Dangerous Theater: Tanghalang Pilipino dares audience with ‘Aurelio Sedisyoso’

MANILA, Philippines – The theater in reverse with audiences seated on stage and the actors performing on a soaring set built atop the theater seat rows. Gigantic illuminated sculptures wheeled in and memorial pieces repurposed as set design. A little-known playwright as the protagonist and revered historical personalities portrayed as traitorous. Playing the hero is a charismatic tenor who duels with acoustic guitars and engages in rap battles. Playing the villain is a controversial movie star cast and theater virgin in his onstage debut. Live rock music intertwines with stark and soaring violin performance in a rock zarzuela. This is dangerous theater.

It’s but natural that, after resounding success, to simply reprise what works. But not Tanghalang Pilipino.

As a followup to 2015’s Mabining Mandiringma – the steampunk musicale on the heroic life of Apolinario Mabini that won rave reviews, garnered standing ovations, and earned several coveted Gawad Buhay awards as well as an equally successful restaging in 2016 – Tanghalang Pilipino is now performing Aurelio Sedisyoso, a rock zarzuela on the life of Aurelio Tolentino, the seditious playwright of the Katipunan who incited resistance against American colonial rule. Aurelio Sedisyoso dares focus on a little-known hero of a lost war and gambles with reverse staging and live rock music.

Currently ongoing until September 17, Aurelio Sedisyoso, fittingly enough, performs at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Aurelio Tolentino Theater. 

All stars and a sun

Playing Aurelio Tolentino is David Ezra. The son of Dulce, he is the aforementioned tenor who sings, raps, plays guitar, and acts—he does it all—with aplomb and sensitivity. From soaring yet tender duets with his with first and second wives Saling and Naty, endearingly essayed by Hazel Maranan and Kakki Teodoro, respectively, to guitar duels with Manuel Quezon played by Norby David, former co-vocalist of Rivermaya, Ezra portray both man and hero. 

Award-winning film actor Baron Geisler marks his onstage debut. Alternating with the brilliant Tanghalang Pilipino actor’s company member Jonathan Tadioan, Geisler is the villain named Tikbalang garnered in a grungy stars and stripes jacket and macabre clown make up; if the Joker and Uncle Sam had a baby it would be him. The diabolical role is played with relish and Tadioan’s rap battle with Ezra is epic.

Sasa Cabalquinto plays Hunyango, Tikbalang’s sidekick, as well as a variety of other roles. She effortlessly exudes her character with her sinuous moves while providing comic relief as the Marlyn Monroe-wannabe teacher Miss Diwata.

JV Ibesate deftly plays Dominador Gomez, the traitorous ilustrado and financier of Aurelio Tolentino’s theater company who embezzles funds and laters sells out the revolution. 

As both Macario Sakay and the ghost of Andres Bonifacio, Remus Villanueva embodies the doomed warrior. 

Norby David is a natural as Manuel Quezon, Aurelio Tolentino’s lawyer and former Katipunan revolutionary general who would later become President after collaborating with the Americans.

Portraying Aurelio Tolentino’s children, Paw Castillo is Didoy, the son who migrates to America to become a lawyer; Phi Palmos is Crising, the gay son who is one of the theatre company’s most talented actors; and Sigrid Balbas is Corazon, the daughter from his second wife who rejects American indoctrination.

Playing the violin as the metaphorical Liwanag is Jeanette Reyna Jorge of rock band Sugar Hiccup and gypsy jazz band The Hot Club of Manila. The members of the Radioactive Sago Project provide live music essential to a rock zarzuela.

High wire act

Crafted by the artistic team credited for Mabining Mandiringma, Aurelio Sedisyoso is directed by CCP vice president and artistic director Chris Millado with libretto and lyrics by Nicanor Tiongson and music by Joed Balsamo, Denisa Reyes for Choreography, sculptor Toym Imao for set design, Katsch Catoy for lighting design, James Reyes for costume design, GA Fallarme for projection design, and TJ Ramos for sound design, Barbie Tan-Tiongco for technical direction, and Francis de Veyra of Radioactive Sago as musical arranger.

Aurelio Sedisyoso is anything but safe and dares gamble with reverse staging. Director Chris Millado explains, “It’s actually just thrust staging in reverse with the viewing stands on the proscenium stage and the performance platforms on what used to be the audience area, allowing for a more intimate and immersive playing space between audiences and actors.” 

Aptly, Aurelio Sedisyoso, a musicale on the life of seditious playwright, affords audiences the postmodern experience of a musicale within a musicale. With the theater in reverse and audiences seated on stage, they get to see the world from the eyes of theater actors, from the vantage of Aurelio Tolentino himself. Audiences can purposely see actors come in and our the stage. The towering set that ramps up on top of the theater seats is a success, with Toym Imao’s sculptures providing iconic and unforgettable imagery that actors interact with.

The reverse staging did cause problems with audio. On a few performances, musicians could not hear themselves perform on their monitors and actors’ voices were either inaudible or too loud. These were corrected in succeeding dates, allowing for performances that reaped standing ovations. Aurelio Sedisyoso skirts the edge of a cliff and, just when it seems to tumble into the abyss, finds its wings and soars.

Even more daring is the rock zarzuela’s narrative of a little know hero of the arts. The musicale portrayed Aurelio Tolentino’s artistry as an essential part of the independence struggle. While Macario Sakay led the armed struggle and Dominador Gomez organized labor, Aurelio Tolentino shaped public opinion with zarzuelas – the YouTube and Netflix of his day. In these times when resurgent fascism has subverted both the media and social media and has successfully installed a reality TV star as president and a self-proclaimed sex guru-cum-blogger as government spokesperson, Aurelio Sedisyoso reminds both artists and audiences that culture is a battlefield and the art is a weapon. – Rappler.com

Writer, graphic designer, and business owner Rome Jorge is passionate about the arts. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of asianTraveler Magazine, Lifestyle Editor of The Manila Times, and cover story writer for MEGA and Lifestyle Asia Magazines, Rome Jorge is now the associate editor of adobo magazine and is a juror at the acclaimed Gawad Buhay Awards for professional theater arts. He has also covered terror attacks, military mutinies, mass demonstrations as well as Reproductive Health, gender equality, climate change, HIV/AIDS and other important issues. He is also the proprietor of Strawberry Jams Music Studio.

Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this article, David Ezra was mentioned as the son of Celeste Legaspi. He is the son of Dulce.  Our apologies for the error.