Musical plays
and Philippine
Musical Plays
I. MUSICAL PLAY
The musical play is a popular and
generally lighter form of musical drama
than the opera. The themes are usually
more contemporary, and the musical
melodies more manageable by the
average singer. The acting is less intense
and dramatic. The choreography and
dance sequences provide visual breaks
from the ongoing plots.
Broadway Musicals
Broadway musicals are family
entertainment with themes and
texts which are generally light and
easy to understand. These may
include the problems of everyday
life, such as love and romance,
social acceptance, jealousy and
intrigue, and adventure.
The singing is usually
amplified, unlike the operatic
quality of classically trained
voices.
Several other musicals were
adaptations of classical operas.
Among these were Miss Saigon
based on Puccini’s Madame
Butterfly and Aida from Verdi’s
opera with the same title.
While with the advent of
technology, modern productions
like The Phantom of the Opera, Les
Misérables, Beauty and the Beast,
and Lion King have enthralled
audiences with amazing set
designs, elaborate costumes, and
computer-generated visual and
sound effects.
One Filipino artist who attained
international status on both
London’s West End and Broadway is
Lea Salonga. She is best known for
her portrayal of Kim in the musical
Miss Saigon, a role for which she
won the prestigious Tony Award
for theater in the USA and the
Laurence Olivier Award in London.
Salonga is the first Filipina to
have won various international
awards for a single role.
Miss Saigon
•is a musical by Claude-Michel
Schönberg and Alain Boublil,
with lyrics by Richard Maltby,
Jr.
•It is a modern adaptation of
Giacomo Puccini’s opera
Madame Butterfly, which also
tells the tragic tale of a doomed
romance wherein an Asian
woman is abandoned by her
Caucasian lover.
Following Miss Saigon, Salonga
was the first Asian to play the
role of Eponine in the musical Les
Misérables, based on the novel of
the same title written in 1862 by
the French author Victor Hugo.
She also played the role of Mei-Li
in Flower Drum Song.
The Phantom of the Opera
•The Phantom of the Opera is a
broadway musical by Andrew
Lloyd Webber and Richard
Stilgoe, with lyrics by Charles
Hart and music by Lloyd
Webber.
PHANTOM
OF THE
OPERA
•It is based on the novel The
Phantom of the Opera by Gaston
Leroux. The story focuses on a
beautiful singer Christine Daaé
as she is seduced by a mysterious
disfigured musical genius
known as The Phantom of the
Opera.
•The Phantom of the Opera is
one of the longest-running
Broadway musicals of all time.
At the 1988 Tony Awards, the
Broadway production was
nominated for 11 awards and
won seven, including the
coveted Best Musical award
•The musical also won seven
awards at the 1988 Drama
Desk Awards.
Les Misérables
•Les Misérables, known as “Les
Mis,” is a musical composed in
1980 by French composer
Claude-Michel Schönberg with
libretto by Alain Boublil. It is
based on the novel Les
Misérables by Victor Hugo.
•It is perhaps the most famous
of all French musicals and one
of the most famous musicals
performed worldwide.
•Les Misérables tells the story
of paroled convict Jean
Valjean who, failing attempts
to find work as an honest man,
breaks his chains and conceals
his identity to live his life
again.
II. MUSICAL PLAYS IN THE
PHILIPPINE
•In the Philippines, the musical
play is a more recent
development than Broadway
and West End, relying mostly on
adaptations from novels,
literary works, or biographical
sketches of famous artists.
1. ANDRES BONIFACIO, ANG
DAKILANG ANAK-PAWIS, THE
MUSICAL
The musical play Andres Bonifacio:
Ang Dakilang Anak-Pawis is a five-
act work commissioned by Alfonso
Puyat in 1979, depicting the life of
revolutionary hero Andres
Bonifacio.
•It was co-produced by the Cultural
Center of the Philippines and the
Andres Bonifacio Music
Foundation, Inc., and was staged
again at the CCP Main Theater on
August 20 and 21, 1994 with Jerry
Dadap as composer-conductor and
the late Elmo Makil as Bonifacio.
2. ATANG - DULANG MAY
MUSIKA
Atang - Dulang May Musika is a
musical based on the life of the
first superstar of the
Philippines, Atang de la Rama.
3. Atang, The Musical
The musical play Atang,
written by Floy Quintos,
directed by Alexander
Cortes, and with music by
Von de Guzman, was shown
at the Guerrero Theater,
Palma Hall in UP.
4. KATY! THE MUSICAL
The musical Katy! is about the
life of bodabil (vaudeville)
star Katy de la Cruz. It was
initially presented by Actors
Studio East Production in
1988.
•The play commissioned Ryan
Cayabyab for the music and
Jose Javier Reyes for the
lyrics. It starred Mitch Valdes
in the title role.
5. FLORANTE AT LAURA,
THE MUSICAL
•The musical Florante at Laura
was presented by Tanghalang
Pilipino at the CCP Little
Theater (Tanghalang Aurelio
Tolentino) from July 7 to 24,
1988.
•This was in celebration of the
200th birth anniversary of the
author Francisco Balagtas-
Baltazar. The musical was
selected as the official
Philippine entry to the first
ASEAN Theater Festival in
August 1988.
6. DARAGANG MAGAYON
The musical play Daragang
Magayon is a production for poetry
and mixed media for male and
female narrators, female voice, two
percussionists, two pianists, and
two dancers.
•It was first presented at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Loading Dock in March 1991. It
was produced by the CCP
Women’s Desk and the
Coordinating Center for Dance to
mark Women’s Month based on a
poem by Merlinda C. Bobis.
7. NOLI ME TANGERE, THE
MUSICAL
The musical play Noli Me
Tangere was staged at the CCP
Little Theater from February 1
to 4, 1996 as a production of
Tanghalang Pilipino.
8. EL FILIBUSTERISMO, THE
MUSICAL
The musical play El
Filibusterismo is a two-act play
that was staged at the CCP Main
Theater from August 8 to 10,
1997 as a production of
Tanghalang Pilipino.
9. MAGSIMULA KA, THE MUSICAL
The musical play Magsimula Ka
by Gines Tan was staged at the
CCP Main Theater from April 7
to 24, 1988. As the winner of the
CCP Playwriting Contest in 1983,
it became one of the longest
running musicals at the CCP.
Learning Task 1: Compare
and Contrast
•Directions: Cite the
similarities and differences
between Western musical
play and Philippine musical
play using the Venn diagram
below.
Learning Task 2: Fill Me!
• Directions: Given below are musical play titles. Supply
the needed information about those performances to
complete the table below.
Learning Task 3: Watch and React!
Directions: Watch the film “FLORANTE AT LAURA,
THE MUSICAL” on You Tube. Then answer the
questions that follow.
Here is the link for the film viewing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QNMJOkOd_E
1. How did the performers deliver their dialogue or
lines?
2. Did the performers showed facial expressions,
gestures, and proper mood of singing appropriate to
the characters they are trying to portray? Prove your
answer.
3. Give three (3) ways on how do music affect
performances.
