By Wilhelmina S. Orozco
Actually, the play is about the life of Christ, from the
time Virgin Mary conceives him through the agency of an angel who has told her
that she has been chosen to be the bearer of Jesus , up to the time of the
crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
Spiced up with songs and acrobatic dancing of the members of
Teatro Mensaheros Actors Ensemble, the Musicale was able to capture the
attention of the public who must have been hungry for significant, relevant and
meaningful dramas in the country.
The songs contained morally correct lyrics and the melodies were free-composed, meaning they did not have
a definite form. Listening to them, you
would not be able to memorize any because they are not the familiar popsong
type of music that could have only two stanzas and then a repetitive refrain.
No, it’s not that at all, except for the last song, “Papuri” which had repeats
several times at the end of the play.
However, the background accompaniment of the songs is rather
impressive, although I think it was not an orchestra that was recorded, but
rather a synthesiser with varying instruments.
Obviously, the composer is
schooled in music. However, may I say that it did not depict the music during
Christ’s time. Chanting which is a common song during the medieval age could
have provided the proper atmosphere for the life of Christ, as the play had a
trend towards realistic depiction of Christ. This is unlike Jesus Christ
Superstar, the movie which had costumes that were really outlandish, and songs
that were rock from beginning to end.
Regarding acting, I must say that the Christ actor looked
very phlegmatic. He seemed to have had a hard time holding his scarf, so he
could not wave his arms freely, as when he got angry over the vendors at the
temple. Although he had a good singing voice, his acting left much to be
desired. As Christ, he could have had a good role to really manifest goodness,
strength of character versus Mephistopheles or Lucifer, and then irony towards
Judas. Or maybe, I am putting in my own interpretation of how Christ should
have been depicted.
The costumes were mostly pale – gray, black, a few colored
ones like Mary’s blue dress over white, and the prostitutes which had sequins
thrown over their sexy hula-like dresses. Over-all, from a distance of 50 feet
away, as I was at the back of the auditorium, I had to exert effort to
distinguish the characters, whether they were the devilish or the good crowd. I
think that the costume designer should have delineated through colors and lines
who the priest are, Christ, the crowd, etcetera. Moreover, the transformation
of the prostitutes from being bad to good was rather too quick.
Scriptwise, the play hewed closely to the Biblical narration
of Christ’s life. However, the songs did not convey the highlights of his life.
The play was linear if we may depict it, without highs or lows. And so, it
lacked suspense and dramatic moments. I think that although the music was
well-composed, it did not present much difference to distinguish which acts of
Christ were good, and which were strong towards those against him.
Settings-wise, it was highly creative to have panels of
stones painted maroon and flesh which moved around, whether to change a scene,
or show a group of faces watching a particular scene onstage. However, in the
long run, it proved to be too monotonous watching those panels. “Wala na bang
ibang maipapakita?” is the question. I am sure, being Cavitenos, the actors
could find many ideas from their province to use as props or setting items to
make their stage more attractive.
I am wondering why Christ is alone when he is captured by
the guards of the priests. Judas said, “Hahalikan ko ang dadakpin nyo.” I was
thinking then that Judas said that because the priests did not know the face of
Jesus but it in the play, Christ was alone. So “isa lang ang dadakpin nila
doon,” whereas in the Bible, it is said that there were other disciples around
when Christ was kissed by Judas.
A scene was devoted to Pedro as he denies his being a
disciple of Christ. His costume could stand a bit of design so that he would be
visible right away. As was shown, his costume was highly similar to that of the
crowd. So watching the play, again from that far place, it was difficult to see
which one was Peter singing his song.
During the last scene, when Christ was carrying the cross and was being pulled
among the crowd, the song had lyrics “Ipako sa Krus,” repeated again and again.
Over and on top of that was the chanting lament of Mary. I liked that song very
much.
Over-all I must say that it was feat producing that play. It
is an epic, and very specially good as it was written in Pilipino. So the
audience must have really swarmed towards the middle part actually because the
words could be easily understood.
Here is wishing Ms.Gie Arnold and her office, the Cultural
and Public Affairs Division of the National parks Development Committee would
continue to showcase truly original works so that we could have our own
Oberammergau.*
*Oberammergau is a
municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
in Bavaria, Germany. The town is famous for its production
of a Passion Play, its
woodcarvers, and the NATO School.
The Oberammergau
Passion Play was first performed in 1634 and is the result of a
vow made by the inhabitants of the village that if God spared them from the
effects of the bubonic plague then
sweeping the region they would perform a passion play every ten years. The play
is now performed in years ending with a zero, as well as in 1934 which was the
300th anniversary and 1984 which was the 350th anniversary (though the 1940
performance was cancelled because of the intervention of the Second World War).
It involves over 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all
residents of the village.
Oberammergau Passion Play 2010[edit]
About half the inhabitants of
Oberammergau took part in the once-a-decade Passion Play in 2010.
This means that over 2,000 villagers
brought the story of Jesus to life for the
audiences that flocked in from around the world. The play started with Jesus
entering Jerusalem, continued with his death on the cross and finished with the
resurrection. As ever, this was an extraordinary community enterprise, in which
only natives of the village could participate.
2010 saw a new production directed by
Oberammergau native Christian Stückl, director at Munich's noted Volkstheater.
He was supported by the artistic team that along with him staged the 2000
Passion Play: deputy director and dramatic adviser Otto Huber, set and costume
designer Stefan Hageneier and music director Marxus Zwink and conductor Michael
Bocklet - all from Oberammergau. The play started each day at 14.30 and
including a three-hour supper interval ended at 22.30: an innovation, since
previous productions had been performed in the morning and afternoon with a
break for lunch. Performances took place between mid-May and early October
2010.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberammergau
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