An all-Filipino cast of triple threats sang for their lives Thursday night when Rainbow Stage opened its 70th anniversary with the première of Joseph Sevillo’s Ma-Buhay!
The brainchild of the Philippines-born, Winnipeg-bred artist — no stranger to Rainbow Stage since his 2003 debut at age 13 in South Pacific – has been gestating since 2018. It is the first commissioned page-to-stage musical in Rainbow’s history as well as being its 150th production.
“Ma-Buhay” without a hyphen means “welcome” or “to live” in Tagalog; with the punctuation mark it expands to “mother in life,” or “singing for your life.”
And you don’t need to speak the country’s native tongue, with the ambitious 165-minute show (including intermission) intended for both Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike. Even so, characters do occasionally break into Tagalog both in song and dialogue.
The plot in the character-driven, high-tech “show-within-a show” is straightforward. Three starry-eyed pop singers, Celina, Honey and David, are vying to win top prize in Star on the Rise, a Philippines-based reality TV show akin to American Idol, that just so happens to be filming in Winnipeg.
There are plenty of topical references (however the questionable North End joke that elicited shocked gasps rather than laughter should be cut) as audience members are whisked backstage and through a series of flashbacks to witness the driving forces propelling each character towards superstardom.
Sevillo, in his first penned musical which he also directs, has crafted the show’s book, music and lyrics as though he’s done this all his life. A half dozen of his 24 songs, which are a mosh pit of hip-hop, rock, soul, techno and rap, are co-written with Joshua Caldo and brought to life by a six-piece band.
The 22-member cast boasts a galaxy of loud ’n’ proud powerhouses originally hailing from Winnipeg, including several ringers: Broadway star Andrea Macasaet (Celina), who originated the role of Anne Boleyn in the hit production Six: The Musical; Dora Award-nominated actor AP Bautista (Honey); and Daren Dyhengco, who likewise has carved an illustrious career on both stage and screen.
Not least of all is the return of the riveting Ma-Anne Dionisio (double cast as Pastor Nestor’s long-suffering wife Galinda and Celina’s ruthlessly ambitious hellcat mother, Gloria), who starred as Kim in the Canadian première of Miss Saigon in Toronto.
Another, local musical theatre teacher Joy Lazo, portrays Honey’s ailing grandmother, Lola, is back on this stage after a 20-year hiatus, bringing both gravitas and grace to the show as its matriarchal backbone. Her tender duet sung with young Honey, Awit Ng Pag-Asa, (A Song of Hope), co-written by Sevillo and his late mother and the show’s dedicatee Teresita with his father Gregorio Sevillo, brought a tear to many an eye.
A special nod also goes to comedic gem Rochelle Kives, who holds nothing back as Star on the Rise’s flamboyant co-host Bea with Robin Jordan Quintana’s Zac, who struts her stuff on sky-high stilettos and puffs on cigarettes while re-living her glory days as Miss Philippines 1995.
Highlights abound, including Dyhengco’s searing Act I ballad Pray, and later Good Son, in which his struggle between his traditional faith beliefs, parental pressures and growing awareness of his own hom*osexuality is laid bare. This is fuelled by his father, AC Tongol’s buttoned-down Pastor Nestor Caballero’s intolerance and cruelty towards his son, with the elder speaking only in Tagalog further heightening his emotional distance.
More back story and subtext would have helped flesh out his arguably one-note characterization, as it would have for other roles including perfectionist Gloria Davina.
While we feel David’s pain, religion versus a rainbow spectrum of sexuality isn’t a new trope in the theatrical world, thus weakening the overall narrative. Nestor’s sudden epiphany during Dalangin also seems to come out of left field, as does the pivotal, healing moment in Act II in which Nestor suddenly breaks onstage at the competition to embrace his son, now accepting him for who he is.
David’s acceptance of his identity is also painted in broad strokes. These key moments offering rich dramatic loam are often glossed over, with Sevillo’s plot at times seemingly sacrificed for musical numbers. More twists, turns and just plain surprises providing greater tension and forward thrust would have been welcomed.
The cross-generational flashbacks in which the three leads hold hands with their younger versions is poignant; featuring Sevillo’s real-life nephew Jordan Sevillo (young David/judge Slayvid); Annika Malolos (young Celina/judge Bullyna); and Kaitlyn Yago (young Honey/judge Money Mae), rounded out by Pierson Alibudbud (young Mark). The cast infused with no fewer than four pairs of siblings creates a close-knit family feel.
Still, there are many rafter-raising numbers worth the price of admission alone, such as Macasaet’s white-hot Control Me as she literally puts the moves on David, angling for “likes” on her socials as she conjures a showmance, joined by a crackerjack ensemble of backup dancers garbed in space-age metallic skirts and jumpsuits tossing off some of the best high-impact choreography (more cartwheels and acrobatics, please) seen on this stage in years.
Bautista also belts out Singin’ It Bringin’ It, for all she’s worth, as do Dionisio and Kives in Time Is Money, in which they strike a devil’s pact to guarantee Celina’s winning the grand prize.
By contrast, Kilig performed by David, Honey and the ensemble pops like bubblegum, putting the fun factor on speed dial.
Neon-bright, animated video projections with two vertical screens flanking the stage help make this show sizzle.
The denouement in which loose ends are neatly sewn arrives too abruptly. Still, any flaws are forgiven as the entire cast bursts into a final reprise of Ma-Buhay!, as first heard in Act I, as each principal character completes their emotional arc.
As expected, the crowd leapt to its feet with thunderous applause for this boundary-pushing, uniquely made-in-Manitoba show in which our fair city’s renowned, rich multicultural communities are firmly celebrated — Sevillo receiving a hero’s welcome after taking his own bow — so in tune with these resonant times.
holly.harris@shaw.ca
