I loved Joe Wright's Pride and Prejudice, which I saw two nights ago at the highway-robbery Greenbelt Cinemas. The issues about women and social status were given more prominence in this film than in Sense and Sensibility, and yet did so without sacrificing the swoon factor. Then there's Matthew Macfadyen. *sigh*

While the lovely Keira Knightley was effective in her portrayal of the free-spirited Elizabeth Bennet, I'm not so convinced about her Oscar nomination. (I'd prefer Rosamund Pike getting a supporting actress nod for her performance here.) Then again, Knightley carries the film well and her presence cannot be ignored. She turns 21 late this month, and is one of the youngest to be nominated.

(What was I doing when I was 21? Oh, I was a staff writer working for DLSU.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In the ol' tagboard, Shiela asked what went into the creative process of bringing the comic book to the theater stage.

I can proudly say, I don't know.

See, Tanghalang Pilipino didn't ask me much when they were putting the musical together. I only had that one long phone call with the artistic director concerning the overall treatment, and that was that. I was working on curiousity and trust. I only knew about the final cast after they had chosen the line-up, and I only found about the soul an RnB influences in the music after Vince de Jesus had presented the "first draft" of songs. In fact, when I first visited the rehearsals, they had Act One down pat.

So I was either going to be pleasantly surprised or unpleasantly mortified. Good thing it was the former that happened. Then again, a large part of me wasn't worried at all. This was theater.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Thanks. I always thought it was a collaborative effort from the start. So you had no idea how and why TP decided to stage the show? Is a case of you waking up one day and someone handing you a present then, yes? ;)
Slvrdlphn said…
They must really be fans of your work to have depicted your characters so well. Kudos to everyone involved in Zsazsa Zaturnnah!
Anonymous said…
Congratulations again for Ze Muzikal! i know you're very happy. Nakakabaliw ba? All your hard work had definitely paid off and i'm very happy for you.

you're one of the very few people i look up to. :) ~ALAMAT~ talaga! hahaha!

sana nag Benbol Roco ka kahapon! hahaha!

i love you Sir Carlo! can't wait for what Ada and Dodong had in store for me for the sequel! *kinikilig pa rin sa special prod number sa finale* hahahaha!

see you soon!
Anonymous said…
sir carlo, how does it feel na yung characters nyo po ay gumagalaw na right in front of your eyes?

ang saya and at the same time overwhelming cguro... and yung positive reactions ng mga audience from the characters up to the lines.

ganda po ng art nyo! :)kudos.
princessfrani said…
hi!!!! i looooveeeee the show sooooo much!!!!! as in! the scene where the town was attacked by the giant frog was sooo good! patok talaga! sobrang kulet!!!! i wanna watch it again!!!! i hope mei rerun, i've been bragging about having watched the show to my other firends and they all wanted to see it! sobra! can i just share? we bought our tickets 12 feb but march 3 na yung show na nakuha namen! sobra! please, please, please, i hope you try to convoince them (TP) to have a rerun!!!! =)
Anonymous said…
Ano ba ang sukatan ng pagkalalaki,
Sa lalim ba ng boses o sa tibay ng tindig?
Nasusukat ba ito sa dami ng pinangakuan ng pag-ibig?

Sa lahat ng nakilala, sa iyo lamang humanga
Sa tapang at lambot ng iyong puso
Ang kaligtasan ng lahat
Ay tinanganan mo sa palad mo

Ikaw ang superhero ng buhay ko, ikaw
Hindi ka man lumilipad
Napakalayo ng iyong narating
Nais kong sumama, saan ka man magpunta
Hawakan mo ako, maglalakbay tayo

INSTRUMENTAL

Napakita mo sa akin, mayroon pang hihigit
Sa katahimikang nakasanayan ko
Tulad mo'y nagsimula akong managinip
Ang bugnot kong mundo'y binuhay mo

Ikaw ang superhero ng buhay ko, ikaw
Pagod ka man ngayon
Ako naman ang papasan sa iyo
Halika na sa piling ko
Kita'y iuuwi, dito sa bisig ko
Ika'y mahimbing

Ikaw ang superhero ng buhay ko, ikaw
Clayman said…
Mahal ko na si Mr. Darcy!

Siyempre, mas mahal ko pa rin si Mr. Mapua.

Haha! :-)
Unknown said…
Ang galing. My friends in UP are upset that they didn't get to hear about it until it was too late, and are demanding a run at the up theatre. :D It was great seeing you too, last sunday. More power to you, Carl. May your brain be fertile.
Anonymous said…
sheila...Yup, a really nice present. :) As to why, I guess they saw the musical potential in the book. I'd like tothink they saw it as a fun and challenging project.

slvrdlphn... Some of them have actually read the book way before. Agot said she read it when it was still in the two-part version.

zee... baka mabulol ako onstage!!!heheheh I would describe the whole experience as surreal. I'd wake up now and ask myself, "did all that really happen?" See you when I see you! Ingat. :-)

joy...thanks much! After opening night, I hopped into a cab to go home. I was getting teary-eyed, pero thankfully hanggang doon lang. Baka magtaka yung taxi driver. :-P But, again, hindi kapani-paniwala ang experience. I don't know if it's ever going to happen again, pero sobra akong thankful that it did.

maningning... the frog scene was brilliant! The intimate theater was perfect for it, kaya I wonder if a larger venue would make that treatment work equally well. But we'll see. Sana nga matuloy ang restaging. Marami pa akong friends na di nakapanood.

anonymous...ganda ng lyrics, ano? I also loved the other ballads. Actually, I love all the songs!! :-D

Angelo... dapat lang! heheheh...Miss you!

Isha...UP theater? Seryoso??? E di dapat higanteng palaka talaga ang gawin nila!

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