Message received–loud and clear

ALVAREZ. Uncommonly long and “passionate” reception

The cast and production staff of the current revival staging of “Katy!” at the CCP Little Theater worked really hard to get the musical in shape for its Press Night last Jan. 16— so, they were relieved when the show was given a standing ovation by the SRO audience!

Succeeding performances were similarly praised, making the people involved in the production realize that, as far as the audience was concerned, they had come up with something really special.

Longest ovation

The show got its most ardent and longest ovation last Saturday night, a phenomenal reception that everyone involved will treasure with deep gratitude and amazement.

After Isay Alvarez and the rest of the stellar cast completed their bows, the SRO crowd simply wouldn’t let them go. They applauded and shouted for minutes on end, and the actors were in tears over the uncommonly “passionate” reception.

The ovation last Sunday night was similarly long and fervent, but there was “something” about the Saturday night audience’s adulatory and loving response that still made it the amazing experience for the “Katy!” cast for the entire week.

Later, some of them sat down to better understand what had just transpired, and what the audience was telling them by way of their unusually enthusiastic and adulatory reaction.

One view had it that the audience was loudly expressing its support for Spotlight Talent Centre’s “risky” decision to mount a well-loved Filipino musical, rather than a script and score from the west, which is what some 70 percent of musical-theater productions in Metro Manila are made up of.

Yes, Broadway or West End shows are more popular with local “colonially minded” audiences, sponsors and show buyers—but, the SRO crowd at the CCP was saying that it shouldn’t be so, that more Filipino musicals should be mounted, and that they would enthusiastically support those shows with their eager patronage.

If we read the message right, this should encourage other producers to do Filipino musicals, because there’s an audience out there ready to support them—provided that the shows they stage are good and relevant.

Other interpretations had it that part of the ovation was for the richness of the musical’s material, the artistry and versatility of the performers, some of whom acted, sang and danced with equal ability and verve, the nostalgic and inspirational value of the life and times of Katy dela Cruz, the courage of Isay to keep performing despite her current medical crisis, the sensational debut of major new talents like Aicelle Santos as the teen and young-adult Katy, the show’s other excellent portrayals—etc.!

The hundreds of theater lovers who expressed themselves so fervently last Saturday should be happy to know that the “Katy!” cast and crew got their messages loud and clear, and will do their best never to forget them, and to use them as inspiration for their next moves.

Could the tide indeed be starting to turn in favor of good Filipino musicals? As long as the shows remain top-level, will other theater lovers follow suit and learn to prefer musicals that “tell our own stories and sing our own songs?” Hope springs!

—Another hopeful sign: A famous Filipino star of foreign musicals caught the show last Saturday, loved it, and said he was eager to next do a Filipino musical! —Keep the good news coming, folks!