A Little Night Music

Some friends and I went to watch a Repertory Philippines production of “The Fantasticks”, an Off-Broadway musical written in the 60’s which is also the longest running musical in American theater history. It is a funny coming of age story about finding one’s identity after losing the innocence of youth and the enchantment of romance. The plot is similar to that of Pyramus and Thisbe in Greek mythology or to that of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, in a reverse twist. The fathers of the lovers, Matt and Louisa, put up a wall between their houses and staged a feud between their families in order to maneuver their kids to fall in love. As they believe that what you tell your children not to do is always the thing they would go for since kids always wanted to get their own way. So the two did fall in love but when they found out about their fathers’ manipulation, they realize that the magic was not there after all and what in the moonlight is scenic turns cynic in the daylight. They went off their separate ways and experienced the world on their own. When they met once again, now equipped with their newly discovered wisdom and experiences of the world, they realized their true feelings and came to understand each other. This musical perfectly captures the essence of the thrill and excitement of a forbidden love—moonlit night in the forest, secret meetings, and contrived conversations—and the bitter awakening and disillusionment of real life.

Repertory Philippines’ production of “The Fantasticks” was simply fantastic (pun intended:)). The set was simple and nice, and the costumes were lovely, except Matt’s. I especially liked Julia Abueva’s portrayal of Louisa but I find the actor of Matt quite unsatisfactory. Besides his anachronistic get-up and that very in vogue printed jacket of his, his singing style is not that clean. All that time, I was looking forward to his rendition of “I Can See It” and he disappointed me with his version. Another interesting and funny character was Mortimer, a fake Indian who “dies” for a living. I almost fell off my seat when he told his story about dying off a cliff and how people loved it so much that they cheered “die again Mortimer!”


I just love musicals! I have been a musical junkie as far as I can remember. I think what started it all was the time when my parents bought us that Sound of Music VHS. I became a musical fan ever since. “One” from “A Chorus Line” and “Tomorrow” from “Annie” was among my favorite songs in our nursery rhymes tape collection when I was a little girl. Presently, I have a collection of Broadway librettos and Cast recordings which I often listen to and eventually memorized. From Stephen Sondheim to Oscar Hammerstein to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jonathan Larson and the rest of the really amazing and creative composers and lyricists, I collect every piece of musical that I encounter which catches my fancy. I always thought of my life as one big musical and I always have a song attached to a memory or an unforgettable experience or era in my life. And even now, (here comes a shameless confession…) I often dreamed of performing and singing on stage. When I study at night and prepare for an exam or a recitation, I often also sing a song or two as if I have a rehearsal to attend to the next day (my college dorm roomies can prove testament to this, sorry girls if I often annoy you with my Broadway medleys Hahaha!). Anyway, with law school and all, I rarely have the time to go to acting or theater workshops. However, I never did abandon this dream. Maybe someday, Ill take the time to be in an audition and play a part in a musical production. For as long as there’s music, life will continue to encourage and amuse me.

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“Who understands why Spring is born out of Winter's laboring pain? Or why we all must die a bit before we grow again?" –El Gallo, from “The Fantasticks”