Friday, November 28, 2014

Review of TP's PRINSIPE MUNTI: Seeing What's Really Important

November 28, 2014




"The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a famous and well-loved book. I know I have read it sometime in my ancient past, but I honestly do not remember what is was about at all. Tanghalang Pilipino currently has a Filipino-language play adapted from the beloved novel by prolific playwright Ms. Layeta Bucoy. I brought my daughter to watch with me because she just had a Filipino book report about this same novel.

In this play, Principe Munti is the ruler of a small planet with three volcanos, only two of which are active. It also has only one Rose which the Prince loved. She is of a rare beauty and fragrance, but of a rather self-centered and petulant sort. When his relationship with his Rose sours, the Prince decides to leave his planet to explore other worlds. He goes off from planet to planet, where he meets extreme sorts of people -- a President who always wanted to order others around, an Actress who always wanted people to admire her, a Drunkard, and a numbers-obsessed Businesswoman. 

His journey brought him on Earth. There he befriends an Alamid (or Civet) who teaches him a vital lesson of seeing the most important things with his heart, not with his eye. Finally, he finds himself in a desert where he meets a Pilot whose plane crashed there. Before he leave to reunite with his Rose however, the Prince gets to impart to the Pilot the valuable lessons he had learned so far.

The conduct of the play was rather dark and contemplative, in contrast with most productions meant for children which were bright and cheery. The use of shadow puppetry by Teta Tulay (and the Anino Shadowplay Collective) to enhance the storytelling was the novelty here. The lighting effects by John Batalla was essential in delivering the dramatic interaction of live performances with the shadowplay behind the screens. The original music and songs of Toni Munoz was sparse in keeping with the play's style, but very effective in building up mood. 

The script by Layeta Bucoy was lyrical and somber in tone like the spirit of the book, but rather uneven. I do not remember the book anymore so the progress of the story felt totally new to me, which was good. There were points when the dry humor could be lost on younger members of the audience. Adults and older kids may find more fulfillment watching this show than very young kids. There were points in the middle when the story would bog down, only dependent on the vitality of the actors to enliven the scenes. 

The talented child actor Micko Laurente, all of 9 years old, was on stage the whole time and had to carry the show on his shoulders. This was a formidable role with lengthy lines of dialogue but Laurente pulled it off very well. His character is mostly reactive to the people he meets, so his performance was somehow affected by the performance of the actor with whom he is interacting. (Another child actor Allen Immanuel Ryce alternates in this role.)

Regina de Vera was a true vision of beauty as the Prince's Rose. Her pettiness though became tiresome and repetitive. Those encounters in the four planets with the strange adults went a bit too long for comfort and only mildly funny for the most part. There was a scene with another Rose on Earth that was so dreary and forgettable. The Prince's encounter with a train seemed unnecessarily long and pointless as well. Llorvie Nuevo's performance as the Snake was properly sinister,

However, it was Jonathan Tadioan who really hit it out of the park with his vibrant performance of the Alamid. This was the peak point of the whole show in its effective evocation of true joy and inspiration within his few minutes on stage with the Prince. Marco Viana was also very good as the Pilot. He has very effective chemistry with the Prince which is important to build up to the emotionally-shattering climax. I would say that these last 30 minutes or so contain the very beautiful heart and soul of the whole play, and most worthy of the ticket price paid.

Congratulations to the Director Tuxqs Rutaquio and the rest of the Tanghalang Pilipino cast and crew for creating another innovative and interesting play to develop the love of theater for Filipino children.




"Prinsipe Munti" runs from November 28 - December 7, 2014 with shows at 10 am, 2 pm ad 6 pm at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater). Tickets (P600, P800 and P1,000) are available through Tanghalang Pilipino (832-1125 loc 1620/1621 or 09052544930) or Ticketworld (891-9999 / www.ticketworld.com.ph).

21 comments:

  1. This is so interesting! The Little Prince in Fiipino version? Cool! One of my fave books of all time!

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  2. A family oriented play similar to children books or is it a fable? Unfortunately, I haven't attended this kind of play since I worked in Dubai City. Glad that there's Filipino version at present.

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  3. I'm just wondering, how old Miko is? Anyway, this play sounds like it's really for kids based from your descriptions. I've never heard of this story/book and maybe if I was younger, I would be very interested.

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  4. The Little Prince is only one of my favourite book in the world - it's one of those books that takes on different meanings as you grow with it. It's interesting that you've an adaptation of it just for Filipino kids!

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  5. The Little Prince was one of the book reviews requirements in our school before. I enjoyed reading it because it has pictures and the conversations between the little prince and the characters in the planets were easy to understand. I bet this play is great for children to watch.

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  6. I have never read The Little Prince. I have been planning to but I got sidetracked with other books. It is a good thing Filipinos developed this into a play. I hope they read your review and make some changes to make it a little more interesting for everyone.

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  7. the little prince used to be one of my favourite childhood books. its still my favourite

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  8. Sounds like a very interesting book and show with valuable lessons to impart

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  9. Oh I love the little Prince ! I was first introduced to it as a child by my auntie who gave me the book which over the years became very tattered and much loved. I have since given it to my daughter. “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

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  10. I am unfamiliar with the story but it sounds like a good one.

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  11. I love theater plays like this. I we could have more of this and create more love for this art. I also want to try and watch this soon!

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  12. Quite an interesting story.. its always great to see young child artists performing so well!

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  13. I'm not sure, although many people love Little Prince, somehow, I've never learnt how to appreciate it. :( that's bad right?!

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  14. Nothing much to say about, except though I'm quite familiar with the story during my childhood days. And it's been a while since the last time I watched a theatrical play. I guess basing on your review, Micko will have a lot of time to be one heck of a great thespian soon (and it doesn't need to be in TV or movie at all times, since I personally believed that the (theater) stage was still the best venue for performing arts.

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  15. It's nice to see the Filipino version of the Little Prince. I would like to see the insights presented in the play.

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  16. I know the Little Prince is a well loved classic, but I have never read it sadly. I should change that and share this wonderful story with my kiddos..

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  17. "There were points in the middle when the story would bog down, only dependent on the vitality of the actors to enliven the scenes. "

    I agree with this one. but overall, the play was good. It's my first time to watch stage play and it was good as my expectation!!!

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  18. The play does sound more suited to an adult audience. The book is actually very profound although it is a children's book.

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  19. I have never heard of this book but your description of the play makes me want to pick it up right away. Thank you for introducing me to something so wonderful :)

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  20. I read the book but have not seen an adaptation of it as a play. it would be interesting to see how it was interpreted.

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  21. Great way to bond with the kids. We still have time tomorrow but I hope tickets are still available

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