‘Himala’

Aicelle Santos

It’s been nearly two weeks since I headed to the PowerMac Center Spotlight at Circuit Mall in Makati to watch the Ricky Lee-Vincent de Jesus musical, “Himala: Isang Musikal.”

Based on the film also written by Mr. Lee, directed by Ishmael Bernal and starring Nora Aunor, “Himala” tells the story of a small, barren town called Cupang, the desperation of its inhabitants, and how one young woman’s claim to have witnessed an apparition of the Virgin Mary transforms everyone, and not always for the better.

This is a musical I had been intending to see, but providence had me at other points on the globe during its previous run. However, thanks to an invitation from The Sandbox Collective’s Toff de Venecia, I had a seat in the front row.

In this immersive set (designed by the show’s director Ed Lacson), the audience feels as much a part of the town as the cast does, which makes this a unique experience.

The company is populated by powerhouses: Aicelle Santos (Elsa), a recent alum of the “Miss Saigon” UK tour, where she played Gigi; West End alum Sheila Francisco (Nanay Saling); Neomi Gonzales (Chayong); Kakki Teodoro (Nimia); David Ezra (Orly); Vic Robinson (Pilo); and Floyd Tena (Pari). This is the principal lineup I caught. Alternating in principal roles are Celine Fabie for Elsa, Santino Martin for Pilo and May Bayot-de Castro for Saling.

I was not prepared in any way for what I was about to see.

PowerMac Center Spotlight is a black box venue that is quite intimate. By some miracle of acoustics, none of the actors uses a microphone, but instead sounds like they have a built-in amplification inside their bodies.

Even softer, quiet moments feel like they’re happening beside you and around you, rather than right in front of you. This means that for better and for worse, you’re in the thick of the action, the misery and the insanity.

As the girl who cried, “I saw the Virgin Mary,” Aicelle has the face that can crumble in tears one moment and be steely in her determination the next. Yes, her voice is ridiculous, but it’s how she marries acting with singing that makes her portrayal not only effective but endlessly moving.

Neomi Gonzales as Chayong is girlish and vulnerable. Sweet and innocent in her scenes of courtship with Vic Robinson (who himself is consistently fantastic in everything he does), but can smash your heart into a million tiny pieces in her final scenes in the musical. David Ezra as Orly has enviable vocal chops to go with his subtle portrayal.

As Nanay Saling, Sheila Francisco is maternal in every single way imaginable. Kakki Teodoro as the oh-so-real Nimia is a walking bag of truth bombs, the only character able to see through the hypocrisy and dishonesty that have taken over the town.

Sure, the musical is heavy in its subject matter as well as in its execution, but a story like this with the legacy it has cannot be delivered any other way. In this day and age, it could be interpreted as a commentary on people so desperate to improve their condition and liberate themselves from poverty and suffering that they’ll latch on to any charlatan who claims to be a savior.

Spoiler alert, Elsa comes clean toward the end of the musical and proclaims to the crowd gathered before her, “Walang himala! Ang himala ay nasa puso ng tao!” However, a lone gunshot silences her, and the town continues on as it has, going on to believe the lies, because there is comfort in them. The truth doesn’t matter, it seems. It’s much easier to believe the lie.

“Himala” should be considered essential theater not only for the sweep of its music (kudos to the music team led by Vincent de Jesus), but for the pointedness of its subject matter, the performances of its entire company, the staging by Ed Lacson (those crowd sequences are incredible), and for how it makes you think about religion, politics, humanity and mankind.

It left me and the rest of that preview night audience stunned and shaken. It runs until Oct. 20; I urge you to run and see this masterpiece of Philippine theater.