RAd's Page Turners | Black Panther

Marvel Studio's Black Panther made history for the studio and the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it bagged Oscars for Best Original Score for Ludwig Göransson, Best Costume Design for Ruth E. Carter, and Best Production Design for Hannah Beachler (Art Director) and Jay Hart (Set Designer) at the Academy Awards held just a few days ago.

The film, a certified critical and commercial hit worldwide, the Black Panther, his real identity T'Challa, and the fictitious African nation of Wakanda household names. The compilation releases, most notably those written by New York Times Best-selling author Ta-Nehisi Coates and illustrated by Brian Stelfreeze, enjoyed increased sales as the film gained momentum after it premiered. Coates' initial storyline A Nation Under Our Feet has been released spread over three volumes.

Of course, the publishing division of Marvel Entertainment hopes that there will be a sales increase in Black Panther titles once again after the Oscar wins. Here is a look at a few titles which may be a good place to start for someone who wants to bask in the glory of the Black Panther's Oscar wins through suggested readings.

The film's and recent books' success also resulted in renewed interest with the run by writer Christopher Priest that was released almost two decades before the film premiered. Priest's work have been collected in four volumes.

Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr.'s Who is the Black Panther? also got some attention especially when the animated series based on their work were made available to view online.

Of course, one must not forget where it all started which is at the pages of the Fantastic Four issue #52 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Black Panther's co-creators) and in Jungle Action, written by Don McGregor with artists Rich Buckler and Billy Graham, which starred the Black Panther. This run has been collected in the hefty Black Panther Epic Collection: Panther's Rage by Marvel. 

I admit that after several relaunches (the series is currently in its seventh volume) and a handful of spin off titles, it is really confusing to figure out where to start especially if one's knowledge of the character is limited only to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I've been reading comics for more than 30 years now and since I've strayed away from superhero titles for more than 15 years already, it is proving very difficult even for me to figure out which titles to check out. My fear is that if I pick something, I would be facing a dead end soon enough since there would be yet another relaunch.

Tanghalang Pilipino's Coriolano: The relevance of Shakespeare in the current political climate

The cast of Coriolano

Tanghalang Pilipino hits a home run with Coriolano, striking a chord as political tension in the country runs high ahead of the polls in less than three months' time.

This Filipino translation by Guelan Varela-Luarca of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus, has never been mounted in the country before until now being this play among the writer's less popular works. Instead of debuting this work with a more contemporary and hip staging to appeal to the young millennial set, director Carlos Siguion-Reyna went with a straightforward, traditional treatment like he did with his most recent stint with company, another Filipino translation of a Shakespeare work, Pangarap sa Isang Gabi ng Gitnang Tag-Araw/A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The cast and creative team of Coriolano

Despite the unfamiliar material, the text remarkably remains relevant even after 400 years since this was written. The current political climate, the upcoming national elections, the blind idolatry of the masses, the most earnest of intentions being not enough to attain lofty goals, and the overall ambiguity of everyone all add up to the spine tingling experience in watching this timely production. For once, I was relieved that this was staged at the 400+ seater Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentinto (CCP Little Theater), allowing me to have more distance from the stage. If this had been at the smaller and more intimate Tanghalang Huseng Batute, I would've felt very antsy being so close to the action like I did with their past production Ang Pag-Uusig.

With Coriolano, Marco Viaña finally gets to headline after all these years with the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company. While he has had some notable lead and supporting performances throughout the years, he has never top billed before until Coriolano came along. I even thought at one point that he was being sidelined since he hasn't appeared onstage in all of Tanghalang Pilipino's productions during the past couple of seasons. Little did I know that it was actually leading up to this.

Marco Viaña

As the titular character Coriolano/Cayo Marcio, Marco showed sturdiness as the hardened Roman soldier suddenly thrust into the political arena which he is totally unsuited for. But it was far from a one note portrayal as Marco let hints of cracks and vulnerabilities surface that were immediately suppressed for they constitute as weaknesses.

Coriolano's main antagonist (especially on the battlefield), Tulo Aufidio, portrayed by Brian Sy, was more than just a foil for Coriolano. In his meatiest role that I've seen from him so far, Brian, showed humanity and honor in Aufidio that belie his gruff exterior. He made me take note that I wanted to scrutinize the original text more or better yet see this play once again to grasp fully his lines to better understand the complexity and subtleties of his Aufidio.

The most senior actor in the cast, Sherry Lara, as Coriolano's mother Volumnia, almost stole the show. Her presence onstage, the delivery and clarity of her lines were absolutely first rate. Actors Company members Jonathan Tadioan (Menenio Agripa), JV Ibesate (Sicinio Veluto), and Doray Dayao (Junio Bruto) proved themselves well as the puppeteers who used Coriolano for their own ends. As high ranking Roman soldiers, Aldo Vencilao (Cominio) and Joshua Tayco (Tito Larcio) lacked the physical stature and rather looked more like boys especially when compared to Marco and Brian.

Overall, Tanghalang Pilipino has consistently shown their best when staging local Shakespeare adaptations. As this was the first time for me to see one mounted at the CCP Little Theater, it took me a while to dig into the play as it was difficult to make out the lines initially with the slurred words and consonants not as enunciated. But once I got the hang of it and the tone of the language, it was smooth sailing then for me.

I commend the basic set by Ohm David, playing more on the textures that were effectively lighted by Dennis Marasigan. Clever changes in lighting and blocking effectively conveyed scene changes from exterior to interior and vice versa. Costumes by Bonsai Cielo made it easy to figure out who's who. It may not be wholly authentic period clothing, but it clearly evoked an era long past that suits the story pretty well.

Tanghalang Pilipino's production of Guelan Luarca's Coriolano runs on weekends at the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino until March 17, 2019.

Philippine Traditional Music at the Ayala Museum

The National Music Competitions for Young Artists Foundation Inc. (NAMCYA), in partnership with the Ayala Museum, presents Alab ng Musika: Pandayan ng Kultura, a traditional music concert on February 28, 2019, 6:30 PM at the Ayala Museum.

This concert will feature two winning groups from the Traditional Music Ensemble Category of NAMCYA 2018 namely the Violay Ud Liwag Cultural Ensemble from Abra and the Madayaw Cultural Ensemble from Davao.

Japan Film Week: Goofball ninjas in Mumon: The Land of Stealth

The immense popularity of the Japan Foundation, Manila's Eiga Sai, Japanese Film Festival that has been running annually for over two decades now means that Filipinos just can't get enough of films from Japan.

This is probably what gave birth to the Japan Film Week, an mini-film festival that is co-presented by the Film Development Council of the Philippines. The film selection for this sort of offshoot of the Eiga Sai featured a selection of films that is curated mostly for the younger set aka the millennials. For the reception night recently held at the Cinematheque Centre Manila, the film screened was the 2017 flick Mumon: The Land of Stealth/忍びの国.

Mumon: The Land of Stealth/忍びの国 (2017)

Based on the novel by Ryō Wada, Mumon: The Land of Stealth, directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, tells the tale of a ragtag band of ninjas from the Iga province pinning their hopes to the greatest in their ranks, Mumon (Satoshi Ohno), to stave off invasion by the forces of Nobukatsu Oda (Yuri Chinen), son of the powerful feudal lord Nobunaga Oda.

But in this movie, homeland means nothing to ninjas as only money speaks to them. It is only through a manipulative scheming by the head of the ninja families, a betrayal in their ranks, and Mumon succumbing to the orders of his not so easily pleased wife that could possibly save Iga. Or is it?

My expectation of an epic tale of ninjas fighting samurais were quickly shattered with Mumon's fighting style that was comic and almost dance like, so untypical of how I perceived ninjas. It was later that I learned that Satoshi Ohno is a member of top Japanese idol group Arashi and that the actress who played his wife Okuni in the film, Satomi Ishihara is also a popular actress with a body of work that catered to the younger demographic. This solidified my guess that the film was geared towards the fan base of these two lead actors. I was very intrigued to see if the actual novel depicted the same comedic tone in regards to Mumon and the rest of the ninjas.

The rest of the films scheduled at the Japan Film Week indicate that the selection is heavily skewed for the younger demographic. There's nothing wrong with catering to the youth and entertaining them. But having seen films that offer more than entertainment throughout the years in Eiga Sai and other foreign film language in various festivals, I've come to expect more. But I'd still give these films a chance, especially Your Name and Your Lie in April, to gain a foothold to see what makes the young viewers tick.

The Japan Film Week makes its final stop at the Cinematheque Centre Davao on February 27-March 2, 2019.

RAd's Playlist | Chopin Ballets, The Beatles 1

In preparation for the upcoming Deux by Ballet Manila that features the music of Frédéric Chopin and The Beatles, it's time to listen to a couple of recordings to be more familiar with the music. Like what I've said before, doing this makes me anticipate, appreciate, and enjoy the performance more.

The ballet Les Sylphides has undergone some changes throughout the years but everything began when Alexander Glazunov orchestrated some of Chopin's piano music and published it as Chopiniana, Op. 46 in 1894. Michael Fokine set this selection of music into choreography, subsequently adding and removing different music by Chopin while other arrangers then made different orchestrations of these selections.

Eventually, the most used and most recorded version of Les Sylphides/Chopiniana music is the one orchestrated by Roy Douglas and I believe that this will be what will be heard in Deux.

As for The Winding Road featuring the music of The Beatles, one might think that it's a no brainer to start elsewhere other than the 1 compilation album. But some of the excerpts of this new work that were previewed did not feature music included in this compilation. So one either has to dig into the extensive discography of the Fab Four or just be surprised to see which tracks makes it to the finished ballet.

Denise Parungao blossoms in Ballet Philippines' Romeo and Juliet

Denise Parungao and Joseph Gatti with Ballet Philippines

Denise Parungao showed a lot of promise when she was cast as Giselle in Ballet Philippines' production of the ballet back in 2013 and in 2014. Since then, she has made a quick ascent in the company attaining the status of Principal Dancer which she has reaffirmed with performances in several ballets most notably Swan Lake wherein she danced the dual role of Odille/Odette.

Back then for me, it felt like she was yet to show her full potential and be in her lyrical best. That time has come when I saw her at the opening night of Romeo and Juliet, in the role I think she was born to do, that of the tragic heroine Juliet.

The Cast and Creative team of Romeo and Juliet

In this revival staging choreographed by Alice Reyes, BP's Artistic Director and National Artist for Dance, Denise's Juliet embodied the full blossoming of the female from a frivolous young girl to a desperately love stricken woman that it made me forget how ludicrous the actual ages of the leads actually were in Shakespeare's original text.

At the start, Denise showed a childish Juliet, sprightly and giddy with her light quick steps and hops, and whose main concerns were just thinking of how to prank her nurse and what to wear at the party. But once she met and fell in love with Romeo, Denise switched gears and made use of her long limbs that oozed with fluidity and lyricism.

Joseph Gatti, Marlon Chen,
and Denise Parungao

Denise's Juliet was in full bloom through the solid partnering of her Romeo, American danseur Joseph Gatti. While he impressed with his pyrotechnic turns and leaps as the brash Basilio in last year's Don Quixote, Gatti's Romeo was more grounded, showing more acting chops and sensitivity enough to convince me why Juliet was unable to resist his charms.

Aside from the Balcony Pas de deux, another highlight of the ballet for me was towards the end when Romeo grieves over the "dead" Juliet in another Pas de deux with her appearing limp and lifeless, yet still en pointe and just being led and carried by Romeo. This tender moment could've easily turned into a creepy one had the two dancers weren't able to make the audience have an emotional investment in their doomed love affair.

Among the surprises in this staging is how corps heavy it is with the townsfolk in the marketplace challenged by complex choreography. Interesting also is that Rosalind, Romeo's original object of affection, is a dancing role here. She was just a name in the play and a musical theme in Sergei Prokofiev's score.

Speaking of music, the opening night had the Manila Symphony Orchestra providing live accompaniment. Although the amplified sound coming from the speakers while still hearing the orchestra from the pit threw off the balance for me, the orchestra did carry their weight in this production with guest conductor Marlon Chen weaving this Prokofiev music that could oftentimes be unwieldy.

As for the sets by National artist Salvador Bernal, they were grand, not too ornate and more simplistic, but still showcased the grandeur of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' Main Theater stage.

Marlon Chen and the Manila Symphony Orchestra

Ballet Philippines' Romeo and Juliet resumes this weekend with the final three performances on February 23, 2019,  2:00 & 7:00 PM, and February 24, 2019 2:00 PM at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo).