MANILA, Philippines - Knockoffs tend to take the easy way out. Originals need a little more time incubating (which on a parallel note, had to take several seasons of The Vampire Diaries for Klaus to earn his own spin-off). One such original, besides the age-old hottie, is Trumpets, Asia’s first professional gospel theater group known for its original Filipino musicals.
I can still remember my first experience of a Trumpets musical, a show called The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. It was the kind of musical that left an indelible mark on you as a kid. “Doors, open doors, they are yours to open wide!†How about, “Turkish, Turkish, Turkish delight!†Such than when Disney made a movie version of the C.S. Lewis classic, I wondered if Lucy and Tumnus would ever break into song. And then of course, there was The Little Mermaid, far from the cartoon where Ariel was in a cavern combing her hair with a fork. What the Trumpets version did, however, besides create a musical that was better than the one on Broadway, was bring the unicorn that was KC Concepcion out of Paris and into our households.
Now, Trumpets is set for their big musical comeback with The Bluebird of Happiness, a brand new, proudly Filipino, musical adaptation of the Belgian play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Theater vets Jaime del Mundo and Rony Fortich have created the book and lyrics, and music for the show that follows two poor children, Mytyl and Tyltyl who embark on a magical adventure in search of the mythical bluebird that could grant them eternal happiness. Where they find it, however, is in the unlikeliest of places. The musical poises to have everything that a family loves in a show: colorful characters, beautiful music, fantastic production design, a delightful story, and one too many touching moments.
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The Bluebird of Happiness soars at the Meralco Theater ‘til Oct. 20. For tickets, contact the Trumpets office at 901-4364 or Ticketworld at 891-9999. —CHRISTOPHER DE VENECIA