You may have read my previous article discussing the characters in “Rent” that have several similarities with Giacomo Puccini’s “La Boheme”. It became evident though that it was a homage. Jonathan Larson must have envisioned “La Boheme” in New York where the raging issues are HIV and homosexuality. But, unlike some opera houses today that…
“Miss Saigon” was probably one of the earliest “rude awakenings” I have ever had when it comes to musicals. I learned of the story first from the protesters then who vilified this musical as a production that glorified prostitution. Generalizations come and go but still, speaking against such productions will never be a guarantee that…
I remember a friend watching “Les Miserables” in the cinema and putting his right hand on his heart in the middle of “Do You Hear The People Sing?” I can’t blame him though. But apart from the music and the things it makes you do the moment you are carried away, what really is “Les…
How can you get enough of your favorite singing murderesses? Depends on you but after a few times viewing “Chicago The Musical” live or constantly clicking replay on your media player, it would take some withdrawal symptoms to get over the jazzy tunes. But is it all there is to it? There is more to…
Before Idina Menzel became synonymous to Elsa of “Frozen”, one of the characters she brought to life to the point of immortality was Elphaba of Wicked. I just need to say that in case most of you are wondering why even this musical had several revivals, fans still refer to Menzel as the standard to…
Before I learned of the musical “Rent”, I already heard of the song “Seasons of Love” (a.k.a. 525600 minutes). It’s almost a staple in events that celebrated love and friendship. In the course of discovering more in this musical (you can click here to read for yourselves), I almost overlooked one fact – that this…
Seems like the race for the musical with the most number of revivals is on. With “Les Miserables” eventually relenting to a revival, the revival of “The Phantom of the Opera” is only appropriate. Buzz surrounding about the first black actor to play the title role was met with initial skepticism. Regardless of who plays…
By this time, everyone may have seen the film version of one of the most popular Broadway musicals today. Otherwise, you will not understand much why there is so much negative feedback surrounding Russell Crowe’s performance. Based on the best-selling novel by Victor Hugo, “Les Miserables” tells the story of Jean Valjean, from his parole…
I first learned about Miss Saigon as a kid after it was reported that Lea Salonga was chosen to play the title role. I did not realize the impact of the story until some years later when Miss Saigon was finally staged in Manila. There was a media backlash regarding “the glorification of prostitution” in…
Watching Chicago for the first time and you realize the immense influence the major characters have on you. Not that you’d pick up the next loose firearm and shoot your lover after discovering his or her infidelity to you (ladies, don’t, no matter how angry you are; some people are not worth the jail term…