is about you and me, culture and nation, desire and disappearance. please go see it.
Desire and the disappeared in “Stageshow”
It is rare that a stage production brings me to tears, and I remember two that have: Repertory Philippines’ “Next Fall” and Atlantis Productions’ “Next To Normal.”
An empty stage, a small group of actors, a filled heart for “Stageshow.”
Yet, it seems to be an injustice to “Stageshow” that I would compare it at all to these. Because here is a Mario O’Hara text, brought to life by Tanghalang Pilipino, making it an all-original Filipino production. And did I mention it’s a musicale, too? That it’s funny, at times risqué, absolutely what you don’t expect? This is reason enough to think this in a league different from those foreign productions staged locally; then you find yourself in tears at the end of it and you know this is something rare and wonderful.
Days since, this “Stageshow” hangover is beyond me.
Because there are many things that makes it unforgettable, but to throw one out for size seems unfair. To say that Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino in the lead, or Liesl Batucan as her alternate, or the choreography of Denisa Reyes, or the music, or the comedy make for this production’s success—granted that all of these are true—would not do it justice. To some extent, words don’t capture what this production is, what it sought out to be.
Which are multiple things, all happening at the same time.