According to STC directress Sr. Merced Sanchez, ICM, holding an annual presentation that will showcase the talents of their students has been a long-running tradition of STC. Last year, a Christmas-themed production that was staged, and for this year, "Three in the Evening" will be an entertaining yet socially-relevant take on "coming home...coming home to your family, and coming home to your native country." She added, "In a way it is also a social commentary, as one of our advocacies is to focus on fostering nationalism."
The first part of the evening is a reinvention of the famous Broadway musical The Wizard of Oz, which is called The Wiz. Amidst these hard times, when many of the "Hope of the Fatherland" are making up their minds in leaving the country to earn their keep abroad so much so family lives are disrupted and relationships frequently discarded, this first portion celebrates the Home-not the physical structure but the concept.
Running away from home is ironically, first seen as delightful and much anticipated adventure (Opening Chorus - "Everybody rejoice"), until one discovers that heavy pressure on oneself is the true enemy of lasting contentment, whether you're living within your native country or any place away from home (dance numbers and choruses bear this theme in "Tornado" "Bad News" and "Emerald City"). Soon it becomes necessary to first turn into a "lion" - be a fighter, if only spoken figuratively - to survive and find personal fulfillment. The first section closes with a reprise of "Everybody Rejoice" to be performed by the entire Company, showing what it's like to have a renewed outlook on what and where is Home.
Part 2 of "Three in the Evening" properly situates the problem-in our country. We are a country well known for love for God and enjoyment of music and dance (Opening chorus is "Ang Awit Maoy Bahandi" to be followed by performers dancing to the riotous and dissonant "Fiesta" to indicate the first hint of turmoil among our people). The loss of traditional values and mores are bewailed by way of a song and a dance in "Bantayan sa Hari". The narration and projection of a ruined watchtower accompany the message of vigilance and diligent care to be exercised against outside influences which, like the moro raids of old, brought so much grief and terror to our islands. Oldtime peace and contentment are presented as ideal goals for a brighter future with the song "Lawis". Merriment follows with the final choral and dance number, "Condansoy Variations".
Victor Hugo's sprawling novel Les Miserables, from which the musical "Le Miz" was adapted, deals with the misery and frustration that war or revolution brings into people's lives, especially the innocent ones. The revolution does seem at first to be the people's cry for change (Opening chorus: "Do You Hear the People Sing?"). Others fantasize about the benefits to be derived from it (Solo: "Dreamed a Dream"), while others thrive in the misery brought on by the times, which is the topic of the chorus and dance "Master of the House", referring to the owner of a café-cum-hotel, whom the song describes as Mister Overprice and a Robber in Disguise.
In between repetitions of the refrain in this last song are the solos of people who have been rendered miserable by the violent (French) revolution, describing the high price to be paid in the struggle to be free. That the revolution brought little resolution to the country's problems is evident in these solos, and has even brought about the loss of a loved one. A young woman sings of her lost love ("On My Own"), a child remembers her lost father ("Castle on a Cloud"), a mother prays for a son ("Bring Him Home"), dear friends laugh bravely at the prospect of one of them never coming back from the barricades ("Drink To Me") and ("Empty Chairs"). Lastly, the landlord bewails the poor economy, which makes him dishonest and "rotten in and out". Then a rousing dance would depict the barricades, which resulted to the loss of countless lives, ultimately defeating the ends of the revolution.
"At the end of the Day," returns us to the way things were. Short reprises of "Dream" and "People Sing" bring the third part to a close. The revolution should be staged in our hearts, and even where there are cowards there will always be those who will rise as heroes in spite of themselves.
For inquiries, please see, call or email the Information Desk of STC, with telephone number 253-6337, telefax number 253-3468 and email add: sherryl@stc.edu.ph.