Musical theatre is a form of art that is highly regarded and always have that sense of complexity, beauty, and elegance. The cast are expected to be professional on their craft because unlike artists on television series, theatre actors have to do it live in front of the audience. Musical theatre is well-known especially in Europe and other countries but not that much in my country, sadly. Well, there are some reasons for that: price, lack of interest, poor advertising, quality.
Philippines is a third world country and so spending money for such is considered luxury. Filipinos want to get the most of their money and so they want to spend it on quality entertainment aside from it being among their interests. Most of all, I believe the lack of recognition is due to the poor advertising. I could rarely see musical theatre shows promoted on mainstream media. Thank goodness for this quarantine because one musical show was heavily advertised on social media which earned massive attention in return, the "Ang Huling El Bimbo".
"Ang Huling El Bimbo" (The Last El Bimbo) musical features the songs of a popular Filipino rock band, Eraserheads. The musical follows the story of three men (Anthony, Hector, Emman) and a woman named Joy, who are haunted by regrets of their past. It tackles various societal issues making the musical play relatable, realistic, and filled with lessons for viewers to ponder on. The musical ran last year at Resorts World Manila. It didn't get mainstream until it was streamed on Youtube last week.
Well, to be honest, most wouldn't care about this show if not for Eraserhead's music. However, this shouldn't be taken negatively because it attracted the attention of people which paved way for Filipino musicals to be well-appreciated, including the quality of production, story and cast. That's what matters most. (There have been a couple of interesting musicals before but never got massive attention.) Now that more people know that our own musicals can be great as well, I feel that this will begin the rise of Filipino musical theatre. I think they should also thank the quarantine rule because majority are stuck online to entertain themselves, else, they will be busy to care and watch the stream.
I am not a fan of musicals, with that I mean I don't watch a lot. I don't hate it, of course. Actually, there's one musical that I really love, Rock Musical Bleach. It's a Japanese musical based from the anime Bleach. Most of us would probably mention a foreign musical when asked about our favorite, that's why I am happy to see our own musical being recognized and appreciated by my countrymen.
Ang Huling El Bimbo Musical is an excellent show and with the success and attention it got, the succeeding Filipino musicals could expect an increase on attendees.The next musical to watch out for is "Bongga Ka Day" which is set to begin this June 26. Obviously, this will be postponed due to the pandemic.