PILIPINAS CIRCA 1907 Blog Posts

PILIPINAS CIRCA 1907 was the first play of the 21st season of Tanghalang Pilipino. With Libretto by Dr. Nicanor G. Tiongson and music by Jose Estella, Lutgardo Labad, Louie Pascasio, Lucien Letaba, Nicanor Abeladro, Scott Joplin, and Barry Fagan, the sarswela was staged for four weeks at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) with a cast headed by Ana Guillen Feleo, Miguel Castro, Lani Mabilangan Ligot and Arnold Reyes.

Googling through cyberspace, I came across several web posts from people who saw the production. Following are some of them, edited for this page. The links are provided, in case anyone might be interested to read through.

I Solemnly Swear to Watch It Again
Nasa cloud nine pa rin ako. As in over the moon happiness. . . . WOW! . . .
Found my new love: THEATER.
read the entire blog here

Despite the heavy political theme, "Pilipinas Circa 1907" is quite a delight to sit through. All three hours of it! First, there's good singing. . . . Second, there's a host of dancing- some tender, some fun, some in a vaudeville sort of way . . . And finally, Tanghalang Pilipino did not scrimp on a peso for the costumes . . . Who says Pilipino theater isn't world class?
read the entire blog here.

Nanood kami ng Pilipinas Circa 1907 sa CCP, sa Maynila. Masaya. Ang ganda ng play!
read it here

I watched on a Saturday night and the cast was really good! First, there was Leonor, played by Lani Ligot. … Second, there was Emilio, played by Arnold Reyes. … Luckily, on our night, Andrew Cruz played Juan, the houseboy. This emerging actor is a gem onstage. He's funny without trying, really.
read it here

Experiencing Sarsuela: Pilipinas Circa 1907
So we thought 'sarsuela' is dead... But it's a good thing that TP reaches out the 'traditional Filipino' theater to younger generations . . . My friend noticed that during the first-half of the show, the students were quite disinterested and bored . . . However, at the latter-half, they slowly appreciated the sarsuela. So there's nothing wrong in sending or requiring your students to watch stage-plays (but guiding them is a must).
read the whole entry here

I have never seen a sarswela before, and this is one of the better plays I have seen. Buhayin ang sarswela! Seriously though, a rather sad reality it reminded me about is that a hundred years after the first national elections, very little has changed.
read through the entire thing here

. . . I enjoyed all the colors and sounds that the sarsuwela offered with a sense of innocent joy. It didn’t fail to take us viewers on a nostalgic ride and pricked our hearts by challenging our sense of nationalism. . . . I can’t wait to see the other plays TP has in store for this season. Pilipinas Circa 1907 - 5 stars!
this blog you can access here