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Contrary to what many may believe in the local entertainment scene, Filipinos can keep secrets. I saw this happen a few weeks ago. During the curtain call of the new original Filipino musical “Liwanag sa Dilim,” the cast requested the audience to please keep the plot of the show a secret. And they did.
I am sure that many were aching to tell everyone about what the musical was about but they all kept silent. I wanted so much to extol the deliciously twisted minds who came up with the concept but I also chose to wait. That is until today, with the first run of “Liwanag sa Dilim” now on its last legs, the embargo has been lifted and I can tell you all about “Liwanag Sa Dilim” or “LSD” as I like to refer to it.
LSD is an acid that causes strange and intense visual and auditory perceptions and “Liwanag Sa Dilim” is something like that. It tells the story of Elesi, a young man who goes on a time travel adventure from the present day to the Philippines of the late era of Spanish rule. And not just that, what he goes to visit are the people and places that Jose Rizal wrote about in his novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.
So Elesi meets Crisostomo Ibarra, Maria Clara, Padre Damaso, Sisa, Padre Salvi and everybody else. It was a strange time and place but so is Elesi, who brings along his modern ways, particularly his language to those characters.
And would you believe, he even helps them along, solving problems and bringing new insight to everything going on in ways we never imagined before while studying Rizal. What he doesn’t know is that he had been there before and this is revealed in a most fascinating way.
“LSD” is a unique look at the familiar tales, more so because the story is told with help from the music of Rico Blanco. Pinoy rock songs like Hinahanap-hanap Kita, Ulan, 241, Balisong, Kisapmata, Himala, Your Universe, Isang Bandila, Chimis and others are used to further the action and bring situations to a clearer and often humorous light.
A Rico Blanco musical? Fine. Another Rizal musical? Okay, too. But Rico Blanco and Rizal together! That is what I would call an “LSD” combination. This is a flashback for both Elesi and the audience. Explosive. Hallucinatory. Disruptive. In the end, it was delightfully engrossing and enjoyable.
Behind this “LSD” is writer and director Robbie Guevarra who came up with the idea and then dared to mount it for Nine Works Theatricals. The result is a winner.
Thanks to a production team that does an excellent job most notably, the music arranger Orlando dela Cruz and music director, Daniel Bartolome, the video designer GA Fallarme, sound designer Aji Manalo and the lighting designer Shakira Villa-Symes. I also love the costumes.
Competent performances are only to be expected from veterans like Neomi Gonzales as Sisa, Rica Laguardia as Madre Veronica, Arnel Carrion as Padre Damaso, Jon Abella as Kuya Pepe, Raul Montesa as Kapitan Tiyago and Boo Gabunada as Padre Salvi and that is what they give.
It is, however, with his leads that Guevarra found a trio of solid, appealing performers. Anthony Rosaldo in a great voice as Elesi; Nicole Omillo, a lovely, engaging Clara, and CJ Navato in total command throughout as Cris. Local theater is all the richer for the presence of these young, exciting talents.
“Liwanag sa Dilim” runs on weekends until May 3 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium of RCBC in Makati. Catch it. It makes for quite an “LSD” trip.
