I honestly had to stare at a blank paper for awhile before I started writing, I have never done a review or a blog post feature on a play before. I'm not really versed when it comes to plays and theater. I remember seeing "Miss Saigon" from when I was a kid and a local production of "The Wizard of Oz" when I was in the 5th grade.
In school, we were in a production number for "Les Miserables' -'Do you hear the people sing?'" our class also won best play for Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" when I was in my freshman year.
When my sister-in-law invited us to see "Rak of Aegis" I was immediately on board, given the positive reviews I've been seeing online. Needless to say I had absolutely no idea what it was all about, only that there would be a lot of "basang basa sa ulan" singing. So I was pleasantly surprised when I was entertained by a talented cast, amazed by impressive performances.
(Those high notes! Those long sustains! Such vocal power!) I think my favorite part of the play would be it's very human and relatable story that highlights the resilience of the Filipino spirit.
On its 5th run in theaters, from. June 17-August 28 (you can still get tickets!) PETA (The Philippine Educational Association) brings you "Rak of Aegis" -an original musiclal, featuring songs from the 90's OPM band Aegis.
The play takes place in the fictional Villa Venizia, which has been submerged in flood water for months after the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy.
The residents have learned to cope with the existence of the flood, which has destroyed the barangay's shoe business. Like the ingenuity, which our people are known for, the "Villa Venizians" have been using an actual boat for transportation, a pulley of sorts to transfer goods from the 'tindahan'.
In Villa Venizia, rubber boots are an everyday essential and leptospirosis is an everyday possibility.
Among its residents, grasping at straws in order to survive (not in a depressing sort of way,nor course) is the ever hopeful and optimistic Aileen who thinks that the only way the barangay will get out of their "wet" situation is when she uploads a video of herself singing and (none other than) Ellen DeGeneres sees the video and ultimately becomes her one way ticket to fame and fortune. Because isn't that the only way to get out of all of our problems?
Of course, she won't forget about her parents and the rest of the barangay.
Hilarity ensues as the zany people of Villa Venizia scrabble to get the month's worth of flood out of their lives. Unfortunately, not all of them have the same plan. All this in the middle of some love problems and family drama, because what Filipino household doesn't have drama right?
An impressive and ingenious set design features an actual stagnat body of water, a boat and yes-rain, lots of it.
I was really impressed that the story revolved around the saying "Give a man a fish and you'll feed him a day, teach a man to fish and you've fed him a lifetime." and no, contrary to what a lot of people believe in, a stint on Ellen DeGeneres or winning a TV show contest is not the answer to all of live's problems. The play also rings true in recent events as Marikina shoemakers have called for support for the local industry, asking politicians to wear their shoes at the recent State of the Nation Adress. I'm happy to say that my aunt, Senator Risa Hontiveros proudly wore a pair of Marikina shoes during the SONA. Leading a good example himself, President Duterte proudly wore a pair of shoes that were gifted to him by Marikina shoemaker Rolando de Guzman in a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
I left the theater very happy and looking forward to more trips to the theater, my research showed that "Sa Wakas" is a local play based on songs from Sugarfree and I'd love to see that.
*Photos are the properties of their owners.
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