New musical, bigger concerns. The website version here.
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Muli—When this musical is fun, it's laugh-out-loud, but...
A new original musical is always cause for celebration. In this case, it’s Muli: An OPM Musical, which opened last weekend at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater, Taguig City.
Muli reunites two of the brains behind the critically acclaimed Sugarfree jukebox musical Sa Wakas: Charissa Pammit and Andrei Nokolai Pamintuan. Pammit is executive producer and co-writer with Jose Paolo dela Cruz, while Pamintuan is director. The original score is by Matthew Chang and Nica del Rosario, fresh off their Gawad Buhay win for the self-styled Pinay pop musical Gregoria Lakambini.
Years from now, the amnesiacs among us will probably wonder when it was exactly that bearing witness to an original Filipino musical became a privilege one could no longer take for granted. And let me tell you: It’s right about now, with one such work having taken its first bows, and the dust barely settled on the whole debacle involving Studio A and the questions and allegations surrounding the authorship of its sold-out musical Tulog Na (not to mention that production company’s newfound penchant for mocking critics on social media in the most juvenile ways imaginable). Some might say AI has been knocking on local theater’s door—and not enough people seem to have thoughtfully considered the long-term implications of letting it enter. At the risk of stating the obvious, the time to act is now.
But back to Muli: This is evidently new work—which is to say, Pammit and Dela Cruz’s book needs serious editing. My colleague Emil Hofileña compares it to the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once, and that’s a pretty accurate reference in many respects. Here in the musical, we have a mother, Anita, going through one of those milestone moments in life—but the not-so-happy kind—and ends up reflecting on the many ways her life could have unfolded or could still unfold. So the musical alternates between the sober present and ditzy throwbacks to her high school days at the turn of the new millennium, or else, sequences from completely imagined alternate lives in which she’s a big-shot contractor, an arrogant pop star, the works.
That’s all set to Chang and del Rosario’s exuberant score, which is the best thing about this current iteration of the show. The music is cheeky, irreverent, adventurous, and packed with a good amount of crazy. And Act I closes with an ode to Defying Gravity from Wicked that makes a rip-roaring ear worm out of that regal mother of all Tagalog cuss words, pun intended.
Judging from the discussions I’ve had with some theater artists and fellow reviewers, I clearly had a better time watching this show than most. When this musical is fun—as when it’s indulging in some protracted throwback to the Y2K era—it can be quite laugh-out-loud funny. But when the seams and rough edges start to show, it makes me wonder about the state—or virtual absence—of a workshop or tryout culture in the local theater industry. There’s no denying that Muli is one such work that could have benefited from several (more) workshops before being handed on a plate for paying audiences to consume. Right now, its most underdeveloped moments might provoke a migraine or two.
The one part that had me rolling my eyes was the big Act II reveal—a twist so trite, you’d think it was written 40 years ago. Without going into specifics, I’ll say that it only underscores what makes the rock musical Next to Normal, with its story of a mother unable to move past her infant son’s death, so effective: The early reveal propels the whole thing forward, requiring the chunky remainder of the show to fully grapple with its existence and consequences. With Muli, I can’t help wondering why its story of a woman realizing she wants—and needs—more from life has to be anchored in some late-breaking tragedy at all.
But then there’s also Kakki Teodoro literally giving her all as Anita, in a performance that must be unparalleled this year for its sheer bravery and the actress’ ability to soldier through the role’s punishing physical demands. There’s the tireless ensemble, almost all of whom fully commit to the musical’s endless inanities. And there’s Chang and Del Rosario’s straight-up human-made hoot of a score.
I hate to end on a grim note, but if we’re not vigilant enough, we might just be seeing the beginning of a tragic, preventable, unnecessary end.
