Teatro Pinas Review : "Rama, Hari": A Mesmerizing Fusion of Tradition and Modernity in Filipino Rock Ballet

 

It was fortunate last February 18, 2024 Sunday to be able to watch "Rama, Hari" (Rama, King) a Filipino rock musical led by Alice Reyes Dance Company' visionary founder and National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes, now 80+ years old of age. My appreciation for ballet has been developed over the last few years especially last year through the generous invitation of a long-time friend, Axl, who is a fan of Philippine ballet. This time has once again elevated my appreciation for the art of ballet to a great extent. I watched with a fresh perspective without expectations and found myself smiling to learn what the standard of a National Artist for Dance is with ballet. 

My innocence on what to expect goes with how I had nothing planned for that Sunday and just allowed my friend to lead the way. We met earlier at SM Mall of Asia that afternoon 2 PM to watch a 20-minute flashmob surprise Valentine's Month concert by the Ramon Obusan Folklore group, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, University of the Philippines (UP) Madrigal Singers, and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) who ran a campaign to bring arts closer to the public through shopping mall performances. Then off we went to travel for another hour to another venue to watch "Rama, Hari" 7:30 PM schedule, which I only found out that hour was at Samsung Performing Arts Theater at Circuit Makati, the old Santa Ana Park, a horse racetrack from the 1930s to the early 2000s. Circuit Makati by Ayala Malls, is a shopping mall with atriums open to natural daylight and ventilation. Aside from the theater, the mall is uniquely designed like an oasis in the urban metro.

I have been to a few theaters in Metro Manila and found Samsung Performing Arts Theater at Circuit Makati with outstanding features such as the dedicated public entrance, wide lobby, stage size, seat viewing angles, maintained furniture, audio, lighting, and air-conditioning. Only the legroom was quite narrow. I researched a bit and learned that the theater was quite new, built in 2022, and can accommodate 1,500 seats with a balcony. Our seat was at the end of the row beside the aisle, at the orchestra center. Other seats were orchestra side, balcony I and II, and loge. It was a good view to see the stage. National artist for dance, Alice Reyes, and national artist for music, Ryan Cayabyab, both part of the musical production, were present that night to watch and were called to stand from their seat to be recognized by others.

The curtain opened with the introduction of the characters through a backstage narrator giving a hint to audiences for an epic musical, followed by lively choreography and music to build the setting of the kingdom in the story. It was also good audiences were oriented about the notion of good and evil to expect in the story which helped tone down any violent acts. The main characters: kings, queens, princes, princess, and royal entourage in colorful attires stood on the white geometric raised platforms on stage and added breath to the setting through their exacting singing and enchanting ballet dances. The contrast between the raised white platforms and colorful royal attire elevates performances to highlight each character's uniqueness. As I listened to the music background, I could not help but notice and appreciate with a smile how the mix of modern rock instruments, traditional Asian gong instruments, and Western orchestra was amazingly incorporated. I recognize the modern rock music style and the melodies that seem drawn from Filipino kundimans, capturing a romantic ambiance aside from the poetic delivery of verses in the narration. The language was in Filipino, with words not commonly used in everyday conversation today, which made it difficult to guess words for lyric and music volume overlaps. This, however, brought me back to appreciate my childhood Filipino classes as well. A visual text aid in the English language was flashed through the crystal display monitor hung at the left and right corners of the stage. The English text helped audiences like me to interpret Filipino words missed to understand.

The story staying true to the epic, moves the couple to the scene where they are exiled to the forest. The challenge of changing the setting from the kingdom to the forest was well-addressed in the large stage. I like the use of colored fabric with intricate geometric and floral patterns to replicate an Asian architectural interior decorated arch. The forest scene was interestingly decorated with large vertical fan-like boards with gold-colored linear frames held by a live actor behind each board, making the usual forest setting look like a pop-up art from a storybook adding elegance to the scene. I had watched casual plays using cardboard to decorate the stage, so this was unexpectedly creative coming from that perspective. It was like a live forest paired with the ballet performances expressive of scene interactions.

A typical royal love story in faraway kingdoms is made more historically intriguing with armed conflicts and more animated with animal personification, where animals behave with human-like expressions to interact with the characters, which are also seen in mythical epic stories. The story of Ramayana, from which "Rama, Hari" was based, was a strategic choice of story, containing this trait that allows flexibility for creativity in the musical adaptation and rendering. Themes and depictions were demonstrated also through support animal characters such as the golden deer that mesmerized the princess to a damaging moral scene, and the monkey tribe who fought with the prince, Rama. Another trait of some epics is the violent acts of betrayal and wickedness, which was rendered well through the ballet dances and choreography, but also not too long to leave audiences distressed by the horrors of violence. The shadow play of war scenes using swords was both a creative demonstration of traditional Asian arts and a pacifier from the horrid war scenes in words and acts as the audience continued to watch. The lead character, Rama, nailed the end of the war scene with a candid triumph pose holding a bow and arrow. Like all triumphal tales, the last scenes with celebratory dances left audiences with glittering eyes and heartwarming smiles.

It was an amazing production of modernizing traditional arts. The music, costumes, dance, and characters were picture-perfect. The show is a treasure that exposes one to the uniqueness of Asian traditional arts and culture. Interestingly, the behaviors for love in the epic from parents to couples, and siblings, are observable in present-day relationships and remain timeless. Have you known a man who responded like Prince Rama in times of challenges for love? Have you known a lady like Princess Sita whose faith and innocence were challenged in unlikely scenarios? Have you known a father who passed away from illness caused by loneliness with his adult child? Have you known a mother who extremely regarded a son among others? Had you known individuals in an uncertain environment like the forest, expressing extreme desires? Rama, Hari captures timeless sentiments of society through various themes of love, faith, and goodness over selfishness, deception, and extreme desires. 

The artist meet-and-greet session that followed after the show was always a treat. One takes a queue and is served in less than fifteen (15) minutes due to the small crowd that stayed after the show. Audiences get to take photos with the cast and are grounded in human connections in an affinity for the arts. It was also a chance to take a photo with the national artists who happened to have attended as well and stayed to see friends in the lobby after the show.

I went back home curious and wondering about the details I missed, perhaps due to unfamiliarity with the nature of the show, especially the rationale behind the sequence of the acts. I also know little about the artists and the story so I did a little research from online newspapers to learn more about the background. "Rama, Hari" is a modern musical adaptation of the Indian epic Ramayana about a crown prince and wife exiled for fourteen years to a forest where they encounter other people challenging their love. The story follows the couple battling their way in the forest and eventually returning as triumphs to their home kingdom. The Indian epic Ramayana dates back to more than the 4th century before the common era (BCE) and was adapted to many versions. Ballet Philippines first launched an adaptation in 1980 with a Filipino rock musical rendition in collaboration with talented Filipino artists, now mostly recognized for their contribution of national significance. Alice Reyes was declared a National Artist for Dance in 2014, when she was age 71 then. Ryan Cayabyab was declared a National Artist for Music in 2018, when he was age 65 then. Ryan Cayabyab was then 26 years old when he composed for "Rama, Hari". This additional research made me appreciate the details of the show, and how it was developed over time for the next generation like me. The richness of history was overwhelming almost bringing me to tears from the warmth and love for the arts by a dedicated community spanning across generations.

The combinations of selections that form the production of "Rama, Hari" from choice of story, host of talented artists, state-of-the-art venue, cost of seat tickets, and accessible location, make it a must-see art for all generations that can inspire adaptations across institutions. Uniquely, we are exposed to the intent of the Cultural Center of the Philippines to make art more accessible to all, which was followed by an experience to see the standards of Philippine art through theater - a whole new experience to love the arts and help support its cause.

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STAR POWERHOUSE ORIGINALS

Review and words by : Abigail Ko

Photographs by : Axl Guinto