Himala, 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Musical

May Bayot

I felt like a brave soul when I watched the opening night of Himala, 10^th Anniversary Celebration of the Musical at the PETA Theater Center. I almost felt unworthy to be part of the audience since not only have I not seen the previous staging of this musical, but I haven’t even viewed the Ishmael Bernal directed film that this musical was based on. All I knew about Himala was the scene where Nora Aunor delivered that immortal line that has been imitated, parodied and spoofed since then.

Coming in to watch this restaging of the musical blind had its advantages as well. I didn’t have any expectations going in and wasn’t distracted in trying to figure out what changes the team of playwright Ricky Lee and composer Vincent de Jesus did in order to make the film work as a musical. When I first heard of this production which was originally set to run in November 2012, I was informed that it was going to be just a concert staging which meant that there won’t be elaborate sets, stage direction and choreography. All the focus would be on the material and the music.

Aicelle Santos, Robert Seña, May Bayot, Dulce and Noel Cabangon

Some of the original cast members namely May Bayot (Elsa), Cynthia Culig-Guico (Chayong) Isay Alvarez (Nimia) and Dulce (Aling Saling) were back to reprise their roles for this 10^th Anniversary staging. They were joined by OJ Mariano, Myke Salomon, Melvin Lee who played featured roles during the opening night. Mia Bolaños, Kalila Aguilos and Lionel Guico were the alternates in certain performances. Soxie Topacio once more directed this production like he did during the original run.

Dulce and Celeste Legaspi 

The music was divine with the cast not wearing any microphones and accompanied only by Jed Balsamo on the piano. The vocals were pure, raw and unadulterated. The intimacy was palpable as one could easily see the tears falling, the sweat dripping and even the spit coming out from the actors. There weren’t any tunes in Himala that one could hum right after the show compared to Care Divas which Vincent de Jesus also wrote the music for. Instead, Himala was more like a symphony with the voices by the power house cast sounding like an orchestra: rich, complex, discordant, contrapuntal and dissonant. I also noticed a haunting recurring theme made up of descending minor chords and this eventually accompanied the much awaited part when Elsa sang the popular line from the film.

Ricky Lee

I’ve always been a fan of Dulce and I consider myself very fortunate to hear her that close. Her vocal dynamics were golden as she was able to soar above the chorus during the final scene of the first act and she was very gentle when she sang a comforting tune during the second act. The final note from that song leaped with such pain and tenderness that I had to prevent myself from gasping. Isay Alvarez was very colorful in playing Nimia, the uninhibited prostitute who was a good foil for May Bayot’s stern Elsa. The tortured Chayong portrayed by Cynthia Culig-Guico rounded up a very solid set of leads in this production. Chayong’s duet with Pilo played by Myke Salomon was one of the emotional highlights of the musical. OJ Mariano was also able to portray with convincing manner, his character of Orly who was also searching for redemption. I can’t really remember when the last time I’ve heard a cast sound this exquisite.

Jed Balsamo and Vincent de Jesus

This staging of Himala by Touchworxx Group, Inc. and the Philippine Educational Theater Association was indeed a much stripped down production. One might think that the producers held up for this project. But I felt that it showcased more the strength of the material and the music. And with such a talented cast, this staging of the musical was for me a very emotionally gripping experience.