Triumph of thespic testosterone

CAST OF “DOM.” Hard-driving, dynamic, vital and visceral individual and group portrayals.

Spotlight Artist Centre’s new original Filipino musical, “Dirty Old Musical (DOM),” has a lot of good things going for it, but its best suit, in our view, is its lead players’ ensemble performance.

Its combined and cumulative impact hits us as a triumph of thespic testosterone that theater buffs should make a point to savor and experience.

We caught a preview performance of “DOM” last Aug. 31, on “fingers crossed” mode. We hoped it would turn out to be an artistic and commercial success, to help counteract the “colonial” dominance of “imported” musicals in our neck of the performing woods. With your patronage, that can happen—and “DOM” is clearly, resoundingly good enough to deserve your support.

Impressive

Let’s focus on just one of its key plus points, its stars’ hard-driving, “deep-digging,” dynamic, vital and visceral individual and group portrayals:

It’s impressive to see that Robert Seña, Nonie Buencamino, Bo Cerrudo, John Arcilla and Michael Williams are thespically joined at the hip—and groin—and yet come up with distinctly unique portrayals that stand out on their own.

Even better, the contrast that their individual characterizations effect takes the storytelling to a higher level, and provides viewers with a deeper and more perceptive appreciation of the “issues and itches” that confront, confound and assault middle-aged men, specifically of the Filipino sort.

Seña’s character is the most stable member of their old singing group, who finds himself predictable and boring, and thus yearns to belatedly break loose—and free.

This is a risky character spine, because it could all too easily result in the actor’s performance itself being boring. But Seña avoids that pitfall through sheer dint of his dynamically insightful portrayal, as well as his superior singing and dancing flair.

For his part, Buencamino may not be a show-stopping singer and dancer, but he does occasionally stop the show with his raging and rambunctious thespic risk-taking—sometimes performing with such ferocity and pain that we fear his heart will explode! Talk about total thespic commitment, this is it.

Cerrudo’s character is the whining wino in the group, a bundle and jangle of peeving hurts and resentment that requires him to plumb and plunge into his “darker” side.

Williams portrays the self-outed gay in the group, leavening its heavily macho pain and bombast—without ending up as a lightweight diversionary tactic. He may swish and dish with sassy delish, but he confronts his own issues with true grit—and glory.

In our view, the most arresting and contentious performance is turned in by Arcilla, due in part to the subjective context and contrast provided by the actor’s recent screen success as General Luna. That big hit has made some people forget that the actor has been a musical-theater standout for many years—and is much more than his indie film success has “pegged” him to be.

Remarkable gift

Happily, “DOM” has come along in the nick of time to remind or inform viewers about his even more remarkable gift as a theater performer.

His character in “DOM” may not be “larger than life,” and is definitely not heroic, but it more deeply defines him as a performing artist.

Even better, Arcilla is in particularly good voice here, compared to some past stage outings. Best of all, he’s given a character who is the group’s most grating and off-putting “disturber” and destabilizer—a great role for any actor to sink his thespic teeth into.

—And, he even figures prominently in the musical’s big, surprising “twist” before its  seething finale—what a way to go!

Kudos, too, to director-choreographer Dexter M. Santos, scriptwriter Rody Vera, musical director Myke Salomon, executive producer Isay Alvarez Seña—and other stand-out cast members, Ima Castro, Kitkat, Fred Lo, Irra Cenina, Shalee Vicencio and Gabriela Pangilinan—plus Spotlight Artist Centre’s other prime movers, Tricia Amper Jimenez and Carl Balita! Call 776-4487 and 0919 911-4444.