Liesl Batucan "sits tall" in Mabining Mandirigma

Liesl Batucan “sits tall” as the new Mabini as Tanghalang Pilipino’s steampunk musical Mabining Mandirigma cranked up its gears once again for a second run wrapping up the company’s 29^th season.

Familiar with Liesl’s past roles, I needed some time to get used to her hardened voice and lowered pitch as I first her speak and sing early in the musical. But once over that, I found Liesl’s Mabini very firm and with a strong resolve. When faced with growing despair as the revolution unraveled before her very eyes, I could really feel her cling to what she believes in despite feeling abandoned. Her voice, now has risen in pitch, made her emotional turmoil almost palpable. Such a strong showing from Liesl dispelled any worries on how the show might fare with Delphine Buencamino, the original Mabini, not returning for the second run.

Arman Ferrer, the breakout performance of the previous run, had more grasp with his character Aguinaldo making him more human making me feel the conflict within him when he had his back to the wall and had to make decisions that would not please his close allies especially Mabini. Arman also showed more confidence and swagger this time by hitting a high C in Viva La Republica y Mabini that closed out the first act.

With solid performances by both Liesl and Arman, the intense and heated main confrontation between Mabini and Aguinaldo was easily the main highlight of the musical for me. Arman, with his stature and booming voice, could’ve easily overpowered Liesl, but her steadfastness made her seem as if she also “stood” as tall as him even if she was confined to a wheelchair. When the final decision was made, I felt worn down that it was hard to applaud the musical numbers after that.

Arman’s undeniable vocal chops and the inclusion of Liesl, herself a secure singer with excellent control in her low and high registers, make this Mabini cast much stronger vocally. The new Pule, played by Paw Castillo, also provided vocal support that was able to match the other powerhouse vocalist of the cast, Carol Bello who played Mabini’s mother Dionisia. No longer did Carol overpower whoever she was singing with. Too bad that Pag-aalay, a lovely duet between Liesl and Paw didn’t make the final cut. Thankfully, I was able to hear the song a couple of times when they performed it during the press launch and at the Pasinaya People’s Gala show.

The original music composed by Joed Balsamo employs various textures that had the ensemble singing in homophonic and polyphonic textures as if they are gears of different sizes that make the machine move. The orchestration also makes liberal use of sound effects like clicks and ticks, steam engine sounds and whistles. This further supported the musical’s steampunk aesthetic which was the brainchild of director Chris Millado. The original treatment of Mabining Mandirigma by playwright Dr. Nicanor Tiongson was a straight play.

The few things about the production that had me scratching my head was the contemporary choreography by Denisa Reyes danced this time by Ali Santos, Erick Dizon and Remus Villanueva. I’ve long struggled grasping most contemporary dances and it was hard for me to unite this realm with that of steampunk. I guess that this was also why it was hard for me to figure out what the second act bit meant when the whole cast were on stage wearing almost nothing but undergarments doing one of those contemporary dance complete with flashlights as props/lighting effect prior to Aguinaldo waving he white flag. Lastly, while the first act went smoothly and was easy to follow, the second act felt more disjointed wherein my knowledge of history had to quickly fill in the blanks.

A new attraction aside from the actual production inside the theater is Casa Fuego, the new exhibit by Toym Imao, the show’s set designer, located just outside at the lobby. In the exhibit, featuring larger than life sculptures, mixes the trio of Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Apolinario Mabini with that of Mazinger Z, Voltes V, and Voltron, a trio of Japanese animated mecha series that rose into popularity during the Martial Law era. Just like the other exhibit during the previous run, a Marcos, Ferdinand this time, was depicted in a negative light inside the Cultural Center of the Philippines which I think is a brave act considering that the CCP was one of Imelda Marcos’ pet project back then.

Tanghalang Pilipino’s production of Dr. Nicanor Tiongson’s Mabining Mandirigma runs until March 13, 2016 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Little Theater.