Maxie The Musicale

The press launch of Maxie The Musicale had me hearing Gising, gising umaga na/Wake up, wake up, it’s already morning in my sleep. This line was from the opening song of the musical which the cast performed during the launch and since then, I couldn’t get it out of my head. I somehow knew that it could possibly take another song from the musical to dislodge this melody in my mind. So despite the threat of a super typhoon, I decided to take a risk and traveled over to the PETA Theater Center to see this musical based on the 2005 film Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros/The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros.

The title character, Maximo “Maxie” Oliveros, portrayed by vocal powerhouse Jayvhot Galang, is a 12 year old flamboyant gay from the slums of Sampaloc who falls in love with Victor (Jojo Riguerra), an idealistic policeman who has been newly transferred to the area. This love affair is made complicated by Maxie’s father Paco (Nazer Salcedo), and brothers Boy (Al Gatmaitan), and Bogs (Jay Gonzaga) who are notorious crooks plaguing the neighborhood. While Maxie’s family members are shady criminals, his friends Nar (Aaron Ching), Monique (Teetin Villanueva), Leslie (Nomer Limatog, Jr.) and archrival Peter (Eo de Guzman) however, are hilariously loud. These and the various eccentric characters in the neighborhood comprise Maxie’s world and add much needed color (added by some splendid) lighting by John Batalla and character in his bleak surroundings (made possible by production designer Gino Gonzales).

As expected, it was the music that I really paid attention to while watching the show directed by Dexter Santos. The trio of William Elvin Manzano, JJ Pimpinio and Janine Santos set into music the lyrics by librettist Nicolas Pichay. The music was an eclectic mix of genres and styles ranging from the Manila sound of the 70’s, pop/rap ditties of the 90’s, with a generous throwback to the kundimans from the early 20^th century. And as I predicted, Gising, gising was replaced by a handful of very catchy tunes like the descending melody in triple meter which was the chorus of Tulad ng Gin that was also heard throughout the show. I did find myself singing the backup vocal part that goes ~aaaaaaaaaaaah of Bekimon days after I saw the show.

I also echo the statements by others that Jayvhot Galang, in his musical theater debut, is indeed one of the major finds of the year. It is remarkable that he has retained some of his pre-pubescent range despite being already 15 years old. And he displayed a great variety of vocal styles and colors as he utilized different registers instead of just belting every song out. This made tender moments really tender when he used the falsetto and there was more weight into the emotional and tense parts when it came for him to belt it out. I also found it very interesting towards the end, when Maxie declares that he has turned into a young woman. There was a noticeable lowering of the pitch that perhaps signaled the deepening of a teenage male voice at the onset of puberty.

Jayvhot Galang and Nathan Lopez

Other notable scenes for me were the Tabo Tabo part with an almost naked male ensemble performing like the Hagibis. And the same ensemble later on donned evening gowns and swimsuits during the Beaucon which really added more to the entertainment factor. Aaron and Nomer had their moments during the talent portion numbers of the Beaucon which was so camp. Their production numbers probably had the most horrible dancing technique, (intentionally I think) ever accurately mirroring actual talent competitions that give more credit to the energy level and projection rather than to proper execution and actual talent. Teetin’s useless talent portion number epitomized this. This is actually a pet peeve of mine but it was used to full comedic effect in the show and I was almost in tears because of laughing.

Probably the most difficult scene to pull of musically for me was the funeral (that had an actual casket) that had the cast singing a cappella. It’s hard to do this without someone directing or giving cues and the ensemble really had to rely on each other to do it properly while remaining in character. Clearly the best moment of the musical for me was the sort of entr’acte that recapped the previous scenes from Acts I and II to hilarious effect especially the resuscitation and slapping scenes that had Aaron almost stealing the show. It also gave Teetin a chance to have her voice be really heard in this number.

Jay Gonzaga, Nazer Salcedo and Al Gatmaitan

I just have to mention a friend of mine, ensemble member Al Bernard Garcia who exemplified what a true performer is. He showed what a trooper he when he performed during the opening weekend despite being the super typhoon Yolanda ravaging his hometown of Tacloban, Leyte and still not having news about his family at the time. I couldn’t imagine what was going on through his mind all that time but like what they say in the live entertainment industry, the show must go on. Thankfully, his family was unharmed during the typhoon.

Bit by Bit Company’s Maxie The Musicale capped a banner year with a notable number of original Filipino musicals premiering. With music that really captured the Filipino character and sensibilities, memorable characters such as Maxie, Victor, and the rest of the Bekimons, and a hilarious story that can transcend beyong the intended LGBT and die hard theater audience, Maxie easily stands out as one of the gems of Philippine musical theater in recent years. I will not be surprised if this production continues to bloom and becomes a fixture in the Philippine theater scene. Maxie The Musicale's remaining shows happen this weekend December 6-8, 2013 at the PETA Theater Center.