, credited as the writer, song composer, lyricist, and director, ostensibly wants to corner the youth market with entertainment and accessibility. Rizal without tears.

Catch its other playdates on Sept. 15 and Oct. 7 and 20.

The Wizard of Oz. One may have false expectations about this current musical staged by Repertory Philippines. First, the 1939 Hollywood musical starring Judy Garland has set the standards for the telling of the L. Frank Baum book; it has even been considered one of the best films of all time (but not on the recent critics list for Sight and Sound). Thus the images and music from the movie have sunk deeply into the consciousness of many viewers. There was also the TV movie The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz.

Then Andrew Lloyd Webber (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita) has come up with a new set of music for the stage, and this is what Rep is showing until Dec. 16.

Before watching the Repertory production of The Wizard of Oz, it is imperative that viewers throw away any notion they may have of the Hollywood film. As the company makes clear in its leaflet, “This version is NOT based on the MGM film and does not include any of the songs from that movie.”

That said, liking and actually enjoying this production is a cinch. The adaptation, book and lyrics were written by Jim Eiler, with music by Eiler and Jeanne Bargy, and it’s a constant delight. Repertory stalwart and director Joy Virata has assembled a fine, energetic cast led by Cara Barredo as Dorothy and Rem Zamora in the title role. She does not lose sight of the fact that the show is designed for children. Happily, the young audiences lap it up. When Pinky Marquez as the Wicked Witch of the West urges the kids to participate in the theater experience by asking them a question, as the nasty character, the schoolchildren cry out their answers loud. Dorothy’s three friends also throw questions to the audience, which is signaled when the lights are turned up. The hall is rocked with glee and excitement.

Virata orchestrates the various elements of the stage to appeal to the kids. The sets are bright and vibrant, to go with the cheerful songs. The numbers are exuberant. When Dorothy douses the Wicked Witch with what is supposed to be liquid and she gets her comeuppance, the kids’ eyes pop upon seeing Pinky’s body shrink , her head being swallowed by her gown until she vanishes altogether, a magical moment.

Effectively, the show transmits the book’s moral about courage, smartness, love, self-confidence, and the sweetness of home without getting preachy. To dote on the youngsters, the actors stay on stage after their curtsy, making themselves available for picture-taking with the eager tots. Bring ‘em kids and take them to the wonderful land of Oz and its Wiz.