Once On This Island (Actor's Actors Inc.)

either i missed seeing musicals, having not seen one in a really long time, or this one was just really good. in any case, i enjoyed this local version of a broadway original - so much that i found myself swaying, humming and bobbing my head to the songs even after the show ended.

i won't discuss the story since i'm only reviewing an adaptation, but in so far as the plot goes, i guess it's pretty refreshing to see stories like this that don't end the way you expect them to end, but have you leaving the theatre smiling, nontheless. it's your typical worlds-apart-love-story, but the setting is different, and that makes for more than enough room to create an original broadway musical.

what i'd really love to discuss, though, are the actors - the perectly-cast group of performers who really made the story come alive. when i arrived at the theatre i was a little bit disapointed to see a simple production set composed of nothing but plain woven abaka curtains, but as soon as the play started, i understood why they didn't need to have an elaborate backdrop for the actors to work with - the musical is simply owned by the actors once it begins. kudos first to the versatility of a cast of around a mere dozen actors, more or less, some having to play multiple roles (whether that was intentional or not i don't exactly know) in order for the play to work. as for the actors, the performances of Michael de Mesa (Armand), May Bayot (Mama Euralie), Gala Sanchez (Little Ti Moune), Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo (Ezrulie, goddess of love), Jett Pangan (Papa Ge, god of death) are noteworthy - while Bituin Escalante (Asaka, goddess of the earth) was simply more than outstanding, almost stealing the show away from the rest of the cast with her rendition of Mama Will Provide. de Mesa was charmingly funny, Bayot was powerful but not too domineering - perfect as Ti Moune's protective but loving mother, Sanchez - a mere adolescent but performing at a level which was almost at par with the rest of the adults, Lauchengco-Yulo graceful and gentle as much as the role called for her to be. Jett Pangan is someone that i've come to admire all the more after seeing his ability to simply rock in front of a broadway crowd as much as he would in front of sweaty swarm of moshers, regardless of how old he is. And finally, Lord, Bituin Escalante who simply blew me away. Gawd. literally, no words. the tame and quiet crowd stood up from their seats, swaying and howling, once she did her version of mama will provide. wow. i've always admired bituin for her amazing voice, but here, wow. i wanna be like her. seriously.

i've listened to a couple of songs from the original broadway musical and found that the arrangements of the local adaptation were worthy of credit, too. you could definitely feel the "jungle vibe" with the beat of bongos and whatever other instruments they used to help create it. in terms of the execution, the songs TiMoune, Mama Will Provide and Human Heart stood out among the rest. the dramatic exchange between TiMoune & her mother as she tries to convince her to let her move to the city was simply moving. the Human Heart, the song to where our lovers are shown, well, falling in love, performed by Lauchengco-Yulo, was perfectly sweet, and she sang it as you would imagine the goddess of love would, setting the mood for two lovers to start their journey together. and God, Mama Will Provide, need i say more? Bituin is more than amazing. really.

of course this play has its share of disappointments, notably the performance of Jeffrey Hidalgo (Daniel) who was simply overpowered by her lover, TiMoune. well, his character isn't the main focus of the story, anyway, but it would have helped if he sang with more... i dunno.. "umph!". it was just... forgettable. which i really found disappointing because i was one of 'em smokey mountain fans, and even post-geneva cruz, i've found jeffrey hidalgo's performances in certain local movies worthy of praise. oh well. i guess good acting + good singing don't make a good stage performer. or maybe he'll improve with time. we'll see.

so that's it, my 2 cents on "Once On This Island"... highly recommended; unfortunately, the staging i watched was the last one of the series. although i wouldn't be surprised if they staged it again - this run was still so successful, and it was already the second time they had it here.



*pictures & other information from clickthecity.com