One evening in 2020, Repertory Philippines (Rep) was about to open its new season at the Greenbelt Theater in Makati City with a play by New York-based director Joey Mendoza, when the premiere was rudely interrupted by the COVID-19 scare, and Rep closed shop even before the show began.
“We have to abide by the government’s precautions on health,” a Rep staffer told me mournfully. Earlier this year, things began to pick up in the performing arts scene, with the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and its resident companies at the forefront. The Cinemalaya film fest was revived, along with the Virgin Lab fest of one-act plays. Tanghalang Pilipino announced a full season, leading off with a Tausug-inspired tale. The Black Box Theater (Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez) was inaugurated beside the main CCP building, and became a venue for plays and musical events.
And now, Rep has returned with a vengeance, and its opening salvo is the blockbuster musical “Carousel” by Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is not the usual fare dished out by the Rep, but a reimagined work by Toff de Venecia, the inventive young director. There was a press preview recently at the Black Box Theater. The leads were played by Gian Magdangal (as Billy Bigelow) and Karylle (Julie Jordan). “Carousel” did not do as well as expected when it was first shown on Broadway. Time magazine famously called it “the greatest musical of the 20th century.” Even before this encomium, however, the worth of the musical play had already been recognized, and there were numerous productions around the world. The Hollywood version starred Gordon McRae and Shirley Jones.
Bittersweet
The story is set in a carnival in New England during the late 19th century. Billy is the barker of the titular carousel, while Julie is a millworker. They meet and a mutual attraction ensues. Around them swirl colorful characters, carnival and millworkers, fisherfolk and sailors and townfolk. The setting and the period don’t seem to matter anymore as the viewers become engrossed in the bittersweet story of Billy and Julie, and in the memorable music. The bestsellers are, of course, “If I Loved You” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
When Julie becomes pregnant, Billy is transformed and he realizes he must now find work or earn a lot of money, so he could be a good father. He enters into a botched robbery scheme with the shady sailor Jigger (Noel Rayos), and is killed. In heaven, years later, he is given a second chance and he goes back to earth, to help his troubled daughter and to declare his love for Julie.
A dance drama
From the start of the Rep production, you can see that things will be different. Cast members, clad in drab, dark gray, walk around the big. bare rectangular stage, exercising, limbering up, sometimes greeting each other and giving a beso-beso. This is intimate theater, and the music was provided by the pianist, Ejay Yatco, that evening.As the story unfolds, you begin to feel that it is something of a dance drama. Choreography (by Stephen Viñas) is important here. The cast members are accomplished dancers besides being, of course, good actors and singers (triple threats).
The sense of menace in the play is heightened here, with a sinister figure slithering around with a knife. In one sequence, the cast bring out cellphones to record the scene around them, and the actors, deadpan, as in dedma, distribute mysterious leaflets to the audience in front.
Charismatic leads
Karylle is a winsome Julie and imbues the role with grit. Although grown a bit bulky, Magdangal is an imposing presence. His voice soared in the upper registers, and his great musical monologue (“My Boy Bill” dovetailing into “My Little Girl”) was delivered with flair.
During the press conference after the show, the cast was asked what they thought about the creative touches of the director. Karylle was enthusiastic: “That is the beauty of creation. You know we are all in this together. I was open to it, I loved everything.”
She was echoed by Magdangal: “I loved it. We need souls like Toff as director.”
Lorenz Martinez (Mr. Snow) had a different take: “I had a problem. Di ko kaya ito! (I cannot do this).” But like a good soldier, he did it as directed.
For Rayos (Jigger), it was nostalgia time. “‘Carousel’ (1996) was my first production for Rep when I was 17 years old. It was directed by Tita Baby Barredo (he raised his hand to heaven). It was a different environment then.”
Rep’s artistic director Liesl Batucan-Del Rosario, herself an actress-singer of note, summed it up in her own way: “It’s a milestone for everyone.” —Contributed INQRepertory Philippines’ “Carousel” will be staged at the CCP’s Black Box Theater until Dec. 18. Call tel. 0917-7939069.
