Superhero

Ikaw ang superhero ng buhay kong ito
Ikaw ang Kristala at karma ko
Ang Sugo at Mulawin ko
Lastikman at Gagam-boy
Si Volta at Captain Barbell ko
Ang Super-G ng buhay ko
Ikaw ang superhero ng buhay ko...

--Dodong, ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Musikal



This is one of the many highlights of my last trip in Manila. I got to see this much-talked about musical (soon to be a movie!) while there. Thanks to Rocco who got the tickets for me and my other friends. I have read the comics before (Ai-Ai's "Volta" was loosely based on this) and have always thought that this could be a great, funny showcase for an actor. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that it was turned into a musical instead.

This was a laugh-out-loud show: the lyrics and dialogue used a lot of gay lingo which surprisingly, even if you are 'straight' and don't speak the 'language', were easy to understand. Simple yet effective music and lyrics made it more 'accessible'. The actors were more than competent, lovable in their roles and were convincing enough. Eula Valdez was great; the actor who played "Dodong" was more than eye candy. "Didi" was good although the previous production had a better actor; "Ada" was good, too. Agot Isidro was good and so were the four "Amazonistas". The "special effects" were child-like but effective enough.

So what was bad? The theater to begin with. The acoustics was just okay. It was probably not meant for a musical but more for "talking" plays. The sound engineering was mediocre as there were a lot of feedback from the actors' microphones. It seemed like the music was only coming from one side. Unfortunately, it was from the side that I was seating. Maybe an orchestra pit would have changed how I heard the music. Or better speaker placement. The theater was small that the cast would use the exits to enter/exit during the course of the show. On the other hand, the size of the theater made it so it was much more of a cozy, personal show. Although there was plenty of space, the seats were not tiered as in a theater. You sometimes have to crane your neck or sit up a little to watch the proceedings. With most of the show staged for a "front and center" audience, those who were seated on the sides had a hard time watching what was going on.

All that aside though, it was great to see a production of a definitely gay material. Although much of the audience the night I watched were gay, there certainly are plots in the show that would appeal to a straight audience. I hope they don't "dumb" this down for the movie version.