Following the success of the documentary film “Imelda”, a new musical is in the works that will bring Imelda Marcos’s life to the stage. The stage musical “Imelda: A New Musical”, scheduled to premiere on May 11, delves into the adventures and pitfalls in the life of the former Philippine first lady.
The stage musical is based on Ramona S. Diaz’s documentary film “Imelda”, which won the Excellence in Cinematography Award for documentary at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. Aaron Coleman, the musical’s lyricist who along with musician Nathan Wang is responsible for bringing the songs to life, said that while the “Imelda” documentary offers a straightforward and journalistic view of Ms Marcos, the stage version explores an emotionalized and “theatricalized” perspective.
“In our musical, we will present Imelda at all the major points in her life, and examine how these turning points molded her into her current self. We will actually witness transformation of a poor girl from the provinces into the most powerful woman in Asia. When the documentary let Imelda speak for herself, we are creating a character with whom the audience must empathize completely,” Mr Coleman said. He added that it took the East West Players, the influential Los Angeles-based Asian-American theater company producing the musical, three months to cast actors for the production.
“The casting for a musical always takes longer since there are fewer musical theater artists among the Asian-Pacific population. But we were surprised that we received over 300 submissions and saw about 250 people. About 80 per cent was Filipino which was a very good sign.
“Casting is complicated especially when many artists are in tours of ‘Miss Saigon,’ the current show of ‘Aladdin’ at Disney’s California Adventures or working on various music projects.
“All of our performers had to go through a singing audition in which they sang a song of their choice that best demonstrates their range, a dance audition in which they were given about a minute of choreography to learn in about 15 minutes, read from the play which they were given ahead of time and then sing a song from the play. They were given about three days to learn the song. I think it was more difficult and stressful for the actors than for the casting team.”
Liza Del Mundo, who plays the protagonist and is a veteran of such productions as “Dogeaters”, “The King and I” and “Cabaret”, was selected because she presents “a triple threat”.
“She is a good singer, dancer and actress. Liza will make you laugh, cry—all with dignity”. Tim Dang, the musical’s director, said. With Ms Del Mundo in the title role, Mr Dang added, “Audiences will be able to understand the choices Imelda made in her life.”
Rounding out the principal characters are Giovanni Jose Ortega as Ferdinand Marcos, who appeared in “Evita,” “Chicago” and “South Pacific”; Antoine Diel (Benigno Aquino), who starred in “Dogeaters”, “On Gold Mountain”, “The King and I”, “Into the Woods” and “Merrily We Roll Along; and Myra Cris Ocenar (Corazon Aquino), who performed in “Much Ado About Nothing”, “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “Romeo & Juliet”.
Ms Del Mundo, Mr Ortega and Ms Ocenar were all born in the Philippines and emigrated to the United States at a young age, Mr Dang added. Rounding out the cast are Rinabeth Apostol, Louise Marie M. Cornillez, Evan D’Angeles, M. Deocariza, Ramona Bubarry, Bryan Geli, Golda Inquito, Marc Macalintal, Blythe Matsui, Michael C. Palma, Theresa Pedrena, Annie Katsura Rollins and Joe Santiago.
The director said that while the production has some lighter moments, he is reluctant to describe it as a musical comedy.
“‘Imelda’ is a much weightier play. But it is not all drama either. There are funny moments and there are dramatic moments,” Mr Dang said.
“Regardless of the opinion that anyone may have about Imelda Marcos, the important thing about a play or a musical is telling a good story in a very entertaining way. It is a love story of the whirlwind courtship between Imelda and Ferdinand. It is the rise and fall of one of the most famous Asian Pacific couples in world history. It is the story of dreams with a touch of Hollywood.”
“Imelda: A New Musical” opens on May 11 at the David Henry Hwang Theater at the Union Center for the Arts in Los Angeles. Previews are from May 5-8. For more information, consult the East West Players’ web site at www.eastwestplayers.org.
