PHILIPPINE THEATER: Trumpets returns with splashy new musical 'The Bluebird of Happiness'

By Cora Llamas
Published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer Sept. 21, 2013

ntentional or not, Trumpets’ big musicals start with or are triggered by a journey.

“Joseph the Dreamer” had its titular Biblical hero literally being dragged from his homeland into enslavement in Egypt. The lovestruck little mermaid of the play that bears the same name forsook her heritage in the oceans to find her destiny on solid land. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” transported its four child protagonists from war-torn England into the magical landscape of Narnia.

Now the Christian theater company is at it again, this time with a musical adaptation of Belgian playwright and philosopher Maurice Maeterlinck’s (1862-1949) classic play, “The Bluebird of Happiness.”

In the original 1908 version which was staged in six acts at the Moscow Art Theater, Tyltyl and Mytyl, the children of a poor woodcutter, are guided by a fairy into a quest around the world to search for the bluebird of happiness, which apparently could grant them their hearts’ desires and give them everlasting peace and joy. This search soon leads them into many adventures, some fun-filled, others dangerous, while their little band brings in allies and friends who help them fight against their enemies.

Carla Guevara-Laforteza

Like all past big-budgeted Trumpets productions, this one will be energized by a huge cast (in “Bluebird’s” case, a 50-member ensemble), engaging musical numbers, state-of-the-art production design and a family-oriented message.

Time-tested tradition

All the Trumpets productions mentioned above were also coming-of-age stories where heroes and heroines learned their lessons and brought out the best in themselves. “The Bluebird of Happiness” promises to follow in this time-tested tradition.

“It is about a journey,” says   ‘Bluebird’ director Jaime del Mundo. “Our characters journey to the past, the present and the future. The [musical] shows what they brought to the journey and how it affected them.”

Robbie Zialcita, Anton Posadas, Alessa Zialcita, Lynn Sherman

The original play’s material was replete with symbolism, as Maeterlinck was one of the leaders and pioneers of Europe’s 19th-century Symbolist movement. He believed that truths in spirituality, philosophy, and life could be better conveyed by the use of allegory. This explains why the characters met by the young heroes in the Trumpets adaptation goes by such names as Light (Carla Guevara-Laforteza), Night (Joel Trinidad), and Father Time (Raymond Concepcion).

However, while Trumpets is expected to remain generally faithful to the material, the Filipino audience can expect a more familiar, perhaps homegrown approach that would resonate strongly despite the European trappings. This adaptation has been labeled an original Filipino English-language musical production, with Del Mundo writing the books and lyrics and composer Rony Fortich creating the music.

“The children [in the musical] are stand-ins for us,” says Del Mundo. “We all want happiness now. Others look for it in the past, some look for it in the future, but we truly find it in the present.”

Hard-won truths

Joy Virata and Steve Cadd

These principles may  be familiar to a modern audience, but to Maeterlinck they might have come at a price. Satisfaction, contentment and finding light in a dark situation are the stuff that define pop culture today, but they were hard-won truths in the playwright’s time.

“The Bluebird of Happiness” was written when war clouds were threatening Europe; Hitler’s Nazis would eventually occupy Maeterlinck’s native Belgium. The writer sought exile in Portugal and later the United States, where he never stopped denouncing or writing against the Nazi occupation of Europe.

Poverty, loss, alienation, and repression were not strangers to Maeterlinck, who discussed them repeatedly in his other plays and philosophical tomes. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911 for his “dramatic works which are distinguished by a wealth of imagination and by a poetic fancy, which reveals, sometimes in the guise of a fairy tale, a deep inspiration …”

Constant themes

Light and darkness are not easy to mix in a family-friendly play like “Bluebird.” Walter Lang’s 1940 cinematic version is best remembered for lead star Shirley Temple’s performance, while the later 1976 movie starring Elizabeth Taylor suffered from miscasting, the dominance of visuals over storytelling, and George Cukor’s lackluster direction.

The aspects that may provide the balance in the Trumpets production are the constant Christian themes of hope and optimism. Del Mundo says, “Trumpets is still a Christian theater company, and we do have Christian elements in our plays.” He refers to some of the lyrics in the musical which refer to the birth of a blessed child and then adds, “The first thought that some people might have about it is the Child Jesus, but it may also refer to the children in the [musical finding] themselves.”

It has taken some time for this musical to find itself as well—approximately 16 years and 10 versions before its world premiere on Sept. 26 at Meralco Theater. Trumpets president and founder Audie Gemora had thought of creating the musical many years back, with colleague and theater stalwart Freddie Santos as the original director. Del Mundo came in later when circumstances saw Santos departing the picture.

Unique production

What made this particular Trumpets production unique for Del Mundo was his writing it solo, sans his usual writing partner Luna Inocian (with whom he co-penned “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).

By the time “Bluebird” found its wings, the third part of their creative triumvirate, Lito Villareal, was already living in the States, so Fortich would eventually take on the role of composer.

“Luna is scheduled to take on the next Trumpets musical, although I can’t disclose much about it yet,” says Del Mundo.  “When we were starting out writing, we were holding each other’s hand. Now, we have found our individual voices.”

Another thing he is enthused about is the abundance of talent in “Bluebird,” with a new generation of performers getting to work with reliable veterans.  Young artists Alessa Zialcita and Chimmi Kohchet-Chua, who play Mytyl, and Anton Posadas and Guido Gatmaytan, who alternate as Tyltyl, will be performing with Mayen Bustamante-Cadd (Mama Tyl), Lynn Sherman (the pet cat Tylette), Robie Zialcita (the pet dog Tylo), Jennifer Villegas-dela Cruz (Berylune), Joy Virata (Grandma Tyl), and Steve Cadd (Grandpa Tyl).

“It’s all about the pieces falling into place,” Del Mundo.  “Every Trumpets production is a big production. ‘Bluebird’ will be no less.”

“The Bluebird of Happiness”  runs Sept. 26-Oct. 20 at the Meralco Theater. For tickets, call 9014364, 8919999 or www.ticketworld.com.ph.

THEATER REVIEW: 'The Graduate': Re-examining the lost kids of another generation

By Cora Llamas
Published in Interaksyon Lifestyle April 25 2013

One cannot help but feel a tinge of poignant irony in watching “The Graduate,” Repertory Philippines’ latest production. The heart of the play is about the loss of innocence—and yet, in restaging the dilemmas and moral ambiguities of the ‘60s generation for a 21^stcentury audience, the material itself exudes an air of innocence.

A lot of things have changed in the 40 years since the opening of the then revolutionary film directed by Mike Nichols and which launched the career of Dustin Hoffman.  Adultery among the respectable middle class was considered scandalous; these days, while still generally frowned upon, it is rarely greeted as a shocking surprise by modern skeptics.

The  predatory Mrs. Robinson (Pinky Marquez), a desperate woman then, would be accepted as a cougar today.  As for the object of her affection, the emotionally and morally adrift Benjamin Braddock (Reb Atadero),  his search for a partner that would fill the void of his life would be echoed by the similar quests of Generation X – but today’s kids would probably have several flings, and not just one.

The last scene embodies the soul of the characters and the essence of the play.  After the dysfunctional breakdown of two families, a useless trip to the psychiatrist, and a maddening interruption of a wedding ceremony, Benjamin and his girlfriend Elaine (Cara Barredo) end up in a hotel room.  But instead of having sex, they bond over a breakfast of their favourite cereal.

Basically, these are just two kids who want to find themselves their own way, removed from the expectations and manipulations of the adult world outside.  Terry Johnson’s stage adaptation ends with that sense of quiet hope, as opposed to the screenplay of Calder Willingham and Buck Henry on which it was based.

In contrast, in the movie, Braddock (Hoffman) and Elaine (Katharine Ross) look at each other cluelessly in their getaway car after making their great escape; without direction and meaning, their so-called victory is an empty one, and they are still the same lost souls as when they started.

The beauty of Johnson’s material lies in how it weaves the pathos and the pain of the characters with the humor that naturally arises from their situations. That’s how it transcends the possibly anachronistic limitation that the play could have found itself in to become universal and appeal to a generation weaned on Wikipedia and nurtured by the Internet. For example, the young people of today may find the attempts of discretion by Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson to be culturally outdated, if not downright impossible; but the emptiness that lingers even after multiple sessions of intense sex is something that they may very well can relate to.

The cast of Repertory Philippines' restaging of "The Graduate," solid cast with palpable chemistry. Photo courtesy of Repertory Philippines.

Director Jaime del Mundo manages to keep that balance to make the production succeed.  The hysteria in certain scenes that emphasizes the absurdity of a situation explode at the right moment without dampening the drama that follows in another sequence.  Neither do the more solemn moments get bogged down  by an avalanche of depression; there’s always a line, a repartee, that breaks through the gloom to touch your funnybone.

Del Mundo’s balancing act is supported by a solid cast whose palpable chemistry speaks of a honed familiarity that enables them to play off each other.  Rep’s stalwarts deliver as expected:  Del Mundo himself as Braddock’s confused dad; Jeremy Domingo as Elaine’s domineering father; and Angela Padilla as the conventional Mrs. Braddock.  Special kudos goes to Joel Trinidad who shows that there are truly no small parts for great actors; even in the minor roles like the nosy bar tender, the know-it-all psychiatrist and the alarmed priest, he almost steals the show in every scene he is in.

Atadero and Barredo also deliver, but sometimes, in certain scenes, they give the impression that they are just trying too hard.  Maybe it is a matter of life imitating art in this case, but sometimes  their performances tend to exaggerate a bit to drive home a certain point.  Atadero’s hyper-hysteria is genuinely funny, making his character’s confusion unmistakable; however, in the frenzy, the emotional layering becomes almost monochromatic, washing away other possible nuances.  Ditto with Barredo who focuses on being saccharinely innocent in one scene almost to the exclusion of everything else, or wallows in weeping drunkenness, period.

In 'The Graduate,' Pinky Marquez stands out as Mrs. Robinson—catty, conniving, cold-hearted, yet with a palpable sense of vulnerability. Photo courtesy of Repertory Philippines.

Finally, the last word has to go to Pinky Marquez who replaced Cherie Gil as the enigmatic Mrs. Robinson.  The lady is catty, conniving, and ultimately cold-hearted, but infuses it with a vulnerability that awakens the audience’s sympathy.  She does not shrink from the maturity  of her physicality but uses it to her advantage.  Hers is a beauty that is being ravaged by age and her husband’s indifference, and there seems to be no salvation in sight.  It is an alienation that has no answer and can scare anyone, regardless of the generation they belong to.

The play, adapted for the stage by Terry Johnson is based on the novel by Charles Webb and the screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry.

• Repertory Philippines’ “The Graduate” runs at Greenbelt 1 until April 28.  Call Repertory Philippines at  571-6926  and 584-8458.