Events

In The Room Where It Happens

| kirstenebv

I have a confession to make: I always get teary-eyed at the opening of every play I watch. Every single one of them. Even Matilda, I’m not kidding!

Doesn’t matter if it’s international or local, if the opening is happy or sad — or in the case of Phantom, haunting. My eyes just well up as soon as the lights are on, the curtain is drawn, and the music or dialogue starts.

Hamilton, of course, is not gonna be an exemption.

This particularly is interesting because it marked the first ever play that we went to after the pandemic. It felt extra special because we’ve been excited to see this, so much so that we were willing to go overseas — like Australia or Singapore. So much so that I had to ask a friend to get me a souvenir from the time she watched this in London just so I can have a token in case I don’t get to watch it live.

This souvenir from a friend came all the way from London

But then the pandemic happened and all magic of physical theater had to stop.

We were able to watch the original Broadway cast’s performance on Disney+ but, really, nothing compares to the real thing. So when it was announced that it’ll have a Manila stop, I know that I can never and will never throw away my shot.

Hamilton is as good in live as they say it is. The music is top notch, the choreography is amazing, and the set design is very impressive. We were lucky that we got our very own Rachel Ann Go as Eliza when we watched. She’s gone a long way from the popstar we knew her as. The cast, in general, is quite different from Broadway’s. Whereas Lin Manuel and his gang had the grit and rawness, the Australian cast is quite technical and clean. David Park’s Lafayette, for example, sounded like someone from a boyband compared to Daveed Diggs crazy, nitty vocals. Our Aaron Burr is much more reserved than Leslie Odom Jr, who’s already reserved as he is but can still be very emotional (that’s why his songs are the hardest to sing, I think).

I’ve been listening to the original cast’s album for years now so I can’t help but compare. But I still very much enjoyed the show despite the differences.

Hamilton is really one for the books. And if given a chance (and resources), I would watch it again and again. Lin Manuel Miranda created a genius work of art that will go down in history as one of the best and most unique musicals of all time. And I am lucky that I got to be in the room where it happened.

The Lion King: A Feast for the Eyes

| kirstenebv

Finally, after seeing all those Instagram posts, I got to see the Lion King last Saturday.

True to feedback from close friends, the visuals are amazing. One will wonder on the extent of imagination put into the stage sets, props, and costumes. There were some moments in the play that caught me by surprise and made me ask, “How the hell did that happen?”. 

We were too excited early for the play. The VIPs are not yet in. LOL!

The actors are mostly strapped in mechanical costumes that look so awesome and cool when they move. Think actors on stilts acting as giraffes; an actress strapped in a full-sized puppet moving about like a cheetah; an actor doing high jumps across the stage holding gazelle figures to imitate their stotting in the prairie; and an actor holding a long stick with attached mechanical birds dancing and twirling to make them come to life.

With JJ who played Young Simba. So adorable!

The main actors have these beautiful headpieces that transform into masks when they tilt their heads down, which made for a very convincing lion on a fight stance.

On top of navigating and acting through intricate stage set-ups, the actors are also dancing. And by dancing, I mean dance in a really technical way. Very impressive especially if you’re also singing and speaking in between.

My only gripe is there’s not one song that made me go “WOW!” during the actual play. Even Circle of Life which is the creme de la creme of the production paled in comparison audiowise to Do You Hear the People Sing from Les Mis or Defying Gravity from Wicked. If it wasn’t for the amazing visuals, it would have been just ordinary. It must be the audio in the theater at that time because even the other songs sounded muffled. After watching the play, I headed over to Spotify and listened in to the songs and they were all really good to me. Some even reminded me of Hans Zimmer with the heavy basses. Granted that they have good quality because they were recordings I’ve still seen plays where the recordings and the live performances are at par. It’s such a shame that this wasn’t the case in our show.

I think there was also one mishap because the platform where Rafiki should have held Simba up in the air during Circle of Life was nowhere; so all three actors – Rafiki, Mufasa, and Sarabi stayed on the same stage level as the other animals which overwhelmed them. I had a hard time looking for Simba, and for a minute there, it looked like Rafiki was just shaking the plushie Simba rigorously. It was hard to ignore.

Despite my gripes, there were still a number of scenes that stood out aside from the Circle of Life opening:

  1. One by One in the beginning of the Act II. The actors just looked so happy, colorful, and energetic! It was contagious!
  2. The lionesses’ amazing dance number in Shadowland. This is another part where you see how much thought was given in the costumes to emphasize the movement and grace of the lady actors. And the choreography is super.
  3. The Stampede. Just. WOW! I was really excited to see this part because it’s hard to translate from animation to stage. The result was flawless!
  4. Simba’s Endless Night to Mufasa. Very emotional and made me tear up a bit especially when he sang “You promised you’d be there.. Whenever I needed you… Whenever I call your name.. You’re not anywhere..”
  5. He Lives In You with the amazing visuals again. It surprised me how that 3D Mufasa head just suddenly appeared in the darkness. The One by One chorus made another appearance here which gave life to the whole performance.
  6. The Madness of King Scar. I loved the actor who played Scar and the hyenas are so amusing. A cackle of hyenas also did a cool dance number during this part.

Overall, The Lion King is still a delight to watch. Again, it would leave you at awe on how someone conceptualized all of these and translated the animated movie into a believable live action play. It’s true when they advertised that there’s simply no like it because there really isn’t. It’s like watching a musical, a puppet show, a circus, and a shadow play all rolled into one amazing show!

I wouldn’t go about and call it as the #1 Musical, though. I’m reserving that one for Hamilton. 😜

The Manila run has been extended until May so grab a ticket and enjoy the show.

U to the ke to the lele

| kirstenebv

Yesterday, I attended my first ever ukulele night hosted by Ukulele Manila. Not as a player, but a mere spectator. I’ve always had this small fantasy of being this kick-ass musician in an alternate universe, but you and I both know that it’s never gonna happen. Nevertheless, I am very much of a music lover and watching and listening to legit musicians do their thing gives me the fulfillment of my otherwise ‘musical me’ delusions.

Going to a bar where you only know 2 out of almost a hundred people can be intimidating. But one thing I learned about going to these kind of gigs is, IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER. The musical community is a cool and friendly lot, and Ukulele Manila is no exception. I remember smacking a guy’s arm, a total stranger, because I was laughing so hard at his antics directed to his friend. In another scenario, I would have gotten the stink eye. But in this, I just got a laugh in return.

What made it more awesome is the fact that it’s The Beatles Night. Who doesn’t love The Fab Four, really? Even if you were born yesterday, chances are you will still grow up surrounded by people who listen to and love their music.

The night ended with me and my friend, Val, contemplating on getting our own ukes. Not until last night, my knowledge of ukulele has been limited to that of Zooey Deschanel and her 1950’s singing, blunt bangs, doe-eyed and all, strumming this mini guitar thing. But after last night’s jamming session, I had a better appreciation for the instrument.

What more, my other friend, Ahmad, who also played some tracks last night was very much encouraging us to try it on our own. He said that UM is hosting free ukulele tutorials every Saturday around the BGC area, which is really cool, BTW. It not only give other people a venue to learn more about the instrument, it’s also a fun way of introducing the ukulele community to them.

If you have time to spare and want to learn something new, why not give it a try? Who knows, we might bump elbows there one Saturday. 🙂