UK critics praise Gia, other Filipinos

A CRITIC describes Gia Macuja-Atchison’s voice as “glorious, expressive, haunting.”

The reviews are in and critics have showered “Here Lies Love,” which moved from New York to London, with glowing notices.

The musical’s cast members, led by Mark Bautista as Ferdinand Marcos, Natalie Mendoza as Imelda Marcos and Gia Macuja-Atchison as Estrella Cumpas, have been receiving the lion’s share of the praise.

The Hollywood Reporter hailed the cast as “24-carat party people,” singling out Atchison’s “When She Passed By,” a “heartbroken rejection ballad” as among the standouts.

Britishtheatre.com called Bautista “surprisingly sexy” and Mendoza “wonderful.” The website also described Atchison’s voice as “glorious … expressive, haunting, stuffed with clarity and meaning.”

Rehearsals for “Here Lies Love” was about to wrap up when the Inquirer caught up with Atchison, who plays Estrella, the best friend of Imelda.

Based on Atchison’s e-mail, the Filipinos in the cast are having a ball—aptly, in a roundabout way.

Although she is hardly a West End newcomer, she finds the “Here Lies Love” marathon quite grueling.

Small cast

“Rehearsals went very fast. I won’t lie. This is unlike any other show I have ever done. It’s very tough. There are so many factors involved: Intricate dance moves, close and tight harmonies, elaborate costume changes, plus a set that moves around the actors and the audience,” she says.

Rehearsals started at 10 a.m. and ended at 6 p.m., six times a week, she recounts.

“We are a small cast of 17. Everyone is constantly doing something on or off stage. No time to sit down and rest,” she says.

She is not complaining, though. “I am enjoying every minute. Working at the National Theatre is such an honor. Working with this award-winning team is such a fantastic experience,” she adds.

(Preview performances in the Dorfman Theater at the National Theatre began on Sept. 30; the musical opened on Oct. 13.)

“The National Theatre, like the Royal Shakespeare Company, is subsidized by the British government … so it is highly respected here,” she says.

The Filipino cast members “are having a blast singing about our country,” she reports.

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s “Here Lies Love” traces the rise and fall of former First Lady Imelda Marcos with a disco-infused sound track.

It is a story that she is very familiar with, Atchison says. “My father, Cesar P. Macuja, worked in the Marcos government for many years. He was deputy to the prime minister (Cesar Virata) and was undersecretary of trade and industry. He was the first high government official to resign 10 days before the Edsa revolution (in 1986). So you can say my family and I are quite familiar with Imelda Marcos and many of her friends and their lifestyle.”

To prime herself for the show, she says, “I am vocalizing every day. I am trying to familiarize myself with the music by listening to the recordings, as well as researching on the material.”

Currently on leave as head of the singing department of the Grosvenor School of Performing Arts, the teacher has no qualms about enrolling in a regular dance class “because the show requires a bit of dancing.”

Nerve-wracking audition

She admits that the dance tryout was “the most nerve-wracking part of the audition.”

The audition masters, however, “were very considerate and made us all feel fairly confident in the end.”

The “Here Lies Love” adventure has been a goose-bump experience for the Pinoys in the cast so far, she says.

“It’s very surreal singing about our country in London. We couldn’t be more proud, though. [With this show,] we hope to make more people aware of Philippine culture, making us even more proud to be Filipino … we can shout [about our country] to the whole world,” she says.

Atchison, sister of prima ballerina Lisa Macuja, has been based in London since 1998, when she joined the cast of “Miss Saigon” (covering for Gigi and Ellen) and later “The Lion King” (covering for Princess Nala)—both long-running productions in the West End.

Prior to her move to the United Kingdom (where she met and married Robert Atchison, “leader of the ‘Lion King’ orchestra”), she appeared in several plays in Manila, from “Les Miserables” to “Into the Woods.”

“The theater is my home away from home. I love it! I’ve been working professionally in the industry for more than 20 years,” she says. “I teach it now to my students and my own children. I am honored to be able to share my talents in this new, groundbreaking musical on the Philippines.”

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