The wonderfully cast Aicelle Santos as Elsa on a Himala poster.
With the lifelong love I’ve had for theater, there will be no prize for figuring out that the “miracle” in my title today refers to the musical Himala, or that my Vincent is not Van Gogh, but De Jesus. I got the chance to watch The Sandbox Collective and 9 Works Theatrical’s re-staging of Himala at the Power Mac Center Spotlight at Circuit Makati and it made me so proud to ruminate on how Filipino talent had brought to life this musical adaptation of the landmark 1982 Ishmael Bernal film that starred Nora Aunor. And then, doubly proud because while the film is 36 years old, and the musical version was created 15 years ago, its power and resonance is still very much about today, and us Filipinos.
Not wanting to repeat previous incarnations of the musical, director Ed Lacson Jr., writer Ricky Lee, composer and lyricist Vincent de Jesus and musical arranger Joed Balsemo basically stripped down the musical, transforming it into a stark and intimate musical exploration of mass hysteria founded on religion and faith, hypocrisy, commercialization and our penchant for gossip and even fake news. So out went the dance numbers, lapel mics were dispensed with, the orchestra was replaced by a single piano. And for all those outs, in came a more gripping, sensitive production, that, thanks to placing the stage in the very center of the venue, also made the drama that much more immersive.
Lauded for his composing, his lyrics, his musical scoring, writing and acting, the multi-awarded Vincent de Jesus has a rare gift we just can’t ignore. Care Divas, Changing Partners, ZsaZsa Zaturnnah and Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady are just some of the musicals credited to his pen. And here in Himala, while it was composed in 2003, there is a newfound poignance in hearing them sung today. I especially loved his contrasts of the earnest religiosity of Elsa (Aicelle Santos) and her acolytes on one hand, juxtaposed with the lascivious and earthy refrains of Nimia (Kakki Teodoro) and her cohorts at the local “cabaret.” And congratulations to the talented Aicelle, who will be joining the UK tour production of Miss Saigon as Gigi.
At the time I’m writing this, while the last performance of Himala was March 4, there was talk of extending the run. So, if said extension pushes through and you’ve not seen it yet, rush to secure seats. The homegrown Filipino musical is alive and well in Himala; and we should get off our high chairs, complaining about the quality and standards of Filipino entertainment, if we didn’t even bother to experience this truly wonderful offering.
Voices carry & vary
Here are three novels with authors that possess very different “voices,” but all three come in loud and clear and we benefit from being taken for the ride.
Paris In the Present Tense by Mark Helprin (available on Amazon.com) Author of Winter’s Tale, here is Helprin in a much more existential, rooted in reality, mood. His protagonist is a 74-year-old Frenchman/widower, Jules Lacour. Jules stays fit by running and rowing on the Seine, and could easily be mistaken for someone much younger. A music teacher and cellist, Jules’ loneliness and romantic nature results in him hopelessly falling in love with women he encounters by pure chance. His granddaughter suffers from a rare blood condition, and it’s this that preoccupies his mind as he flirts with thoughts of mortality. When a chance incident turns fatally violent, Jules is forced to take stock of what he has achieved in life, of what he still wants to do, and how to make certain things happen. Wonderful prose!
Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig (available at Fully Booked) In this debut novel, Ludwig reaches into his own life experience of adopting to wring out an exhilarating story that places an autistic, adopted 13-year-old girl as our first-person narrator. With a very original voice, we understand how Ginny thinks, how she confronts her world of foster homes, of forever moms and family (we wish), and the connection she still has with her birth mom. At times funny, at times heartwarming or heart-wrenching, we read about Ginny’s history, of how her birth mom was a neglectful, even abusive, single mother. And we are surprised to discover how, despite all the maltreatment and abuse, there are connections that fail to sever and much of Ginny’s thoughts still revolve around reuniting with her birth mom. A true eye-opener, this both entertains and educates.
What the Hell Did I Just Read by David Wong (available on Amazon.com) So, let me first warn you that David Wong is definitely an acquired taste. This is the third in a series (John Dies at the End and This Book Is Full of Spiders were the first two) and what Wong does is he puts himself in his novels, along with best friend John, as hunters of the supernatural and surreal. Think slacker/stoner, horror/suspense, all written up as some absurd comedy, and you’ll have an inkling of what these books of Wong are like. This time out, the story revolves around some otherworldly race that takes over the bodies of children, and how these “possessed” children are returned as “sleepers,” waiting for some signal that will lead to world domination. It’s the off-the-wall humor that makes these works of Wong so precious to my sense of silly.