The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Story and photos by Alvin I. Dacanay / Special to The Market Monitor website
Today, Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady: The Musical, the expanded version of ZsaZsa Zaturnnah graphic novelist Carlo Vergara’s one-act play that was first mounted, to much acclaim, at the ninth edition of the Virgin Labfest, begins its month-long run at the Peta (Philippine Educational Theater Association) Theater Center in Quezon City.
Leading Lady focuses on Melissa “Mely” Moran (Bituin Escalante and Frenchie Dy), a plain-looking, plump, but industrious woman who lands a job as a maid at the headquarters of Fuerza Filipinas, an elite band of English-speaking superheroes composed of leader Madre de Dios (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Astarte Abraham), Nena Babushka (Giannina Ocampo), Windang Woman (Caisa Borromeo), Bazooka Man (Jeff Flores), Popoy Pusakal (Chesko Rodriguez) and Leading Man (Markki Stroem and Hans Eckstein).
As Mely starts working for the relieved superhero team, her wayward younger sister Viva (Kim Molina and Natasha Cabrera), who deeply resents their mother’s (May Bayot-de Castro) habit of comparing her to her elder sister, is sought out by Kayumanggilas, a chemical-powered supervillain group that wishes nothing but Fuerza Filipinas’ destruction.
Its members—leader Senyor Blangko (Nar Cabico and Domi Espejo), Henyotic (Vince Lim and Mikoy Morales), Jeryc Sans Rival (JC Santos), Maracas Marko (Red Nuestro) and Itak-Atak (Red Concepcion)—convince her that her sister’s life is in danger because Fuerza Filipinas is not what it appears to be, and Senyor Blangko tasks her with infiltrating the team’s headquarters and stealing confidential files.
Viva manages to convince Mely to let her inside the headquarters. Once inside, longstanding tensions between the sisters surface, and old wounds are reopened, leading to a very heated confrontation that has disastrous consequences for all involved.
Talented cast, crew
At Leading Lady’s press preview on Wednesday, members of the audience appeared captivated by the entire production and its talented cast and crew—from Escalante and Yulo’s singing (the latter, especially, got extra attention for her impressively flat abdomen) and scene-stealer Cabico’s timing and uproarious delivery of his lines, to production designer Tuxqs Rutaquio’s set and costumes (he later said the superheroes’ wardrobe were inspired by the X-Men films, while materials for the supervillains’ costumes were sourced from Divisoria, eliciting much laughter), lighting designer John Batalla’s lighting and composer/lyricist/musical director Vincent A. de Jesus’ songs.
When asked about the character references for their respective roles during a question-and-answer session hosted by Jose “Toots” Tolentino, the cast responded with several names. For Yulo, it’s Glenn Close’s character in Guardians of the Galaxy and warrior princess Xena, while it’s Storm for Borromeo, Rogue for Ocampo and Megaman, among others, for Flores. The funniest answers came from Rodriguez, who named Catwoman as his character reference, and Cabico, who cited one of his former high school teachers, whom he did not name.
Even this early, Leading Lady has started earning raves, at least on the Internet. In his review on his Fred Said blog, theater reviewer Fred Hawson called the musical “a solidly entertaining show,” saying that “it managed to weave an intimate family drama between sisters with a superhero battle-royale of a much bigger scope, while delivering a positive message of recognizing our inner gifts and rising up to challenges.”
In a Facebook post, Orly Agawin said Leading Lady is “beautifully acted, spectacularly designed and wonderfully choreographed,” adding that “this new musical once again proves how great the Filipino Artist is.”
Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady: The Musical is written by Carlo Vergara, directed by Chris Martinez and produced by Dalanghita Productions, established by Ansis Sy, Claudia Fernandez and Pertee Briñas. It will run until June 7 at the Peta Theater Center, located at 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. Shows start at 3 and 8 p.m. For inquiries, call or send a text message to Dalanghita Productions Inc. at 0998-5311389 or send an e-mail to dalanghitaproductions@gmail.com. For tickets, call Ticketworld at (632) 891-9999 or visit www.ticketworld.com.ph.
