Superb female voices power up Ballet Philippines’ Manhid

Kim Molina, Sandino Martin, and Teetin Villanueva

Ballet Philippines’ latest production, Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical, featured a bunch of characters who each possess a unique superpower. But one superpower, if I may call it that, that definitely stood out during the show’s opening night was the amazing vocal chops displayed by the production’s female leads namely Teetin Villanueva, Kim Molina, Jean Judith Javier, Ronah Rostata, KL Dizon and Mayen Estañero.

Sandino Martin

I am not saying that the male leads Sandino Martin and Fred Lo lacked in the vocal department. It’s just that the women who sang, outnumbering the men who did six to two, exhibited more variety, range, texture and depth.

Teetin Villanueva

Kim Molina

As Lam-Ang, Teetin sang with a soothing voice that sometimes showed a mean streak just like the wind that she commands. Kim, as the slum bred Allunsina, displayed spunk and power that made each expletive she threw sting a lot more. Jean Judith soared with her haunting soprano voice as Dilim, the nightclub singer who acted as one of the narrators. Playing Lagrimas, Ronah’s voice sounded as if she was indeed always in tears. KL, as Urduja, was a force of nature with her strong classical singing background and her opening duet was one of the highlights of the entire show. Lastly, Mayen’s vocal stylings showed how cunning and manipulative Mamalahi-ma is. As I’ve said above, Sandino, the dreamer Bantugan and Fred, the seducer Radia Indarapatra actually did pretty well. It’s just that they were outnumbered and out powered by the very vocally strong female leads.

Fred Lo

KL Dizon

Plot wise, I struggled initially with Manhid, as the opening songs didn’t seem to follow a narrative thread to me and it became difficult to identify who’s who, how each character is related to the others, and what set them into motion. And since they’re superheroes/villans, there was an added task of figuring out their individual powers, who are the heroes of Maragtas and the villains of the Tulisan ng Bayan. Even more, the world of Manhid is set in an alternate reality where the 1986 EDSA Revolution failed, so the origin section had to show the kind of world the characters are living in. All this was too much to take in that I think the plot suffered a bit. What’s notable is that the same problem of introductions at the expense of the plot moving is also encountered in the first issues of comicbooks. It was only during the second act that things started looking more together plot wise although things just got bleaker for our heroes as they get rounded up by the scheming Mamalahi-ma with the help of her henchmen. The heroes, earning themselves a second wind and hungry for a payback, set up the third act which was the final, all-out battle in which the outcome I won’t spoil in here.

Jean Judith Javier

Of course, my ears were all on the songs composed by Kanakan Balintagos (when he was still Aureaus Solito), Vincent de Jesus, and the Eraserheads along with Carina Evangelista writing some of the lyrics. It was not that easy trying to figure out which song was composed by who if I just had to rely on the music arrangement by Francis de Veyra of Radioactive Sago Project, the live band accompanying the shows. De Veyra did a swell job in giving the musical a streamlined sound. A heavy dose of the brass section provided a packed punch during upbeat numbers while a muted trumpet gave a cool and sexy vibe in some of the slow paced songs. And it was a delight to hear Kailan by the Eraserheads in its original context which is actually tinged with treachery.

Buddy Zabala and Ely Buendia

It amused me to see some of the Ballet Philippines dancers having spoken lines namely Richardson Yadao, playing Apolaki with an Amboy accent, Victor Maguad as Gawigawen, and Jean Marc Cordero as Sarimanok. Cyril Fallar, as Sidapa, even sang for a couple of measures. Other company members like Earl John Arisola as Malyari, Katherine Trofeo as Gonongleda, and Rita Winder as Rasagadang were just limited to dancing and yet came out as very creepy as the silent villains.

Vincent de Jesus speaks during the post-show press conference

With the guest artists/singers taking a more prominent role in this production, Manhid felt like a typical musical but one that has very strong and competent dancers. In comicbooks, a hero who just acquired his superpowers often struggle in using and controlling them, and often fumbles at his first fights. In the same way, Manhid also encountered the same problem especially with its large cast and a larger than life story.  The opening night was plagued by problems concerning lapel microphones and unsure blocking, a typical problem encountered during the first shows. It would be very interesting to see how the production gets more polished and put together towards the end of the run. I am also curious to see how the alternates namely Regina de Vera, Ricardo Magno, Gold Villar and especially the theater newbie Mark Anthony Grantos will fare in their respective shows.

Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical runs until March 8, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) capping Ballet Philippines' 45^th Anniversary Sapphire Season.

Actors, dancers crossover in Ballet Philippines' Manhid

Mark Anthony Grantos

One main feature of superhero comicbooks is the crossover wherein a story starts on one title, say Spider-Man and then the next part continues on to another title, Fantastic Four for example. During this crossover, characters from the Spider-Man comicbook appear in the pages of Fantastic Four and vice versa. In Ballet Philippines’ comicbook inspired production Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical, there are also crossovers as artists from one field (theater) cross over to another (dance) and vice versa.

Mark Anthony Grantos and Teetin Villanueva

Ricardo Magno, Mayen Estañero, and JV Ibesate

In Manhid, the guest actors/singers hailing from theater companies such as Tanghalang Pilipino, PETA and Dulaang UP dip their pointed toes to the territory of Ballet Philippines’ dancers. I saw first hand during an open rehearsal how they are required to step up and move like they’ve never moved before to the point that one will find it hard to figure out which is the actor and which is the dancer. The dancers, taking on superhero/villain roles in the musical, also get to flex their acting chops, deliver some lines, and even join in the singing further blurring the line between the two fields. But if there's someone whom we can say crossed over the most, it had to be no other than Ballet Philippines’ Mark Anthony Grantos, the alternate Bantugan.

Gold Villar and JV Ibesate

Mark is currently an apprentice of the company whose singing experience is just limited to weddings. A recent chat with him revealed that the only time that the rest of the company got aware of his singing skills was when he did the doxology during the company’s Christmas party some years back. He was then asked to try it out for Manhid when auditions were announced. He initially bagged the role of understudy but moved up the ranks when the one who was originally cast as the alternate had to leave the production due to his involvement with a televised singing tilt which is still ongoing as of this moment.

Ricardo Magno and KL Dizon

Jean Judith Javier, KL Dizon, and Fred Lo

Scale model set of Manhid

As an apprentice of the company, Mark never imagined that he’ll be one of the leads in one of Ballet Philippines’ productions. He then realized that taking on such a role required him to make an extra effort, especially in the acting department. It did surprise me to see his name among the leads since the other major roles are being played by actors who’ve amassed a sizable theater résumé. Mark is a total newbie with zero acting/stage credits apart from his performances with Ballet Philippines. But that might change after his stint with Manhid.

Kanakan Balintagos

The cast of Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical

Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical is Ballet Philippines’ 45^th Sapphire Anniversary season ender. This ballet musical runs from February 20-March 8, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.

Pinoy superheroes battle socio-political ills in Ballet Philippines’ Manhid

February 20-March 8, 2015

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater)

Cultural Center of the Philippines

CCP Complex

Pasay, Metro Manila

A new generation of Pinoy superheroes and supervillains are set to punch, kick and battle it out on stage through song and dance as Ballet Philippines presents Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical to close out their 45^th Anniversary Sapphire Season this February 20-March 8, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater).

Sandino Martin

Inspired by superhero comicbooks, Manhid is set in an alternate reality where the 1986 EDSA Revolution failed. In this world, 99 children who were born right after the Masaker ng Taong Bayan were named after the gods and heroes of the Philippine myth as a sign of protest. This in turn gave these children super powers and they grew up into forming into two warring factions: the heroic Maragtas and the villainous Tulisan ng Bayan.

Mark Anthony Grantos and Teetin Villanueva

The Maragtas is led by Bantugan Buenaventura played by Sandino Martin with BP apprentice Mark Anthony Grantos alternating the role. Martin recently won the Best Actor award for the film Esprit de Corps at the Cinema One Originals this year. Joining Bantugan in his quest is lady activist Lam-Ang Panganiban portrayed alternately by Teetin Villanueva who was recently seen in Maxie: The Musical and Ang Nawawalang Kapatid, and Tanghalang Pilipino’s Regina de Vera, a Gawad Buhay awardee for Outstanding Female Lead Performance in a Play for Der Kaufmann. The evil Tulisan ng Bayan, employed by Mamalahim-ma, a demonic Minister of Humanity, is led by General Apolaki Regalado. Mayen Estañero, who starred in the rock opera Lorenzo plays Malamihm-ma while BP Principal Dancer Richardson Yadao dances the role of General Apolaki.

The rest of the heroes and villains populating the world of Manhid are guest artists Fred Lo and Ricardo Magno alternating the role of Radya Indarapatra Evangelista, Gold Villar as Allunsina Albano, KL Dizon as Urduja, Jean Judith Javier as Dilim, and Ronah Rostata as Lagrimas. Ballet Philippines dancers taking on the roles of the various heroes and villains are Jean Marc Cordero, Katherine Trofeo, Earl John Arisola, Cyril Aran Fallar, Emmanuelle Guillermo, Timothy Paul Cabrera, Rita Winder, Karmela Cortez, Gillianne Geguinto, Kazier Policarpio, Victor Maguad and Erl Sorilla.

Fred Lo

Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical is written by Kanakan Balintagos, directed by Paul Morales, and choreographed by Alden Lugnasin. The music was composed by Vincent de Jesus, Carina Evangelista, Kanakan Balintagos and the Eraserheads before they became THE Eraserheads. In all the shows for this current production, Radioactive Sago Project will provide live music accompaniment. Radioactive Sago Project's Francis de Veyra is the musical director and music arranger.

Ballet Philippines held a press conference for Manhid which featured several numbers from the show. I noticed that the singers/actors’ and dancers’ parts are more interwoven in Manhid compared to Rama Hari in which the singers were mostly detached from all the dancing action. Some months ago, Kanakan Balintagos told me that during the auditions for the leads of Manhid, he was very moved by one particular performance: that of Sandino Martin. And his solo number at the press conference just showed everyone the moving performance that bagged him the lead role.

Jean Judith Javier

I cornered music director Francis de Veyra to ask him how Radioactive Sago Project where he plays bass will tackle the music of Manhid since the sound of his band with the brass section is very different from the sound of the Eraserheads which is basically a guitar driven rock band. He told me that he heard an audio recording on cassette tape (meaning a not so good audio quality) of the original staging and he decided to go from there. He retained the melody and the chords but tinkered with the arrangement utilizing the brass section of Radioactive Sago Project. De Veyra mentioned that Diego Mapa of Tarsius joining them for a dash of electronic music and synth effects provided by the production’s vocal coach TJ Ramos will lend more texture to the overall music of the production. He expressed his excitement as he and the band will be on stage instead of being at the pit during the show.

Ricardo Magno and KL Dizon

The original 1991 production of Manhid by UP TROPA was created during the height of the US bases issue. It was first staged at the Palma Hall Lobby and then at the CCP Little Theater. During that time, choreographer Paul Morales was still a scholar of Ballet Philippines. Almost 24 years later, Morales is now the company’s artistic director going back to this musical now staged at the CCP Main Theater.

Looking back, 1991 saw the height of popularity of the X-Men line of comics namely X-Force by Rob Liefeld, the new X-Men series illustrated by Jim Lee, and Uncanny X-Men by Filipino artist Whilce Portacio which was a huge deal for Filipino comicbook fans, including myself, back then. Now, the superhero genre has gained immense mainstream popularity thanks to the recent critical and commercial successes of films like Batman, The Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy to name a few.

The Cast of Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical

The comicbook geek in me can’t help but smile since Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical is a combination of some things that I am passionate about: music, comicbooks and culture.

Ticket prices:

P1500 Orchestra Center (Row K, L, M, N)

P1200 Orchestra Center (Other Rows), Parterre Box

P1000 Orchestra Side, Lower Box

P700 Upper Box

P600 Balcony I Center

P500 Balcony I Side

P300 Balcony II

-50% student discount

-20% senior citizen discount

+applicable service charges

For inquiries:

Ballet Philippines 551-1003

CCP Box Office 832-3704

TicketWorld 891-9999