An enjoyable evening at the theater

Last Saturday evening, Monique and I went to the see the Broadway musical “The Full Monty” at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in RCBC Plaza in Makati. My daughter’s husband Nino, who has excellent vocal chords, was performing as one of the six leading men and we were excited to see how he would do and to see the production overall.

Now admittedly, I am not a critic of theatre productions, and it has been awhile since I have seen something I truly enjoyed. I went along though with trepidation thinking if nothing at all, it would be a good chance to relax for a few hours, and maybe even sleep on the comfortable theatre chairs in a cold air-conditioned room. This would not be the first time this has happened to me. I remember a few years back when I was on a trip to the United Kingdom I, along with a few other journalists, fell asleep in a production of Les Miserables on the West End. This was followed by another momentous sleep at Mamma Mia on Broadway. I’ll never forget Michelle’s horror when I told her about my two-hour catnaps at some of the world’s most popular shows.

Honestly, I think I fell asleep at those productions not because of the quality of the performances but because of bad planning on the part of our host — both performances scheduled the night after 10-hour plus flights. I can definitely enjoy a good show when I am not tired from hours of flying and traveling. This was true for Phantom of the Opera and Wicked both of which I enjoyed on Broadway and stayed awake for the entire time. One thing I remember thinking though each time I went to a performance was that I just felt audiences abroad were more cultured and seemed far more appreciative of the entire theatre experience. They arrived early for the performances, they dressed up, and they were enthusiastic come curtain call when the performances were good.

For quite a while I felt that theatre audiences in the Philippines, and there aren’t that many to begin with at that, were not as appreciative of the amazing work that goes into a single theatre production as audiences abroad. As is, we are so lucky that we have such incredible talent available here in the Philippines be it in acting or singing. Coupled with people who have worked long and hard to make better sets, better lighting, and all around higher quality productions that can easily rival theatre productions all over the world. I’m happy to see though, that that has changed a lot over the years.

Back in the day when Repertory Philippines was one of the only outfits that put up international plays for the public (of course there were also the Filipino drama groups that performed indigenous local plays as well), my daughter used to always ask me to buy her a season pass. She would then look forward to productions at William J. Shaw auditorium at The Shangri-la Plaza Mall. She would always get ready hours in advance and ask us to drop her off with time to spare whether she was going with the show with a friend or with either her mom or myself. She was always a theatre aficionado and it was through her that I usually kept up to speed with what was happening in the Philippine theatre scene.

I know that a lot has changed since those days of driving to Shangri-la. Repertory doesn’t even put up plays there anymore. And since then, many other theatre production companies have gained prominence in the country. From Trumpets to Atlantis Productions to even newer outfits like the newly launched Viva Atlantis there is much more diversity in the local theatre scene. From international plays like The Full Monty, Next to Normal, and They’re Playing Our Song to local hits like Sa Wakas and Ang Bagong Harana to even plays put up in the country by international groups like Dirty Dancing and Mamma Mia, there is truly something for everyone.

I am glad that our theatre industry has continued to grow despite the fact that our government is not as supportive of the arts in the Philippines as many other international governments are of their arts programs. Here theatre is more of a private venture with sponsors coming from private companies instead of government grants. The evolution of the local theatre groups and the growth of the theatre community in general is a wonderful way to expand talent and give people more choices and more chances to enjoy different types of theatre. From classic show like Phantom of the Opera to new and upbeat shows like Rock of Ages. 

And our theatre audience has grown alongside the industry as well. From what was once a small knit theatre-loving group, there are far more people flocking to the theatre these days for an enjoyable evening in another world. There are more people willing to suspend disbelief for a few hours and spend on a theatre tickets than just heading to the movies. They don’t mind spending a little more to see a quality show because they finally appreciate and understand how much goes into a show. And honestly, we are quite lucky because our productions are priced very competitively and we get to see great shows in great venues at affordable ticket prices ranging from P900-P2000. I see only more growth ahead for theatre in the Philippines.

Which brings me back to my original thought — The Full Monty. I am proud to say I truly enjoyed the show for all two plus hours with both eyes wide open. The story is about six men who have lost their jobs when the factory closed down. It chronicles their hilarious journey to finding self-worth again amidst family problems, relationship problems, and general desperation. I thought the story was quite universal and everyone who has ever been in a pinch will know how the protagonists felt when weighing out their options. You tend to ask yourself the questions what would you do if you found yourself in a similar situation. How far would you go to earn for the ones you love?

My wife and I enjoyed the show very much. We laughed and we clapped along with the entire audience as the play reached its climactic scene at the end of the show when the men put on their show-within-the-show and the audience cheered and encouraged them to go “the full monty”. It was a bit surreal seeing my son-in-law up on the stage but he did such a good job I could not help but be proud. The same goes for the rest of the cast. Kudos to Jaime Wilson whose many years of theatre experience truly made him standout. And Mark Bautista who makes his theatre debut did a great job as the show’s leading man. 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening at the theatre. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of The Full Monty and Viva Atlantis Theatricals. If you have not seen The Full Monty it runs until this weekend so there is still time to see it. Viva Atlantis has definitely started their theatre season with a bang and I look forward to seeing what they, and the other Philippine theatre groups, have planned in the future.