(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.
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