Carrie

Once I learned that I could have the chance to watch the preview of Atlantis Productions’ Carrie, I took it immediately even though I know very little about this musical. I haven’t read the Stephen King novel nor have seen the film. All I knew about it was that it had a bloody prom all because of the titular character Carrie. The other thing I knew which was related to the musical being staged was that Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Markki Stroem were part of it. The chance to see these two again on stage was enough for me to see the show over at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium over at the RCBC Plaza.

Since I knew very little of the material, I really had to focus on what I was seeing and hearing in order for me to make sense of everything. It wasn’t that hard to figure out that Carrie White (Mikkie Bradshaw) was the odd girl in school who was bullied by everybody but popular girl Sue Snell (Yanah Laurel) had a change of heart and decided to make it up to her. Sue reaching out to Carrie didn’t go well with her best friend Chris (Jill Peña), Chris’ boyfriend Billy (Mako Alonso) and the rest of the student population (Garie Concepcion, Johann Dela Fuente, Nel Gomez, Lilette Lorenzana, Kim Molina and Bibo Reyes). Sue’s boyfriend Tommy (Markki Stroem) reluctantly acceded to her plans by bringing Carrie to the prom but this only raised Ms. Gardner’s (Sheila Valderrama-Martinez) suspicions regarding her motives. Mr. Stephens (Jamie Wilson) was one of the teachers but his character didn’t do so much aside from adding more adult presence in the musical. And in true juvenile and immature fashion, a humiliated Chris decided to ruin Carrie’s prom night and this had dire consequences. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that Carrie was telekinetic (able to move objects with her mind) which made things a lot more complicated. And what’s more startling is that she had a mother like Margaret White (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo), a religious fanatic who was actually a lot scarier than Carrie.

Mikkie Bradshaw

I really found the performance of Mikkie Bradshaw amazing since she was able to become the awkward girl with an unusual upbringing and still was able to show what she felt within through her crystalline singing voice. I almost didn’t recognize Sheila Valderrama-Martinez at all considering that I found her very impressive during Lorenzo. I guess that she was able to make Ms. Gardner a lot different from Rosario Ruiz. The biggest surprise for me was Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo in the creepiest role that I’ve seen from her so far. I thought that she would’ve found some redemption towards the end but she turned for the worse.

The musical, directed by Bobby Garcia, also had some neat special effects seen whenever Carrie used her telekinetic powers. And they were able to pull of the blood spill and the destruction scene without coming off as cheap and gimmicky.  

Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Markki Stroem

The material itself with music by Michael Gore, lyrics by Dean Pitchford and book by Lawrence D. Cohen was terrifying already but real life drama threatened to overshadow the whole production. Lead star Mikkie Bradshaw got ill soon after their opening night and subsequent shows had to be cancelled and rescheduled. K-La Rivera stepped up, learned the role in such a short amount of time and did the role of Carrie for a handful of shows. Mikkie recovered during the last weekend and was able to close out the run. Lucky theatergoers during the last two shows were treated to a rare duet between the two Carries making this musical truly memorable and one for the record books. This has got to be one of the most flabbergasting moments in recent Philippine theater history.

Disney's The Little Mermaid

Right after attending a piano masterclass, I was able to chat with a friend, pianist Dingdong Fiel and I found out that he would be one of the keyboardists for Atlantis Productions’ staging of Disney’s The Little Mermaid at the Meralco Theater. This musical, adapted from the classical animated  film, made a splash months ago when it was announced that recording artists Rachelle Ann Go and Erik Santos were cast as Ariel and Prince Eric respectively. Thanks to Dingdong, I was able to see how these two pop stars fared in their theatrical debut during the preview night of the musical.

Rachelle Ann Go was a perfect fit for the role of Ariel to the point that it’s very difficult to imagine someone else playing the part. The memorable song Part of Your World seemed to be tailor made for her. She was Ariel and Ariel was her, period. Erik on the other hand needed more princely conviction in tackling his role that didn’t have as much meat compared to Ariel. But he delivered his solo number Her Voice with relative ease reminding me that he is first and foremost a singer who is still trying to find his way into acting. But it was Jinky Llamanzares as Ursula who showed the two how musical theater is done. Her years of experience in both the local and international stage resulted in Jinky’s Ursula all but stealing the show. She was nasty, seductive, witty and she seemed to possess an infinite bag of vocal tricks.

The musical, directed by Bobby Garcia and Chari Arespacochaga also featured OJ Mariano as Sebastian, Lee Villoria as Flounder, Enrique Canoy as Scuttle, Calvin Millado as King Triton, Felix River and Jamie Barcelon as Flotsam and Jetsam respectively, Raymond Concepcion as Grimsby and Juliene Mendoza as Chef Louis. The musical had choreography by Cecile Martinez, set design by Lex Marcos, costume design by Erik Pineda, lighting design by Jay Aranda, puppetry design and execution by Liz and Benny Batoctoy and Sam Fuentes, and vocal coaching by ManMan Angsico.

There is no doubt that vocally, the cast was top notch. The set design, costumes and the props were satisfactory knowing that local productions do not have the same budgets as the original productions in Broadway or in West End. But I did have some reservations regarding the material itself. The musical adaptation had 10 additional songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater and book by Doug Wright. I think that the film didn’t translate well on the stage and that the changes made in the ending weren’t enough to affect me. There wasn’t enough urgency or sense of danger during the final confrontation that should have left me at the edge of my seat. I also think that my age manifested itself when I found myself cringing regarding the subplot about Prince Erik and his obligation to find a wife and get married before a certain date. I guess that I don’t believe in fairytales anymore and that I've grown cynical with age. And also, the new songs didn’t capture the magic that Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman did with the original soundtrack. After the musical, I wasn’t able to recall any of the tunes of the new songs since they were that forgettable. The changes made to Under the Sea like raising the key with Sebastian belting was too over the top and that lost the charm of the original for me. Still, with a material that didn’t prove to be a total hit for me, the cast and crew, as well as the rest of the production still managed to deliver a noteworthy staging of this musical. I expect that I will be in the minority and that most people will be singing praises for this production like the celebrities who were present during the preview night like Markki Stroem, Stephanie Dan, Pilita Corales and Jackie Lou Blanco.

Markki Stroem interviewed after the show

Atlantis Productions’ staging of Disney’s The Little Mermaid is made possible through a special licensing agreement with Music Theatre International.