Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Cinderella

As I earlier posted, we were scheduled to watch the first show of Cinderella today, July 29. While the first gala was scheduled the night of the same day, a matinee show was scheduled as a preview. We did watch the preview, and here's my take on it. 

The cast is great, the music lively and appropriate, the set and set changes are great, and the spoken dialogues are witty and up-to-date (the king's secret service tasked to find the girl who left the shoe, the I-love-your-ball repartee of one of the stepsisters, the fairy godmother's some-people-are-too-dumb line, and many more) make watching Cinderella at the CCP worth your while and cash.

Lea Salonga is, as always, superb. But I found her short stature distracting, particularly as most of the other people in the cast are mostly tall Caucasians. Indeed, when she first appeared, it didn't occur to me that it was Lea, that is, not until she spoke. I thought the girl on stage is just one of the cast, for my impression of her was that of a girl in her teens (and to think that some comments on Broadwayworld.com point out that Lea is too old for the role). Add to it the fact that the Prince, Christopher Rupert Vwindemier Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James, played by Peter Sadie, is rather tall. Lea has to look up every time they're together onstage (see Peter's audition video here and see for yourself how much their heights differ).

Speaking of Lea, I can't get out from my mind the word Repertory while I watched the show. It seems that Annie had grown to be Cinderella, and the latter staging is just a much better version of the Repertory productions in the past.  

Peter can sing and that is all there is. He looks tragically blank, either happy or unhappy. He and Lea may have chemistry together, but unfortunately, even that does not cover up for his lack of expression. They should thank the fairy godmother who is around, not only to do the magic, but to spice things up when scenes are tragically boring.

Set is great, though there are minor, but noticeable glitches (understandable, really, as that was the very first show). Lighting was magical in scenes where the godmother was using her powers, but not quite spectacular.  Perhaps I was just too fond of Disney, as I was half-expecting  Lea's costume from rags to the ball gown to be changed in full view - as in the animated movies.  I will not tell how they did it because that will spoil some of the fun. As for the music, it didn't touch me as much as songs from other musicals do. To be frank, only the Prince is Giving a Ball and the Impossible/It's Possible numbers remain in my mind just hours after watching it.

My verdict: Show is less grand and less touching than Saigon but it's still worth watching. 

Monday, July 28, 2008

Four Reasons Why Arroyo's 2008 SONA is the Worst

I just read the latest State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Mrs. Arroyo, and I can't believe the utter lack of substance and style. It is the epitome of a bad speech, especially because it is laden with bad transitions from English to Filipino and vice versa. Take a look.  

1. 'Because tough choices were made, kumikilos na ang bayan sa wakas (the nation is moving at last).'

The kumikilos (moving) translation is obviously misplaced, as the apparent intention is to say 'the nation is moving forward'. The words 'umaangat' (literally rising but can also mean getting better) or 'gumiginhawa' (getting better) would have meant exactly what she intended to say. Unless she meant that the nation is moving - to get her removed, perhaps?

   

2. 'We were retiring debts in great amounts, reducing the drag on our country’s development, habang namumuhunan sa taong bayan (while investing on the people).' 

Does she mean that the people are the drag in the country's development? I know, those are three separate things she was talking about, but it was unfortunate that she constructed the sentence that way, lumping investment on human resources with drag in the country's development. It just sounded wrong.



3. 'The result has been, on the one hand, ito ang nakasalba sa bayan (this saved the nation); and, on the other, more unpopularity for myself in the opinion polls.' 

The correct sentence should have been: The result has been, on the one hand, naisalba ang bayan (the nation was saved); and, on the other, more unpopularity for myself in the opinion polls.

The statement in its original form is especially confusing as there is no clear indication which of the preceding points was being referred to: the tough choices made, the shield around the country (Starwars?), the preparations made for the economic downturn (whatever these are?) or the wisdom of Congress (???).


4. 'Sinimula ng aking ama ang land reform noong 1963.'

Should have read 'sinimulan' as there is no sinimula word in Filipino.


Filipinos are unique in the English-speaking world because of our ability to shift from the local tongue to English without losing a beat. Speakers in other languages usually need to end the sentence before continuing in English. Not so for us. We can intersperse English and Filipino words without losing the intended meaning; and we can shift languages from phrase to phrase, as can be seen from the 2008 SONA. It therefore defies logic why the president failed miserably in this regard. She should have stuck with English.

Now I know why Arroyo is so unpopular - she can't communicate correctly what she really meant, especially in Filipino. It is not only her sneering, high-handed attitude that's alienating the masses, but her poor communication skills.

Read the full text of the SONA here.

Cinderella in CCP

Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Cinderella" will be staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, beginning July 29, 2008. Tony awardee Lea Salonga plays the lead role, with Australian stage actor Peter Saide as the Prince Charming.  The show promises to be a magical experience, with lively and enchanting characters, great songs and world-class production design. Produced By Broadway Asia, the Manila run is just the first stop of the musical in its Asian tour,  with staging scheduled in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Korea.


We will watch tomorrow' opening show (not the gala though) , with wife and youngest son. We hope the show surpasses the unforgettable experience we had when we watched Lea in Miss Saigon. I'll be going to write more about the musical after we've seen it.