Let me get this straight, I’ve only been going to Philippine theatre (as in really going) this past year. I don’t claim to have a passion for musicals, have any acting talent, have had theatre workshops, nor can I sing the OCR of whatever uso broadway musical there is right now… or ever. In other words, this is coming for a baby theatre-goer..ehem.. a gorgeous but baby theatre-goer—just to get it straight. haha! 
So having said that, I liked…nay..LOVED the performance I saw last night!
Rivalry:Ateneo-Lasalle the Musical was a continuous surprise from start to finish. I can’t really say much about the what the musical is about as it’s pretty apparent. Duh. Read the Title.
What I’m going to say though is that the play was set in 1968, the Lasallians were called Lasallites, Miriam was Maryknoll, there was NCAA instead of UAAP, aaaaand basketball players were(are) still hot commodities that girls fawn over.
As the blog title suggests, I’m from UP and I was “aware” of this “rivalry” during my time in college (of which I had the biggest crush on BJ Manalo..ehem) but I’ve never really understood it. Never really wanted to, to tell you the truth. And after watching the musical, I’m still not sure if I understand the rivalry.. really, but I appreciate it for what it is. How weird does that sound, right? But it makes sense..at least in my brain. Haha!
Basta, after watching the production I thought to myself— Ateneo and Lasalle are lucky to have each other. 
Not sure if that was the message of the musical, but that’s what I got!
yay for the cast!
What else is there to say? The actors were all amazing! The leads all seemed new (or maybe this is because baby nga ako at di ko sila kilala..ewan). Oh but..that the dude playing Quito was also the actor who played Equus and I kept on getting snippets of Equus in my brain (it was very distracting), but not to say that he wasn’t effective in his role here. His smitten approach to love and his “the moves” would have melted this UP heart. And if you’ll watch, you’ll know why. 
The lead actress, which I remember hearing was named Athena was very likeable, good pipes too! The actors playing Tommy and Paco were very impressive. Slow clap moment when they were singing while doing elevated feet push-ups. IKR?!? Try it during regular push-ups lang, ANG HIRAP KAYA!!!
Great performances also from the supporting cast! The parents were so 1968 but still so current. A very special mention goes to Mr. Noel Trinidad, because he was just EPIC! And I say this not only because he’s THE Noel Trinidad but because his part of the play was golden. And that song was my favorite too for obvious reasons! Kudos to Mr. Joel Trinidad for writing it!
lyricist, director, composer
I also can’t imagine liking this show without the wonderful chorus. I love the Maryknoll girls and their song that goes… “please??” at the end. I wanted to sing it just with a different school in there. haha! There was never a dull moment with the choreography and direction (ang galeng mo Mr. Del Mundo!)—from the epic blocking, lighting and movement of the song — What’s the story?–to the ROTC scene, to the locker scenes, or to the pre-basketball AND basketball scenes. All I could say was WOW!
I believe Mr. Ed Gatchalian said it best when he mentioned that the idea was to give people something that they would want to watch.
This baby theatre-goer likes this idea. This was one of my most enjoyable nights in Philippine theatre. More of these please!
SO GO WATCH IT!
PS. Although…if there’s one thing I would have loved to have seen… it would have been shorter shorts for the basketball players. And sana may programme since I really don’t know who is which.. etc. Sorry I couldn’t put names!
WATCH IT.
The show will run in the Meralco Theater from January 27 to 29, February 5-8, 8-12 and 15-19, 2012. Show starts at 8pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays and additional 3pm matinee shows on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available with Ticketworld (www.ticketworld.com.ph) or call 891-9999, or just go to Meralco theater and watch!
