MANILA, Philippines?Retold through one woman?s life, a nation?s journey to regain what was lost will come alive on stage.
Democracy icon Corazon Aquino?s rise to the presidency will be retraced in a two-hour musical to be presented in November??a gift from the Filipino people? to the ailing former head of state who took power on the wings of the February 1986 people power revolt that toppled the Marcos dictatorship.
?Cory,? the musical, is a tribute to the widow of the martyred Benigno ?Ninoy? Aquino Jr. at another trying time in her life.
?We?ll see a humanized Cory. We?ll see an emotional Cory, an angry Cory, a happy Cory, and, of course, the President that we know who is poised and beautiful,? said Isay Alvarez, who plays the starring role.
Said Sherwin Sozon, the actor chosen to play Ninoy: ?We have a tendency of placing [the couple] on a pedestal, that they are bigger than life. After studying Ninoy, I learned that he tried to make a better life for all of us. But besides Ninoy as a hero, we will also see Ninoy as a person.?
Good governance
Producer and songwriter Lourdes Pimentel, wife of opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, said she thought of honoring Aquino with a play upon learning that the admired leader was battling colon cancer.
?But she has everything. So I thought, what would be a good gift for her? It?s a gift, and you don?t ask permission to give a gift,? Pimentel told the Inquirer when the musical was launched in Quezon City on Tuesday.
?The value of good governance will show through in this play because, in recalling the abuses of the dictator, it happened because it was allowed to happen by the constituency. So it?s a warning also that if you don?t appreciate what you have and you don?t see that value, then you?ll tend to lose it,? she said.
In creating art out of history, scriptwriter and director Nestor Torre chose to focus on Aquino?s ascent to the presidency because he believes it was ?the apex? of her life.
?I saw the heart of the character, the particular mission that was meant for her is to become President,? said Torre, a columnist of Inquirer Entertainment.
Added Pimentel: ?It?s about her life from the beginning until she became President. We stress more on the martial law years and we end up in her ascendancy to the presidency, because I?d like to capture the time when we as a people were fighting for something we believe in?democracy, freedom?and how we worked together, how we sacrificed.?
Chosen
One of the 19 featured songs depicts the moment when Aquino debated with herself whether to heed the clamor for her to lead the nation, Pimentel said.
The song ?Sino Ako?? speaks about Aquino?s conversation with God as she sought the wisdom to make a decision. It ends with her submission to the divine will and her vow to serve the people.
?She was ? chosen. She was chosen to be an instrument, an agent of change, for the greater good of the country, to do what God wanted her to do?to restore democracy,? said Pimentel, a self-taught composer who has staged six plays with religious and historical themes.
She expressed the hope that the musical would remind the nation of a struggle not too long ago so they would ?begin to check themselves if we are beginning to feel the way we felt before.?
?Sometimes you forget?
?I want them to remember to love our country more, because sometimes you forget ? Back then, we lost our freedom, so we began to look for it,? Pimentel said.
?Now that we are experiencing freedom, we don?t seem to realize that freedom is not only the freedom to move around and say anything. Freedom really is the application of the rule of law to everyone,? she said.
To get into their roles, actors Alvarez and Sozon have been reading books and studying video materials on the Aquino couple.
?It?s a work in progress,? Alvarez said.
Rehearsals are now on the third month, Pimentel said.
The musical is scheduled to make its debut on Nov. 29, with the play?s inspiration among the invited VIPs.
The show will run at the Meralco Theater until Dec. 1, but January play dates are being arranged, Pimentel said.
