The Grinning Man

So I guess there is another Youtube Channel that I should follow and that is Bristol Old Vic. I just happened to revisit The Show Must Go On for any new offerings but it seems like they are no longer showing full musicals there. And Youtube recommendations are just so fantastic, they gave me BOV and at that time the dark musical The Grinning Man was on. This tragicomedy brought tears to my eyes. Imagine having experienced cruelty at such a a young age! And to think that cruelty will stay with you forever and will almost define your whole being!

Our show begins with Grinpayne, a puppeteer in a freak show, telling his own story using puppets. Part of the audience is a noble, Lord David. The puppet story shows a young boy who is refused admission to a ship because of his mutilated face, a face that is believed to bring ill luck on the sea. This is during a time when a tyrant king reigns. The child walks alone and encounters a baby girl with her dead mother. He ends up in Ursus' house and there grows up with Dea, the baby girl. 

The tyrant king dies and his daughter Angelica is chosen to be the next sovereign. She is set to just displace his father and continue the tyrannical rule her father started. Her sister Josiana and brother David have an incestuous relationship. So when David shares his experience at the freak show, Josiana and the court fool Barkilphedro join him to go to the freak show and there witness the face of Grinpayne, revealed to be forever in a smile, a smile so frightening because it is a smile made from violence which he got during his childhood, but he remembers almost nothing. The sight strikes something in David and Josiana and both claim to see the whole of humanity in Grinpayne's grinning pain.

So anyway blind Dea and Grinpayne fall in love with each other. However things get extra exciting when Josiana and Grinpayne begin to be intimate with each other and when Angelica saw the latter, she is so moved that she named him a Lord, replacing her own brother David whom she cast out to the streets. Barkilphedro becomes Grinpayne's servant much to his dismay as he has been eyeing the title of Lord for quite some time already. Barkilphedro visits Ursus and tortures him, thus the audience learns the truth of the past. Dea overhears the conversation and realizes that the "medicine" being given to Grinpayne is actually to make him forget his past. It turns out that Barkilphedro is actually the one who mutilated the young Grinpayne so as to save his life. Grinpayne is the son of an executed lord whose family was also to be killed but Grinpayne's mother pleaded with Barkilphedro to spare the child. In order for people to never recognize the young lord, he gave him the permanent scar. Ursus knows about it but is helpless to prevent it as his priority is his wife and infant daughter, the latter turning out to be Dea. 

As Grinpayne and Josiana are about to be married following the burning of the fair and with false news of Dea's death, David appears and challenge Grinpayne to a duel. At that time, Grinpayne collapses in pain for want of medicine and Dea arrives to tell him what the potion actually does. Grinpayne remembers Barkilphedro and is about to kill him when his dead mother appears to him and persuades him not to kill. All past secrets are made known and Grinpayne sails off with Dea away from it all.

The songs in this musical remind me a lot of Weber. There is even a line in one of the songs that says "and you'll love like you've never loved before" which seems to be a play on "and you'll live as you've never lived before" in The Phantom of the Opera. I also like the dark gothic feel  of the whole play, the props and costumes making this story very rich visually. And it appeals to one's sense of humanity in so many ways, like how under a dark reign, you will be very touched to find that there will be people who will still show kindness even though in different forms. What Barkilphedro did to Grinpayne is indeed horrible, but as the past unravels itself, we are led to discover that his intention is to save the boy and also himself lest he be branded as traitor for not following the king's orders. This  coincides with my concept of kindness, that most times it takes a cruel form. I explained that to Q one late afternoon during a jogging date in UP. Sensing that he could be a people-pleaser and someone who will not be honest because the truth might come out ugly, I told him that my concept of "good" is very different from other people's, that for me authenticity, integrity, honesty tops normal conceptions of goodness. In the end I was right that he's just one of the normal guys who prefer to preserve a "good boy" image. I have been right in my assessments and it's a good thing I have become better at detecting red flags so I didn't fall hard for him. That was still a good exercise and I am glad all my feelings are right. As I learned before, gut feel does not lie.

Cats the Musical

So once again, thanks to the Youtube Channel The Shows Must Go On, I am now able to watch the popular Cats, a musical based on the poetry of T.S. Eliot. I first encountered the poet via his nightmarish epic poem The Waste Land, a critique of modernity.  The cool thing about the poem is how Eliot used different languages in some lines, which I am a bit unhappy about because somebod beat me to it. But then, given the richness of cultures and languages in Asia and Africa, for certain many obscure poets have done it before, too.

Cats had a movie version in 2019 and was shown in Philippine cinemas early this year. The day before my brother's wedding, I was locked up in our hotel room, trying to watch a highschool play version but I ended up just sleeping the afternoon away, seeing that there is little plot. One also does not expect much from the production but then again, considering that it a HS play, it's already achieved quite a lot in terms of aesthetics.

Cats is about cats of different types and different personalities. Old Grizzabella who is shunned by the other cats. There's this other old cat whose name is Deuteronomy, who selects a cat who will be sent to Heaviside Layer. The cats gather is a Jellicle ball and that is where the selection will take place. For the most part in the beginning, I was rather bored because of the many dances and songs with very little progress in story-telling. The dance choreography are good, but then for someone not into dancing, it's not something I am super interested in.

If there is some merit to this musical, it's got some of the best catchy songs. My favorite aside from Memory, is Mr. Mistoffelees, performed by John Partridge as the curious cat Rum Tum Tugger. (Yes, I really searched for the actor's name because he is so damn good!) The singer-actor playing this character is super awesome. I also enjoyed his namesake's song in Act 1. It's something that you'd definitely want to sing along to, or to have some buddy to sing along with. And of course, who doesn't love a black magical cat, like the famed Luna from the massively popular shoujo series Sailormoon? Without this very important character, the selection will never happen; it was Mr. Mistoffelees who brings back Old Deuteronomy after the latter was abducted by the mischievous and mysterious Macavity. And then just as quickly he himself disappears! If there is any motivation for me to see this musical performed live, it is to see for myself how they make Mr. Mistoffelees suddenly disappear after bringing back the old cat leader.

And so, the old glamour cat Grizzabella is chosen to be reborn. Before that, she sings another round of Memory. And while she sings, our favorite magic cat can be seen at the back. He must have found it worthwhile to stay for the Jellicle Choice! In the end, she is seen together with Old Deuteronomy on a rising tire, old D delivering her to the golden stairs as the other cats look on.

It seems that after this, "Jellicles can and Jellicles do" will probably play nonstop inside my head for at least a week. 

Oh! Well I never! Was there ever a play so clever as magical Cats the Musical!

Ang Huling El Bimbo, The Hit Musical (Youtube)

My fifth musical this lockdown is AHEB which I wanted to watch since it was first shown in Resorts World two years ago. I never did, and even failed to catch the 2019 remake because the venue is just so far from us. It's just lucky that it was picked to be available online in ABS-CBN Entertainment's Youtube channel as part of its fund-raising program Pantawid ng Pag-ibig. Donations will go to families whose livelihood is affected by the Covid-19 lockdown. Just a few days ago, the local TV giant said its farewell after its franchise was not renewed, thereby putting around 11,000 employees in further jeopardy. I wonder if a portion of the PnP will go to employees who need financial assistance. 

The people behind AHEB are familiar names: Floy Quintos and Dexter Santos are credited for most acclaimed DUP productions, my most favorite being Collections. I have great expectations especially since it was the rave and because of the hype created around it years back. Story-wise, it does not disappoint. The message is so powerful, a reflection of reality that bites. As for the incorporation of the iconic band Eraserhead's songs, I feel like most are unnecessary and that the songs awkwardly fail to connect to the scenes. Of course, it's a different story with the song "Ang Huling El Bimbo" as the musical successfully mirrored the bliss of innocence and the subsequent tragedy. 

But it's not just all romance, the play's strength derives from its accurate portrayal, despite common stereotypes, of personalities in the Philippine society. For instance, there are the three UP students, iskos who are so idealistic and who are full of talk about patriotism and changing the world. On that tragic night when their friend Joy was raped, they prove to be mere cowards, who for all their supposed brilliance being able to enter and exit UP successfully and for having achieved their career objectives, are shown to be apathetic and lacking in human compassion. Act 2 is so heart-breaking, seeing Joy struggle for herself as she is forced into prostitution and drug-dealing by her "protector" Banlaoi who in turn, became a councilor and used that power to further drive poor Joy's life to hell, figuratively and literally. What makes it even more sad is seeing her still believing in her friends who abandoned her after the rape. The three men are all cowards for doing so, for refusing to report to the police, for leaving Joy at a time when she is most in need of support. She even attended their graduation rites with flowers for each of them but they all excused themselves and acted like they do not know her. This, even though Joy helped them through a lot, provided moral support and uplifted their spirits when they were down and doubting themselves. 

Despite her namesake, Joy is a victim of a duplicitous society, one that takes advantage of the poor and became pawn without full agency. Feminists will be enraged to find her unable to unchain herself from her circumstances. In many instances, she expressly pins her hopes for the future upon others, willingly believing her three friends when they all promise her reunions and never-ending friendship. But the ugly thing is, people will always get caught up in the tangled web of modern life wherein relationships hold value insofar as it helps propel one's career. Real, authentic relationships are but a part of the nostalgic past. It would have been okay if both parties move on with the same feeling to abandon friendship but in life, there are those who never grow up and who clings to ideals of friendship and relationships that they are left hanging.

On another note, the theater piece is full of political overtones, especially an explicit critique of Duterte's war on drugs, especially in the character of the corrupt Banlaoi who achieves high office and whose campaign money comes from drug-trafficking. But it likewise criticizes the liberals who lead these tirades against Duterte's drug war, the liberals who are privileged who cannot be bothered to really help the poor and the oppressed, these liberals who are only talk and do nothing. Joy is always shown with the color yellow (yellow top, and later on, yellow bag), perhaps as allusion to her bright and cheerful personality, and at the same time, politically connected to the Liberal Party. Thus the musical sends the message also of how the Liberal Party has promoted all these liberal ideas that, while pleasant to the ears, have done little to alleviate poverty. Joy's character is testament to how believing in the promises of liberalism will end in tragedy.  

Prinsipe Munti @CCP

The first time I heard about Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novella "The Little Prince", I was already in college. It was always the book being read by French language majors and whenever a French prof asks what our favorite book is, at least one will say "Le petit prince". Because of its enormous popularity, I was a bit hesitant to read t until I saw a Spanish version in my favorite bookstore. At that time, I would buy every Spanish book I could get hold of, mainly to practice my Spanish. Then eventually I would find it in original French. No more hesitations, I was quick to make the purchase!

I did read both versions and I was amazed at how simple the story is but how it carries deep truths about the way we lead our lives. It bashes the superiority of adults and raises the innocence and the sense of wonder of children to great heights. It disarms us and leads us to ponder on important issues like relationships, more than glory, fame, and fortune.

So when I heard that a play based on the novella will be staged in Tanghalang Pilipino in CCP, I of course wanted to see it. Because of Typhoon Ruby, a falls trek was cancelled so I was free to go to the last day the play will be shown in theater.

The play is a mix of shadow play and musical so it was fun to watch. I have to admit that I cried from start to finish, but it was not because I was blown by the performance itself. There's something lacking in the whole play that I couldn't quite point out. I cried more so because of sudden insights into love and relationships, on relationships, basically. At this point in life, I still feel the pain of being let go of far too easily, the pain of loving and giving too much of myself that it was too late when I realized I left very little love for myself, that despite having given up a lot for a person's sake, you are left behind, forgotten and abandoned. On that note, I can very well relate with the Rosas as well as with Munti.

Whenever Munti sings, my heart constricts and memories of happy days gone bad fill my mind. Thoughts of fair-weathered friends, of friendly users, of liars who say one thing and mean the other, arise. I have, time and again, told myself to always open my heart, to always keep the hope up that one day I will find my real family, a group which can truly understand me and help me grow as a person. It's just so hard to navigate through life with so many unnecessary relationships which suck the life out of one so innocent and so trusting and so naive.

I am touched by how Munti does everything for Rose, how despite Rose's inability to understand him he still does his best to show how much he loves her. Those scenes remind me of how I can be Munti, someone who gives his all for a beloved and at the same time, like Rosas, someone who demands a lot of proof of one's love. I cried when Munti no longer understands Rosas and decides to leave her.

I loved how Munti learns from Alamid, how Alamid would tell him that what is important cannot be seen by the eyes, among other lessons on relationships. 

It was painful, that scene wherein Munti realizes that there are many roses in Planet Earth which are very much like his Rosas back at home. But Alamid's words on how investing time and effort in a beloved makes that beloved special and unique. This is not just love but also a responsibility as the Alamid would always tell him that he must be responsible for the things he tames. Taming after all, is the act of establishing meaningful ties and this take time. The other characters who are so engrossed in their own little world cannot see beyond themselves and are too self-centered to give attention to Munti. (This reminds me of how superficial friendship has become especially in today's digital world where people are just SO BUSY they don't have time to catch up with you.)

Realizing that he left his beloved alone in his planet, Munti wants to go back and is tricked by a serpent who promises to send him home with one bite. The fatal bite renders him lifeless as the pilot whom he befriends in the desert mourns for his demise. 

_______________________________

Clearly I have no intention of writing about this play, but the emotions they provoked in me were so strong and I know I can only be restless if I don't do something about it. Pardon the crappy writeup filled with rants. :(

December

The last month of the year 2013 was spent without any travel to far away place. My officemates and I had planned to spend Christmas eve in Pangasinan but it did not push through. And we had planned to spend our first Christmas eve away from our families and in an island where we would camp and cook our own food.

December is one month I dread the most. I always get depressed on the last few days of November which usually lasts until the early part of January. I dread my birthday. I dread Christmas. I dread New Year's Eve. Maybe it's because my mind always withdraws back to the past, waxing nostalgic about my childhood, my highschool life (which I considered the happiest phase of my life because of my innocence and naiveté), my fall-after-enlightenment in college, my turbulent post-college years... The last days of November would always urge me to open my diaries, where I recorded most of my teenage years. It's both amazing and weird at the same time how I was able to write that much back then and how I even had the time to record SMS to me by people who mattered a lot then. And I am thankful that the younger me was that addicted to keep memories for posterity's sake so it's easier to see where I went wrong in some aspects of my life.

December 2013's important highlights:
1. Lots of food trips but the ones I enjoyed most were the ones with my highschool friends and the one with my ex-officemates. I'm glad to be reconnecting with those people. It's very seldom when I meet people whom I truly care for. (Being nice to everyone doesn't mean I truly care for everyone.)

2. I won a scholarship to a learning institution and might be studying again anytime soon but there are no definite plans yet.

3. Attended Handel's "Messiah": A Christmas Concert at UP Theater and was treated to a night full of wonderful music. I especially loved the UP Madrigal Singers for their extraordinary skills in mimicking animal sounds. Really wow! (On the downside, I was reminded of how I was discouraged to continue my music lessons... I could have been a musician... Boo!)

4. Shopped for clothes. The last time I did so was in December of 2012. I very rarely shop unless needed. My wardrobe looks pitiful compared to my sisters'. Also, that day was another sisterly date. I just love eating out with my sisters (coz they're always the ones to foot the bill...)

5. First time to interact with the Heritage Conservation Society-Youth (HCS-Y). I found the people really knowledgeable and very friendly. I might consider volunteering more. The project was to tour students from UP Visayas who are currently staying in UP Diliman following the disasters in the region. We visited Fort Santiago, Manila Cathedral, San Agustin, Manila Collectibles, Casa Manila, and National Museum Art Gallery.

6. Disposed a lot of useless things from the shelves in our bedroom. Less trash, more useful space, which means, I can finally have space for my books. (Don't tell my sisters!!!)

January 2013

And so it's February again, with lots of backlog carried over from last month. I've been planning a lot on how to accomplish tasks to no avail due to inevitable circumstances and surprise happenings that led to another failure in achieving my goals.

On the whole though, I'm pretty happy last month, having gone out with my tourmates thrice. I know that it may be because we just got back from a week-long trip and pretty much everybody misses everybody else and it may take a while before everything settles to being normal again. "Normal" meaning each going out with his or her usual group of friends prior to joining the tour. I have experienced this a lot and so I always remind myself never ever to get attached.

2013 has got many interesting movies to watch, some of which I have been anticipating since last year. I almost fell into a sad state when I wasn't able to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last year and I am glad to have had watched it last month, with my tourmates. The venue was SM NE Imax Theater and I am not even a fan of SM Cinemas but at that time, only SM was showing said movie. Two days before that, I watched Les Misérables with a close girl friend and her mom, also at SM The Block.

At UPFI I watched Nacidas para sufrir, a drama comedy about an old woman who was aunt to three nieces. To help her and keep her company, the three nieces hired Purita, a saintly woman. Purita and Aunt Flora then got married just so the latter can bequeath her properties to the former. Trouble ensues when Purita's family entered the scene, leaving Aunt Flora desolate and penniless.

Also, I watched Santa Santita, a 2004 film by Laurice Guillen at the UPFI on a date with myself. When my archaeo friends invited me to go out with them to watch Hansel and Gretel I couldn't resist and found myself admiring the graphics of this movie. I just love blood and gore. Visual feast for me!!!

And speaking of self-dating, I also watched Katy the Musical alone though before that, I was with college friends touring a Thai exchange student around Malate. Katy is one energetic musical. I so love the singing and the dancing. And Isay Alvarez will become one of my fave actresses now, with her ultra commendable portrayal of vaudeville queen Katy dela Cruz. Also, I am surprised at Tirso Cruz and Epy Quizon's performance. I never thought they could do this well in theater! When I told my parents about how awed I was at Tirso Cruz's singing, they told me that he was not paired with Nora Aunor for nothing! I was like, WOW! (I'm not a Nora Aunor fan though.)

closing of Katy the Musical at CCP Little Theater

One thing I liked about January is that my sisters and I got to have our sisterly date again. We had dinner at Thai Manila along Tomas Morato. Since it was the first time we had Thai food, we were all overwhelmed by the strong flavors. Still, I think I'll love Thai food since I love spices. I hate ginger though.

Spring rolls, beef with veggies, and fried rice at Thai Manila- Tomas Morato

I also got to try out new restaurants thanks mainly to family dinner, and spontaneous invitations from college friends. Maybe it's the Heavens' way of making me busy, to distract myself from that boy who's in my mind a lot these days.

Glass ceiling of King's Chef- Lucky Chinatown

In addition, I think I am starting to run again. I'm not challenged much with brisk walking, it being part of my everyday routine already. I'm planning to put on my running shoes and experience the joy of moving the air and letting the wind blow through my hair. Running makes me feel alive. It makes me feel free. It makes me feel invulnerable.

I also started to draw again. One sleepless night I picked up the pencil and drawing book given to me by an officemate last Christmas. I picked out my Groove Adventure Rave manga and drew Elle, a dancing Elle with a look of happiness on her face.

And to end January, lines from X-Japan's "Endless Rain" keep playing inside my head:

"It's a dream, I'm in love with you (...)

The dream is over

聲にならない　

言葉を繰り返しても高すぎる　

灰色の壁は過ぎ去った日の思い出を　

夢に写すUntil I can forget your love"

Because I have grown used to him and yet I was left hanging... I should have known better.

Les Miserables (2012)

Les Miserables is the first movie I watched in theaters this 2013. Being one of the most anticipated films of 2013, I watched it with too much expectations knowing that the director is Tom Hooper, who also directed "The King's Speech".

The movie is based on the musical which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. Yes, that French novelist whose works will bore you first before you get to the exciting parts (as I have experienced when I read his "Notredame de Paris").

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) served his 19-year sentence for stealing a piece of bread for his sister's son. He found redemption and acceptance from a bishop who saved him. Years later, a changed Valjean becomes mayor of a town and owner of a factory which employs Fantine (Anne Hathaway). He is well-loved by the townspeople for his generous heart.

One day Javert (Russel Crowe), Valjean's prison guard, appears and threatens Valjean's secured position. When Valjean learns of a man who is arrested in his place and troubled by his conscience, admitted his identity. He promises the dying Fantine that he will search for her daughter Cosette and will be like a father to her, a promise which he was able to keep.

Years later, Cosette, now a grown lady, falls in love with a student rebel named Marius. Javert and Valjean's paths would cross again in a dramatic conflict, where each stands by his own ideals. The ending was a tearful farewell between Cosette and Valjean, with Valjean being welcomed to the other side by the rebel friends of Marius who were killed.

Just why did this film cause too much hype?

First, famous actors were cast in this film and it has come to surprise many a people that they ARE able to sing wonderfully. (Honestly though, my poor ears could not stand Russel Crowe's monotonous voice in some scenes and I couldn't help but wonder why he was cast there in the first place. He's a wonderful actor, especially in Gladiator, but this film seems to cause his popularity to drop.)

Second, the story's main theme of moral philosophy continues to be relevant these days, especially with the global economic crisis we are all facing. Not to mention the erratic justice system and lack of sympathy towards the poor.

Third, the production! Being a sucker for period movies for the effort needed to replicate bygone eras, I always am in awe of the how movies would design the places to be used.

Fourth, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried are also part of the cast. Now who wouldn't want to watch this??? And I came to see and know about Samantha Banks who played Eponine in this movie. And she did great.

Fifth, Anne Hathways' epic portrayal of the miserable Fantine. Who wouldn't be touched and whose heart will not cry out seeing her sing "I Dreamed a Dream" with so much feeling you can actually feel the pains Fantine is going through.

The Phantom of the Opera

Catchy songs, beautiful lyrics, fabulous costume, detailed props, wonderful actors and musicians... all these make up one grand performance. And one grand performance The Phantom of the Opera was.

Last Thursday was the first time in many years that I went to CCP with my dad. I was also accompanied by a friend and her friends. Despite being a bit unwell following my very slow recuperation from fever last week, I was still adamant and told myself that I WILL CERTAINLY NOT MISS The Phantom of the Opera for anything.

Such was my decision, especially after watching the 25th anniversary of the musical as performed in the Royal Albert Hall. After that I understood completely why the name of Andrew Lloyd Webber is famed. He is a musical genius!!!

Watching the musical live at CCP was surreal. I never was bored, not a minute of boredom. For some reason, watching it live was more engaging. For instance, I still can't get over the slight change in the script when the previous manager of Opera Populaire says he will be off to Boracay for his vacation. that surely elicited laughter from an appreciating audience.

Jonathan Roxmouth, who played the role of the Phantom, was brilliant. Without doubt he gave justice to the character he is portraying as one can very easily feel the Phantom's frustrations and anger. Also well-loved is Andrea Creighton who played the role of Carlotta. It's just so hard to hate this character who is both funny and a really really good singer. Also a fave is Cat Lane who played a minor role, that of Meg Giry. For some reason, I find this girl charming and lovable.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to ask questions to an usher during the intermission since we sat two rows from the stage. According to him, all the props, including the "statues" framing the stage and the beautiful curtains, are all owned by the production. Wow! All that effort! At that time, I understood what I really paid for and at the end of the performance, thought to myself that everything is so worth it. In fact, I was thinking of watching it all over again. Now if only I have the money, I'd certainly go back and relieve the experience. It was just so fantastic.

Also, because I was so impressed by the orchestra who beautifully played the music, I asked a bit about the group. The usher told me that included in the orchestra are some members of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO). Wow! Right then and there, I vowed to myself to really really support our local musicians and also to get exposed to local plays. (I frequent Dulaang UP's plays since UP is accessible.)