10:00 PM


January 22, 2013 12:52pm
 


When rows of college students, decidedly younger than a three-hour period show they were watching, start to remind themselves to stop humming and to avoid stomping their feet, one can guess “Katy” hits a mark among the young Filipino digital natives.
 
No mean achievement, especially with their very notorious short attention span and enchantment with foreign artists and entertainers of the pop variety.

“We are at the Cultural Center of the Philippines,” one adolescent said, to hush his friends who were becoming too excited by the rambunctious music and songs of “Katy.”
 


Much later, a grinning Maestro Ryan Cayabyab interrupts an interview during the “Katy” intermission to tell an awed director Jose Javier Reyes that they should “collaborate more often” and that they better start working soon on the second and third projects they had vowed to do after “Katy.”
 
“Katy,” which premiered in November 1988, is a musical about the life, love, and loss of Catalina Mangahas de la Cruz or Katy de la Cruz, and is considered as a landmark Filipino production, especially for the Original Pilipino Music genre.
 
De la Cruz, born Feb. 13, 1907 in Intramuros, is still known up to now as the unrivaled “queen of Philippine bodabil.” A torch singer, De la Cruz, popularly known as Katy, immortalized the song “Ang Balut,” her naughty take on “A Tear Fell.”
 


Directed by Nestor Torre, the musical “Katy” had its maiden showing at the then Rizal Theater in Makati, eventually moving to the CCP. It was an instant success. Its libretto was written by Reyes and music composed by Cayabyab.
 
The original cast had Mitch Valdes playing “Katy” and Celeste Legaspi as “Olivia,” together with Marco Sison, Bernardo Bernardo, Pinky Marquez Gigi Posadas, Beverly Salviejo, Lou Veloso, and backed up by the UP Jazz Ensemble.
 
On Jan. 17, almost 25 years after its premiere, “Katy” returned to the CCP, with Torre again directing, but with a different cast.
 
Isay Alvarez essays the role of Katy, Dulce acts as Olivia, Aicelle Santos as the young Katy, Gian Magdangal as Peping, Tirso Cruz III as Tatay ni Katy, Epy Quizon as the young Dolphy and Ompong, Lou Veloso as the director, Tricia Amper Jimenez as Hana-san, CJ Mangahis as the young Mary Walter, Yedda Lambuhon and Leana Tabunar as Batang Katy, and Allen Immanuel Ryce Salazar as Anak ni Katy.
 
Torre’s January 2013 staging of “Katy” may elicit thoughtful debate among critics, notably for its remarkably sparse set design and frequent, and almost eternal scene changes, which tend to derail the spiraling momentum. The CCP’s Little Theater (Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino) has its own technical limitations. Similarly, funds for artistic productions are hard to find these days.
 
In spite of these unavoidable production hitches, it must be declared that the return of “Katy” on stage to mark the production’s silver anniversary is another milestone in the musical’s garland of achievements.
 
Its executive producers, namely Robert Seña, his wife Alvarez, Jimenez, and Carl Balita, gave Filipinos young and old another extraordinary chance to savor the enormous and exhilarating combination of the rare gifts of librettist Reyes and musician Cayabyab. One could only wish that the songs and music of “Katy” would be available in compact disc.
 
Alvarez, Dulce, and Cruz III more than displayed their natural musicality and vocal prowess, earning them repeated shouts of bravos and loud applause, almost every time they ended their song numbers.
 
Cruz III, who has not appeared in a musical on legitimate stage for about 15 years, was a genuine revelation in this production. He has not lost his enviable talents for singing and acting, which made him popular in the 1970s opposite Nora Aunor, despite the passage of time which has been very kind to him.
 
Magdangal, Jimenez, Fabie, Mangahis, Lambuhon, Tabunar, and Salazar did a highly commendable job of supporting the lead actors and actresses. The 13-member chorus cum supporting talents acting in various roles must also be acclaimed.
 
In her brief role as the young Katy, pop singer Santos revealed that she could shine on her own against the constellation of stars assembled in this production. In this staging of “Katy,” Santos definitively declared that the Filipino audience should expect more from her, and that she would not disappoint them.
 
The excellent movie-television actor Quizon, despite his initial reservations, successfully essayed his father’s original role in the entertainment business, as Golay. In his tap dancing, Quizon revealed to the young members of the audience who may not have known his father as a nimble dancer that he has the legendary Dolphy’s DNA.
 
The AMP Band, under the musical direction of the brilliant Mel Villena, which provided live accompaniment in all performances of “Katy,” is another major reason not to miss this show. You think you have heard the AMP Band already, but wait till the band titillates you with Cayabyab’s music here.
 
The 2013 mounting of “Katy” is a must-see for it transports the audience to the forever lost era of the bodabil. If you don’t see it this time, you may have to wait for another 25 years to get a chance. —KG, GMA News
 
"Katy," a production by Spotlight Artists Centre and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, runs until Jan. 27 at the CCP Little Theater. It is one of the five original Filipino musicals set to be shown at the CCP this year. For details, call the CCP at (02) 832-1125 or Ticketworld at 891-9999.
 

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