September 12, 2012

Stage Play Review: 'I am Ninoy', the musical

(First published online on August 13, 2009)

More than just a typical modern-day hero, Ninoy Aquino was a man who had the qualities that each of us possesses. He was an imperfect figure but to those who believed in what he did, he exemplified an icon that deemed perfect for the country and its citizen. This was the theme of the musical presentation entitled ‘I am Ninoy’ produced by the theater group Philippine Stagers Foundation which is formerly known as Dulaang Bedista Alumni Productions and is headed by Atty. Vincent Tañada who played the lead role.

Stories from eleven ordinary individuals from the present time exhibit scenes that seem to connect the life of the late senator who is now being honored in the five hundred peso bill. Noli, an Overseas Filipino Worker went abroad just to properly take good care of his family. Ivy, wife of Noli, showed how she cared too much for their only son. Ms. Nuñez was a well-dedicated teacher who’s more than willing to offer her job just to fight the injustices being done to her students. Oscar, on the other hand, was a broadcast journalist who will do his best to protect the vested interest of the public, even if he put his life at risk. Yosef was a young superstar who’s willing to exchange his wonderful career for the sake of education. Andeng was the mother of Ivy who at first regretted the fate of her daughter but on the long run, accepted it as part of their life. She also led the workers’ protest against their management who simply lay-off workers without following the mandate regarding labor code. Quentin, just like Andeng also fought for the welfare of the farmers who marched from province to Mendiola just to present their grievances against the government. Meanwhile, Dr. Ungria was a doctor who offered services for free specially for the sake of the socially-disadvantaged. Ingrid was a female student who was abused but then stood up against the threats that she faced from her teacher. Nanding was a world war one veteran who chose to live in United States though he truly missed the Filipino way of living. Osborne was the only son of Noli and Ivy who had a very high dream which was to become a President and change the country for the better. They were the eleven individuals who dealt with the quest on looking for the real hero’s identity.

Every bit of Ninoy Aquino’s life was shown in individuals’ lives. Once in the Senators life, he left the Philippines, just like Noli, even if he had to leave with him all his efforts of making the country a better place. He was born in a rich family however he always admired the poor’s happy way of living, just like Ivy. At the height of his political career, he was known to be more of a defender of those who were being oppressed, just like the teacher Ms. Nuñez. At one point of his life, he started from nothing and grew to be of someone, especially when he was recognized as one of the greatest journalist of his time. He fought for his rights on what the public must know, just like the principles of Oscar. He also studied so hard and worked for himself. Just like Yosef, he chose to be educated for he believed that knowledge was human’s greatest power. Like Andeng and Quentin, at one point in his life, he stood up against the powerful figures just to help the silent majority’s welfare. He battled the Marcoses and tried to put an end to the unimaginable corruption that was present in the society back then. He was compared to a doctor who was trying all his best to heal this broken land. Just like Dr. Ungria, he did everything he could without expecting anything in return. Even though he experienced abused from the power magnate, he chose to stand up and fight for the Filipino thus saying that the race is worth dying for. There was a moment in Ninoy’s life that he, along with his family lived in America and shared the three happiest years of their lives. However, at the end of it, he still chose to go back to the Philippines, just like Mang Nanding and continue what he had been fighting for. He did all of those things simply because he wanted to make the country a very beautiful place to live in, just like the ideology of young Osborne.

In the musical presentation, Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF) pointed out that the name Ninoy Aquino is just a simple tag for everybody. If we think about being a hero, just like Ninoy, all we have to do is look on ourselves and find out where is the hero inside us. Ninoy and his ideology can be within us and all we just have to do is to nurture it. Choosing the best decisions will put the Philippines back again in the world map, just like what happened during the EDSA Revolution. It is not yet late and there is still hope left, all we have to do is just think of what our heroes, like Ninoy, had done for us and live according to it.

Many years had passed and many documentaries had been released showing the life and experiences of the late senator, Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. but I personally admired the PSF’s way of reliving the life of Ninoy. Technically, if we talk about history, where the life and experiences of Ninoy belong, we tend to be traditional like telling the year and telling what happened on that year. However, with PSF, they managed to tell the story on a lighter way. Most of the viewers never really knew the exact details regarding that part of history but the theater organization presented it in a way that viewers will not tend to be bored. On that aspect, I commend the group for having another wonderful presentation.

Over the years, I have been exposed on the way of theater acting and once again to critic this season’s presentation of PSF, I would say that they were constantly improving. Except that in some scenes, they were fond of using the same musical arrangement that in some of their songs, they just changed the lyrics but the treatment stayed the same. They were also fond of using their trademark, the candle dance, which I would say, at first, was good but on the long run was becoming unrelated to the scenes that they were portraying. If they could just try to make over some of their moves and musical arrangement and offer their viewers with a new perspective in theater performance then they will truly be appreciated. I would also like to commend the brilliant execution of their adlibs which can truly enhance the show. As for the acting, I believe that direction is good that they successfully catch the attention of all the viewers and blockings were also well taken care of. The lightings also compliment most of the scenes specially those which they wanted to highlight. Their backdrop was simple yet I found it okay for the entire production and their costumes were all good. They managed to stitch the different years successfully through the help of their costumes.

In a statement of Atty. Vincent Tañada, he mentioned that Ninoy Aquino’s memory and the things that he fought for and died for will constantly be alive as long as we live through it. His life and experiences will be worthless if we let the power magnate control us once more. We must always stand up and fight for our own rights and welfare.

No comments:

Post a Comment