Ako si Ninoy Musicale

When we say "musicale," most of the time we think of Broadway - that high level of commercial theater where talents and highly-acclaimed performances abound. Often we look at the West for the standards we set and for the patterns we desire to follow. Little do we know that we need not direct our eyes too far from where we are because in our own backyard – you need not be surprised - we do have homegrown talents.

From the modest area of Balic-balic in Sampaloc, Manila came into existence the Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF), a fast-rising and critically-acclaimed theater group composed of young individuals from diverse backgrounds with Aliw Awardee Vincent Tañada as head. Born in a humble four-walled practice room, PSF's mission is to help the marginalized members of the society through the medium of theater arts as they serve as today's heroes.

True to their advocacy of spreading the meaning of modern-day heroism, they brought to the spotlight their biggest project to date, "Ako si Ninoy: The Musicale."  A multi-faceted undertaking by the group, the story highlights that Ninoy is not just the man whose face is on a 500-peso bill or whose daughter is a famous celebrity. Ninoy's life doesn't end when he was gunned down at the then Manila International Airport seconds after he stepped out of China Airlines Flight 811.

The members of the cast, upon the opening of the curtains, catch everyone's attention with their piercing eyes accompanied with movements that could be associated with death. As fear covers the whole stage, the audience begins to have an ecstatic feeling towards the play. Succeedingly, the cast posts a question in which the whole play aims to answer in the process:

"Sino ba si Ninoy?"

The burden of response is carried by the lead roles as they themselves claim at first that they are not “Ninoys.” The stories range from a typical household scenario of a man leaving his family in search of greener pastures to media's inherent conflict between integrity and deceit. 

With superb acting of the cast members headed by Dir. Tañada himself as Ninoy and Cindy Liper as Cory, audience will feel the emotional fever rising from the middle of the story up until finish. On one hand, Dir. Tañada's performance is outstanding during his one-on-one talk with God - a solemn experience that also mirrors Job's dialogue with his Creator. On the other hand, watching Cindy act is like seeing a reincarnation of the late president. Her manner of speech, eloquence, and eye movements that can be observed even behind spectacles are astonishingly perfect. Such bring goosebumps to those who are watching.

The production is a celebration of great talents. Their resonating voices echo unity amidst diversity. The music - addictive.

The songs just keep on playing inside one's head even if the show has already ended. The set, although simple, fairly serves its purpose by letting the audience focus more on how the actors carry each scene to progress.

The play is an instrument that revives every Filipino's sense of nationalism. It brings a certain level of hope to the viewing public as the question "Sino ba si Ninoy?" remains critical. The question transcends from the actors to the members of the audience. The question, no matter how critical it appears, does not even require a complicated answer - "Ako si Ninoy."

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