October 3, 2023
The current King of the Philippines (Bene Manaois) was a sadistic tyrant who cut off the heads of people who went against his wishes. One day, his three daughters, all named Maria (Andrea Mendoza, Keanna Encarnacion, Reina Tejada), went missing. A lowly, dim-witted janitor at the palace, Alberto (Noel Comia, Jr.) took it upon himself to track the princesses down and rescue them.
With magical items he "borrowed" from characters of local myth, Alberto went on his quest accompanied by twin brothers, the Juans (Joaquin Naguit, Gian Torres). The boys located and released the three Marias from the captivity of three monsters -- the flamboyant Bb. Sirena (Vinas Deluxe), the old-fashioned Gng. Purista (Murline Uddin) and the vicious three-headed G. Dragon (Huse Timbungco).
The original material by Isagani R. Cruz was a zarzuela first staged in 1971. Noted theater stalwarts from PETA -- stage director Raffy Tejada, musical director Vince Lim, and choreographer Carlon Matobato -- have updated it into a pop-rap musical-comedy to appeal to the Gen Z/ Gen A audience. This current incarnation runs for almost three hours, with a 10-minute intermission between the two acts.
The setting was basically a reworking of local fantasy classic "Ibong Adarna" tropes of the Philippines as a monarchy. The current ruler was an abusive King with a harem of 11 wives. It would be stated later in Act 2 that the government had once been a democracy, but that this monarchy seemed easier to run and more efficient for the leader. A dilemma about this issue would be tackled towards the end.
More touches of local folklore would be shown in the forms a duwende, nuno sa punso, enkantada and tikbalang, whom Alberto would outwit to gain paraphernalia with supernatural powers useful for his quest. These were magic boots for instant translocation, a magic ring for instant knowledge in the form of a information genie, a magic guitar to coerce anyone to dance, and a magic hat to render him invisible.
Production designer Leeroy New's designs can be seen in both local and international productions of both film and theater. His vision for this production were ambitious given the epic scope of the story. However, budget constraints were real issues here, so the sets may not look as sturdy as they should be. Any action that took place on the second level of the stage looked precarious for the actors. With all the running up and down the set, I trust that precautions were in place for the safety of all concerned.
Costume designer Santi Obcena gave the Sirena had a shimmering green gown with a huge seashell-shaped headpiece, and assistants to carry her tentacles. Gng. Purista's costume was all-white satin, but it was embellished with water bottles at the back part, formed to look like spider legs. G. Dragon carried a giant paper-mache head at his back, while two assistants carried the two other heads and the dragon's long body made from gallon water bottles painted red. In contrast, ironically, the three Marias all had drab, dull and plain outfits.
The show I watched was the press preview held two days before the formal opening. I am not sure if the cast was entirely ready to perform in front of an audience yet at that point in time, as the acting still felt rather awkward and rough overall. The projection of voices were inconsistent so there were several lines which could not be understood clearly. The singing was not yet on point nor perfectly in unison or harmony at all in the group numbers. I do cut this show some slack as this was a student production after all.
I believe the confidence in the performances will improve more with each show coming up, so I am not so worried about that. However, I hope the script could still be streamlined, so that the metaphorical societal ill of each evil monster was supposed to represent could be more clearly pointed out and emphasized, so that their defeat would ultimately be more meaningful. In a colorful and humorous show like this, it is easy to get caught up in the spectacle of costume and slapstick, and yet miss out on its full patriotic message,
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"Halimaw" runs from October 4-5 (2:00 pm) and 5-7 (7:30 pm) at the Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium, on the fifth floor of the Don Enrique T. Yuchengco Hall, De La Salle University.
Purchase your tickets from these links as follows: Premium Seating, Orchestra, & Balcony 1 (LINK), Balcony 2 (LINK). Ticket prices are: P1,500 for Premium Seating, P700 for Orchestra, P500 for Balcony 1 and P350 for Balcony 2.