Encore: Review of GRACE: Challenging Catholic Codes

May 25, 2024

In September 1948, just two months after she entered the convent of Discalced Carmelites of Lipa Carmel under prioress Mother Cecilia de Jesus, novice Teresita Castillo reported that the Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared before her in the garden. These apparitions were accompanied by showers of rose petals of unique beauty and fragrance, consistently falling neatly in straight lines, even with a breeze. All her fellow nuns, and later, even the Archbishop of Lipa Monsignor Alfredo himself, also saw the petals and believed in her visions.  

From there, the nuns were thrown into a whirlwind of controversy when the devotees got wind of the miracles and gathered outside the convent. They began donating money for the chapel which the Virgin instructed Teresita to build. All of this flurry of activity in Lipa soon caught the attention of the Catholic hierarchy, from auxiliary bishop of Manila, Monsignor Rufino Santos, to the papal representative, Monsignor Edigio Vagnozzi, who wasted no time assigning a scientist / Dominican priest Fr. Angel de Blas to investigate.  

It was in these confrontations between the simple provincial nuns and the imperious Church officials that playwright Floy Quintos weaved his signature brand of bold, fearless, hard-hitting, and thought-provoking literary magic. As it cast doubts on the authenticity of Teresita's visions, the Catholic Church was caught in the crosshairs of strong accusations of unscrupulous manipulation and revisionism. With three years of intense research about this topic behind him, Quintos did not flinch a bit here, all the way up to the final statement.

As this play was a work of fiction based on true events, it was difficult to distinguish where fact ended and fiction began. I felt that Act 1 told the story straightforwardly, as historical records showed. I suspect a major part of Act 2 covering the private conversations of Fr. de Blas with each of the personalities involved were likely fictional, with Quintos speculating on how the final verdict of the bishops was arrived at. 

You probably need to be a Catholic to best appreciate the play, as it dealt with clergy and nuns, and Catholic theology. Ironically, being Catholic also makes it difficult to watch the play, when you witness how the Church officials employed underhanded methods of blackmail to extract confessions they wanted to hear and signatures they needed signed. We are not naive, but seeing these scenes played out like that on stage was truly unsettling.

Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino was a kind, compassionate Mother Cecilia, so her fate in Act 2 was painful to witness. Frances Makil-Ignacio was a breath of fresh air as amusing Batanguena Sr. Agatha. Missy Maramara was such an insecure, selfish drama queen as Sr. Lucia. Stella Canete-Mendoza certainly nailed the nuances of the difficult role of Teresita. However, one wonders why a middle-age actress was playing a 21 year-old novice. This curious casting choice was puzzling, even as Ms. Mendoza was riveting.  

Leo Rialp towered, literally and figuratively, over the entire cast in his portrayal of the racist, misogynistic, grammar nazi Vagnozzi. Dennis Marasigan was also a formidable presence as Santos, a familiar name whom I am now seeing in a new light. Jojo Cayabyab's best scene was when his cynicism turned into wonder upon witnessing a miracle. Nelsito Gomez excelled as the conflicted De Blas, whose cold pragmatism was soon overcome by rustic sincerity. New actor Raphne Catorce had a featured monologue as reformed bumpkin Guillermo.

This 2-act play ran for three hours, but the intelligent dialogue and ruthless arguments written by Floy Quintos made the time fly right by. I had been a fan of Quintos's rich and provocative writing since I've seen "The Collection" (2013), all the way to "The Reconciliation Party" (2022), and everything in between. It is very sad that "Grace" is already Quintos' final work, as he had passed away unexpectedly last April 17, 2024. With all his favorite director Dexter Santos at the helm and his dearest go-to actors in the cast, what a fitting valedictory this was! 

*****

"GRACE" runs from May 25 - June 16, 2024 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater at Circuit Makati. Showtimes are 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, with 3 pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets can be bought online care of Ticket2Me, at the following prices: Platinum at P2000, Gold at P1800 and Silver at P1500. 

Director: Dexter Santos. Assistant Director: Mikko Angeles. Production designer: Mitoy Sta. Ana. Lighting designer: John Batalla. Music and sound designer: Arvy Dimaculangan. Video and graphics designer: Steven Tansiongco. Dramaturgs: Marvin Olaes, Davidson Oliveros.

Recap of SB19 PAGTATAG! FINALE DAY 2

May 19, 2024

It was not 6pm yet, and the Araneta Coliseum is already filling up fast. The free-seating General Admission section is already packed. The buzz of excitement of the A'tins filled the air, as they wore various fan merchandise and tried out their lightsticks. A bit after 6pm, a DJ hosted a Dance-cam contest sponsored by GCash, which hyped up the fun atmosphere as the fans danced to SB19 hit songs when the camera caught them onscreen. 

Promptly at 7:00pm, the house lights dimmed as the audience screamed in anticipation, as the tangle of yellow tape got "peeled off" one by one on the big screens.  As a video was played, the fans screamed even louder when they saw the face of their favorite SB19 member in focus. A stately tree "grew" to full size in the middle of the empty backdrop, an elegant image which will remain visible for the rest of the show until the very end.

The Guys' Opening Spiel

If you came late for the show, you will already miss their big international hit "Gento" (VIDEO) which the guys audaciously made their opening number. They followed this with two Tagalog ballads -- "Ilaw" (the tree lit up in bright orange) and "Nyebe" (the tree in white, with snowflake designs "falling" in the background).  They ended this segment with the slinky R&B torch ballad "I Want You" (VIDEO) complete with a sultry dance-off of the five on the catwalk stage.

The lightsticks around the venue were all switched to bright red. A big full moon appeared behind the leafless tree for full gothic effect. Boys came out wearing purple jackets and red pants to perform "Mana" while pulses of flame burst out from the floor. Then, the tree turned into a bare graphic rendition of lines. The screens were filled with fuschia and cyan designs and the stage awash with laser lights when they performed the next song "Bazinga."

The Stage Design for "Nyebe"

Their next song was their new single "Moonlight" (VIDEO) which is another high-energy dance track. After this, they called in one of their producers for this recording, blond-haired Chinese DJ Terry Zhong, who gamely joined the boys for some funny banter and a short dance. Zhong was then given his own spotlight segment, where he was able to showcase his percolating EDM mixes, accompanied by a colorful, pulsating laser light show.   

The next set were the Solos, where each member had free rein to show off their individual numbers. First up was Pablo, who entered the stage on a motorbike to sing "EDSA." Next, Justin, wearing a white floral shirt with long sleeves and fluted cuffs, blue shorts, black shoes with white socks, performed a love song "Surreal." He was joined by a female guest singer Jelou for the final verse, where they shared sweet nothings to the delight of his fans.

The Boys Banter with DJ Terry Zhong

Wearing a white coat with red "dripping blood" designs on the shoulders, Josh Cullen upped the tempo with two intense songs: "Yoko Na," which was prefaced by a fan dance; and "Wild Tonight," which had a vampire theme, fiery graphic designs and red lights. The last two guys kept it simple with acoustic ballads: a hoodied Ken with "Kanako" accompanied by a keyboardist, and Stell belting out "Anino" (VIDEO) with Louie Ocampo on grand piano.

The next set had SB19's two sentimental hits. First was "Mapa" which they dedicate to their parents. For this song, the boys were joined by Vocalmyx and Fortenors, two groups both coached by Stell in "The Voice Generations" TV singing competition show last year. Only the five guys were left on the stage bathed in warm orange lights for next song "Liham" (VIDEO) which they lovingly dedicated to their loyal fans, the A'Tins. 

The Boys' Thanksgiving Spiel

For the next song, the beat again went uptempo as the screens were filled colorful checkered and geometric designs and the spotlights played around. The boys of  SB19 all showed off their rapid rapping skills as they welcomed special guest performer Gloc-9 to perform his song "Sumayaw Ka" (VIDEO). The mood of this number was such infectious fun as veteran Gloc-9 was as electric as ever in his rapping. Too bad there was no second song. 

SB19 paved the homestretch with three more upbeat numbers. They started with the fun and light "Freedom." Then they segued to the more hard-hitting beats and frenetic shaking and jumping dance moves of  "Crimzone" (VIDEO). They said goodbye after this song and took a bow with all their guests. However, the encore came quickly as they came right back on stage to perform their final final number "What?" (VIDEO), ending in a shower of confetti.

Curtain Call with Guest Artists

The Pagtatag! World Tour was the second world tour of SB19 to support their second EP, "Pagtatag!" (2023). The first show was held in the Araneta Coliseum last June 24, 2023, and went on to have 18 shows, with 6 stops in United States, 4 in Canada, 1 in Dubai and 1 in Japan. This May 19, 2024 show is the final show of the 2-day finale, coming full circle back to the venue where it all began. I only knew SB19 music casually before this concert, now I have a better appreciation of their talents as a group and as individual artists. 

Barefoot: Review of BAR BOYS: A NEW MUSICAL: Lawyering Life

May 11, 2024

Erik (Benedix Ramos) was the son of a single dad, security guard Paping (Juliene Mendoza). Chris (Alex Diaz) came from the US, raised by a single mom, abandoned by his father. Torran (Jerom Canlas) was the son of a single mom (Gimbey dela Cruz) whom he did not want to disappoint. Josh (Omar Uddin) was a free spirited young man who had the environment as his advocacy. The four friends all passed the exam to enter law school.    

From we follow the experiences of the four guys from their first day in law school, all the way up to their graduation and bar exam. On their first day of school, their introductory talk was given by Justice Hernandez (Sheila Francisco), who did not sugarcoat the ordeal they were all going into for the next four years. On that day 1, there were about 1,500 days to go before the bar exam, and the musical counted the days down from there. 

Myke Salomon was the musical director three consecutive big hit jukebox musicals, namely "Rak of Aegis" (with Aegis songs), "Ang Huling El Bimbo" (with Eraserheads songs) and ongoing now "One More Chance" (with Ben&Ben songs). It is hard to believe that "Bar Boys" is actually only the first very first all-original musical that Salomon had composed from scratch, and he has some musical gems in here, with both emotion and grit.

Pat Valera's ability to adapt a film into a play and musical had already been proven when he did "Dekada '70" to much critical acclaim. The original "Bar Boys" was a 2017 film written and directed by Kip Oebanda.  While there were similarities between the film and Valera's musical version, like the difficulties in class recitations, grades and for the Bar, there were very marked differences in the personal issues faced by each of the boys. 

The conflict between Chris and his estranged father Atty. Maurice (Nor Domingo) in the play was far deeper and more toxic than his secret girlfriend in the film.  Gay professor Atty. Cruz (Topper Fabregas) was approached by was someone else in a different context in the play, not the grade-desperate Erik in the film. Torran's fraternity issues were not tackled as much in the play. The fraternity's Lord Master, a key character in the film, was not even there.  

The cases tackled in the classroom scenes by professors (played by Kakki Teodoro and Carlon Matobato) were mostly the same ones cited in the film.  The most hard-hitting scenes in the film were those with Prof. Hernandez, portrayed by Ms. Odette Khan, who won awards for her work. Ms. Sheila Francisco's plays this same role with her own brand of fiery passion, class, plus her signature singing intensity -- also very deserving of awards. 

The role of Paping was expanded in the play, making him the client of a tough case for which  the friends prepared the evidence for their professors who were prosecuting. Juliene Mendoza had this knack of drawing the audience to connect with his character emotionally, and same is true with his Paping. He even had a song about his late wife who loved zarzuelas like him. It was sentimental and felt out-of-place yes, but I'd give anything to hear Mendoza sing.  

The four main actors (Ramos, Diaz, Canlas and Uddin) were all playing their first lead roles in a musical play staged by a major theater company. Their inexperience can still be evident in some dramatic scenes, but you can feel that they were giving their best efforts. The singing talents of these young men were quite evident from the very first song number. Surely their proficiency as actors will improve further with more performance days ahead. 

The play runs for around three hours. Act 1 was a formidable 1 hour and 45 minutes, then an Intermission of 15 minutes, and an Act 2 of about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Certainly, some fat could stilled be trimmed (like the generic "coming out" scene, for instance) in order to streamline this musical for future runs. Fortunately, the scenes that describe and discuss the law, law school and the justice system, the true essence of this play, were riveting to watch. 

**********

"Bar Boys: A New Musical" will be staged for three weeks only (no extensions!) from May 3 to 19 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater, Circuit Makati. The whole run has already been sold out since their opening night. 

Completing the ensemble are: Diego Aranda, Joshua Ade Valenzona, Edrei Tan, Jannah Baniasia, Anne Cortez, Uzziel Delamide, and Meg Ruiz. The the creative team includes Jomelle Era for choreography, Ohm David for set design, Meliton Roxas Jr. for lighting design, Tata Tuviera for costume design, and Bene Manaois for video design.

Full House: Review of BURUGUDUYSTUNSTUGUDUNSTUY: The Potency of Parokya

May 4, 2024

16 year-old student Aiza (Felicity Kyle Napuli was lame in one leg, always bullied by her classmates. Jen (Marynor Madamesila) lived in the streets sorting through garbage piles with her brother Tikmol (Noel Comia, Jr.). 30-something mall security guard Girlie (Natasha Cabrera) was always teased because she was not yet married. Middle-aged housewife Norma (Tex Ordonez-De Leon) was left by her husband Lambert for a younger woman. 

The four of them had their birthdays on the same date, December 6. However, because of the sad circumstances in their lives on that day, none of them were in the mood of celebrating. To make things worse, all of them were hearing a constant drumming sound in their ears. At the same time that night, they were each sucked into mysterious doors, after which they all materialized in a fantastic realm beyond reality populated by colorful quirky characters.

Newport World Resorts last project, "Ang Huling El Bimbo" (AHEB), the beloved, multi-awarded 2018 jukebox musical based on the discography of the Eraserheads, officially closed last July 23, 2023 on its nth restaging. After its massive success, NWR decided to go the same route in its next show, this time creating a jukebox musical around the songs written and popularized by anther Filipino alt-rock band of the 1990s -- Parokya ni Edgar.

I was not as familiar with discography of Parokya as I was with Eraserheads, so I was worried that I may not appreciate the show as much as I did AHEB before. I did not even know that the multi-syllabicated neologistic title was the title of their second album (yikes!). I was pleasantly surprised that I actually recognized many of the 47 Parokya songs that musical director Ejay Yatco integrated into the story.  The infectious beats of "Bagsakan" and "The Yes Yes Show" were recurring themes throughout the show. Having the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Mickey Jacinto) playing the music live in the pit is always a big plus. 

The script by Rody Vera tackled mental health issues experienced by four different types of women. The story took a sudden fantasy route when they were teleported to an alternate reality where they can become characters who can express their problems best -- a mermaid for Aiza, an alien for Jen, an "aswang" for Norma. Girlie's story took a different form of self-realization to the tune of "This Guy's in Love With You, Pare", which added another dimension to the layered plot. My personal favorite song number was "Don't Think" where the four ladies share comfort and wisdom with each other.

These three disparate fantasy elements certainly triggered the designing genius of creative team to think way outside the box. Scenic designer Lawyn Cruz worked with lighting designer Meliton Roxas, Jr., and video projection designers GA Fallarme and Joyce Anne Garcia to create different worlds for the action to inhabit. Most eye-catching were the amazing over-the-top costumes and monster-designs created by Raven Ong. Jen, Girlie, and most spectacularly Norma, all took off the ground to fly on cables, so props to the engineering and safety teams for ensuring that these dangerous stunts go on without a hitch. 

The story included characters from Parokya songs, like Mr. Suave (Pepe Herrera), Mang Jose (Nicco Manalo), Buloy (Boo Gabunada) and even Buloy's dog Murlock (an endearing performance by a very well-trained Belgain Malinois dog named Deevo). The names of the Bigotilyos, namely Tito Ralph (Jasper Jimenez), Gilbert Magat (Stephen Vinas),  Charvis Manlabat (Rapah Manalo) and Ric Mercaro, Jr. (MC dela Cruz) were from the spoken intro of the song "Alumni Homecoming."

The plot had to take a lot of seemingly extraneous side trips just in order to fit in Parokya's most popular songs which audiences will surely anticipate. There were courtship scenes to accommodate love songs like "Harana" and "Gitara." A big communal booze drinking spree had to happen so that the whole cast can sing "Inuman Na" together.  A rather contrived naughty bull session on male psychology segued smoothly to the raunchy crowd favorite, "Don't Play with My Birdie." 

There may have been only 4 main female characters, and 9 male supporting characters with names. Then, there were 23 other actors (many recognizable names themselves - like Red Nuestro, Teetin Villanueva, Miah Canton, Cara Barredo, Jep Go) comprising the ensemble playing various unnamed minor characters who filled up the expansive Newport Theater stage. Furthermore, there were five understudies and two swings to take over absent cast members just in case. This huge triple-threat cast can be quite formidable for any director to control as a smooth unit, but Dexter M. Santos was more than up to the task.  

Individual song numbers can be very entertaining on their own, especially if the song being sung is very popular. However, with multiple visual elements to see and story subplots to follow, the overall viewing experience can be rather overwhelming and confusing.  Those who are very familiar with Parokya ni Edgar lore and lyrics can be rewarded with plenty of Easter eggs, but these may just feel like inside jokes flying over the heads of casual fans. The unintelligible rapped lyrics due to unclear delivery and mic issues should be addressed soon.  It's just the beginning of the run, and I trust Santos and his crew can make necessary adjustments to streamline this new show, as they were able to do for AHEB before. 

*****

BURUGUDUYSTUNSTUGUDUNSTUY: The Parokya Ni Edgar Musical runs at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at the Newport World Resorts in Pasay City from April 26 to June 8, 2024, with 8pm shows on Fridays and Saturdays and 3pm matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets can be bought via Ticketworld, with the following prices: SVIP - P5,525, VIP – P4,420, Gold - P3,315, Silver – P2,210 and Bronze – P1,105.