Love and hate in WEST SIDE STORY

There’s no denying that West Side Story is one of the greatest musicals ever. Both Broadway and film versions earned critical acclaim, but even if audience reception were to be the sole measure, West Side Story would still be way up above the rest, leaving us unforgettable songs like “One Hand, One Heart,” “Somewhere,” and “I Feel Pretty.”

As a matter of fact, like most Filipinos my age, it was the songs that reached me first. Sometime in my childhood, I must have played a record of Broadway songs, draped myself with curtains, and sang, “I feel pretty, I feel pretty, oh, so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and bright!”

I was four years old when Audie Gemora and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo portrayed Tony and Maria in the 1981 production of West Side Story in the Philippines. I’m pretty sure all I knew about theater then was limited to every little girl’s idol, also a little girl herself, who went by the name Lea Salonga. It never did cross my mind I’d be seeing a Philippine staging soon; there had been many fabulous shows, but I can count the really major productions with my fingers. It didn’t seem likely, what with all the terrible news we’ve been getting about the world economy.

After having resigned myself to watching film versions of famous musicals, I was happy to hear that Stages would be coming up with a second Philippine production of West Side Story, this time with Audie producing and Menchu directing. In the special edition magazine called Inside Story, which was made available to audiences, Audie writes that Christian Bautista, who plays Tony, was born in 1981. Talk about coming full circle.

West Side Story played out in front of enthusiastic theater-goers in the Meralco Theater from September to October, with the final—for now—curtains closing just this Sunday. Featuring Christian as Tony in his first major theater role, with singer and actress Karylle and West End star Joanna Ampil alternating as Maria, the production sent the audience’s hearts a-flutter once more with the familiar story of the young romance that tried, in vain, to bloom from a place filled with despair, anger and hate. The production also starred singer and dancer Gian Carlo Magdangal as Riff, stage and indie film actor Jake Macapagal as Bernardo, and newcomer (to the Philippines, but not to performing) Filipino-Australian (with Cebuano roots!) Rowena Vilar.

It was a big minus that the show I caught didn’t feature Gerald Salonga and the FILharmoniKA orchestra, but the singing more than made up for it. Christian, an ASAP favorite on ABS-CBN, sang his songs with convincing emotion. Acting-wise, he seemed awkward at times—the transition from TV to stage isn’t that easy, I would think—but if he continues doing theater, I’m sure he’ll be an excellent addition to this industry in no time. Gian, who was a standout on Philippine Idol, was electric on stage. He’s a great dancer—but I bet you already knew that since, like Karylle, he’s an SOP regular on GMA 7. While it was a treat to see both Christian and Gian doing theater, I wasn’t surprised at all to hear them perform the well-loved songs excellently.

But oh-my-God Joanna and Rowena!

It was Joanna’s first full-length performance in Manila. After flying out to London for Miss Saigon over a decade ago, she’s been enjoying an impressive career over there—and it’s so easy to understand why. She sings so effortlessly! Despite having to sing in a Puerto Rican accent, she conveyed all the emotions contained in the words and the music with touching depth. She was all at once a young girl falling in love for the first time and a stubborn woman determined to follow her heart. She was floating in bliss, weary with despair, sinking into hate, and then crushed by surrender. Her character carried me throughout the show and her acting breathed life into the well-worn tragedy. I feel envious that Londoners see her more than we Filipinos do.

Rowena, on the other hand, brought the sizzle to the show. And I’m not just talking about her perfect flamenco stance. Or her nailing the Puerto Rican accent. Or her powerful presence on stage.   The role of Anita was great material to herald the presence of a new talent in Philippine entertainment. Rowena came across as someone who would shake things up—and did she!

In fact, sitting in the cold Meralco theater and watching her breathe fire into her character, I was reminded me of what makes theater persist, or what makes it always relevant, difficult times notwithstanding. It’s love for the art. It’s “hatred” for anything that squashes your freedom to express yourself. It’s passion.

If you can feel that passion, difficult times notwithstanding, you are still alive. And if you are still alive, that only means one thing: the story is still unfolding.

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