The musical to end all musicals.
This was the battle cry of Dalanghita Productions, a new theater production company, when they announced their maiden project, a full musical adaptation of Carlo Vergara’s fan-favorite Virgin Labfest one-act play and graphic novel, Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady.
Translating the one-act play into a full-fledged musical on a big stage like the PETA Theater is no easy feat, especially for a very young production company like Dalanghita Productions. But now that their first run is done and well received, they are gearing up to take Leading Lady on a much bigger stage at OnStage Greenbelt this July.
Dalanghita Productions started out as just an idea among three theater enthusiasts: Perterean Briñas, Claudia Fernandez, and Ansis Aldrich Sy who met when they attended a musical theater workshop just last year. Today, they have transformed into a ragtag team of passionate individuals whose aim is to produce and promote original Filipino material.
“It was first Pertee’s (Perterean Briñas) idea of creating a musical,” said Ansis Sy. Claudia Fernandez adds, “Then when Pertee was a fellow during the Virgin Lab Fest last year, he invited us to watch the revisit of Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady.” Ansis shares, “So when we heard that Carlo was looking for a producer, and people were asking why it was not yet full length, we contacted him.” And with that, Dalanghita Productions was born.
So what’s in a name? “Honestly, ‘Dalanghita’ started out as an inside joke,” said Ansis. But Claudia discloses that the name stuck since it reminded of Sampaguita Pictures, a well-known local movie production company in the 1930s. Ansis adds, “Plus, it matches what we want to produce, which are fresh, flavorful, Filipino material.”
A superhero musical deserves a powerhouse creative team, so Dalanghita Productions assembled pretty much “the Avengers” of the Philippine theater which includes Chris Martinez as director, Vincent de Jesus as musical director and composer, Tuxqs Rutaquio as production designer, Lambert de Jesus as technical director, John Batalla as lighting director, Nancy Crowe as choreographer, Mara Marasigan as assitant director, and Ejay Yatco as assistant director. Add to that list a very star-studded cast which includes Bituin Escalante and Frenchie Dy alternating as Mely, Markki Stroem and Hans Eckstein as Leading Man, Kim Molina and Natasha Cabrera as Viva, and theater legend Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo as Madre de Dios, the leader of Fuerza Filipinas.
On the creative team, Ansis shares: “Carlo had a vision already for the play. And he wanted the Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah team back together. Then they suggested the other artistic staff members.”
Rounding up the cast as the Fuerza Filipinas are Giannina Ocampo (Nena Babushka), Caisa Borromeo (Windang Woman), Chesko Rodriguez (Popoy Pusakal), Jeff Flores (Bazooka Man), while the rival team the Kayumanggilas are composed of Nar Cabico and Domi Espejo alternating as the leader Senyor Blangko, Red Nuestro (Marakas Marko), Red Concepcion (Itak-Atak), Elliot Eustacio and JC Santos (alternating as Jeryc Sans Rival), Vince Lim and Mikoy Morales (alternating as Henyotik), and May Bayot as the Nanay of Mely and Viva. The ensemble is also composed of an amazing set of theater actors Kakki Teodoro, Raflesia Bravo, Gab Pangilinan, JC Santos, Brian Sy, Rhenwyn Gabalonzo, Alejandro Santos, and Joshua Cabiladas.
Pertee admits he was “a bit intimidated. But getting to know them, they were all down to Earth and very helpful.” Claudia says that it helped that the team shared the same vision for the production and believed in the material, so in the end, everything went smoothly.
For Ansis, producing a musical like Leading Lady was a dream come true. Having started as an associate producer and member of the marketing of another small production company while both Pertee and Claudia have no prior professional experience, taking the helm of a company this time gave them a different perspective.
“It really is a learning experience. Ang daming kailangan i-consider in a production that the audience wouldn’t normally notice, or even pay attention to,” shares Ansis. “But it helps that we’re young and lean, since we can easily resolve issues or problems in the end. So that would hopefully translate to a happy production which would result in happy audiences.”
Since Leading Lady is tranferring to its new lair at OnStage Greenbelt, audiences can expect a more explosive production since it’s bigger, and hopefully the original cast will be back to do the second run.
Looking towards the future, Ansis shares that they will definitely focus on original Filipino material. He shares that after Leading Lady, they’re looking into doing another musical for next year. “We’ll tell stories about Filipinos, and about the Philippines. So, there’s more heart and truth because it’s more grounded, and we can easily relate to it.”
With small theater production companies like Dalanghita Productions taking a more leading role in advocating Filipino material, the entertainment scene looks bright as ever.