Curtains have opened once again for one of my favorite Filipino musicals, Mula sa Buwan, and I AM ECSTATIC! I always thought it was a shame the runs for this show were extremely short, so I’m really happy they’re producing a total of sixteen shows now (well, down to twelve now, because they’ve already opened last Friday). I caught yesterday’s 3PM show, and here’s a list of notable things I loved in this rerun:
As Rak of Aegis enjoyed a couple of successful runs, Sa Wakas returned with a vengeance and Ako si Josephine had its initial run. It kept me wondering how much longer I had to wait till someone picked up The Eraserheads’ rich discography and turned it into a blockbuster of a musical.
Not for long, said the universe.
Because in January 2018, posters asking “Kamukha mo ba si Paraluman?” and “Magaling ka bang sumayaw, mapa-boogie man o cha-cha?” (with a font and color scheme mimicking The Eraserheads’ first album cover) littered my Facebook feed, and in millennial-speak, FAM, I WAS SHOOKETH. I messaged my theatre-going buddies and in a few minutes decided we would buy tickets immediately when they started selling. (We did wait a few weeks in reality, because funds. Tickets at Resorts World Manila’s Newport Performing Arts Theater ain’t cheap, fam.)
And finally — last night, my high school barkada and I went on a trip down memory lane, together with Hector, Emman, Anthony, and Joy. And the music that was the soundtrack to many of our high school ups and downs.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Soon after Blackbox Productions’ Mula sa Buwan returned for a two-weekend run last February 18, I saw social media posts comparing the musical to the recently-released Jollibee “Vow” ad. But while the trope was definitely similar, the Cyrano de Bergerac retelling was SO much more than that. (In millenial-speak, it was simply SO EXTRA.)
This December 2016 review of Mula sa Buwan will tell you just how much I loved the show when I first saw it, and just when I thought I couldn’t possibly fall in love with it a little more, they went ahead and proved me wrong. I love it when that happens.
I’d been wanting to post a Sa Wakas review since its opening night, but time is rarely on my side lately, so that little thing got shoved into the backburner every single time. Now that the run is officially over (they closed last Sunday, February 12), I feel like I should at least try to articulate All The Feelings I felt watching the musical… while juggling today’s workload, that is.
Please note, however, that I am extremely biased–and while I will be trying my best to keep things objective, I can’t promise you a spazz-less, coherent review.
When I saw Mula sa Buwan‘s teaser a few months ago, I immediately decided I’m going to watch this production without even knowing yet what it was about. It was THAT pretty and catchy. I followed their Facebook page, watched out for updates, and panicked a little when they released show dates and realized it was only going to run ONE weekend.
ONE. WEEKEND. Imagine that.
Fortunately, we were able to secure tickets for its closing night last Sunday (December 4), and let me tell you–it was everything I wanted and more.