Himala Isang Musikal (9 Works Theatrical)

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The rural town of Cupang has seen better days. With drought, poverty, and sickness plaguing the villages, everyone is looking for a miracle. They find that miracle in Elsa (Aicelle Santos). Heading back home one afternoon, the barrio lass is blinded by a white light and claims to have witnessed an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who she claims tells her to become an instrument of healing. Soon, Elsa becomes a faith healer and is now the talk of the town, with tourists and sick people all over the country coming to her shrine to see her in hopes of being cured. Her mother Saling (Bituin Escalante) is reluctant, but the women of the town are persuasive. With the help of her best friend turned disciple Chayong (Neomi Gonzales), she becomes the town’s messiah, but not everyone is happy with such turn of events.

[NEW YORK] Budget and Itinerary (5)

SATURDAY: 28 September 2019

ANA (Manila - New York - Manila) - 831.14

Blue Moon Hotel (2 Nights/4 Bed Dorm) - 148.77
NJ Transit (Newark - NY Penn) - 13.00

MTA Card (1 Week Pass) - 34.00
Sea Wall/A Life (Broadway) - 101.50
Convenience Store (Water) - 2.17

USD1,130.58

[MANHATTAN] Broadway Barrage Season 4

This year marks the fourth season of Broadway Barrage, probably the only thing I look forward to every year now. The selection this year is almost equally divided between straight plays and musicals with neither genre ending up being disappointing. Over all, it has been an awesome year and a lot of shows made a very good impression that it’s just so damn hard to choose a favorite. Or maybe I don’t have to choose a favorite! Hopefully, this lineup can be duplicated for the 5th season coming next year.

[NEW JERSEY] Budget and Itinerary

FRIDAY: 4 October 2019

Megabus (New York - Princeton - New York) - 15.50
Wawa (Mineral Water) - 1.79
Princeton Pi & Hoagie (Pasta) - 10.95

USD28.24

[PRINCETON] Princeton Campus Tour

Last stop, Princeton! I booked a Megabus ticket for $1 from NY to NJ and a $12.50 ticket going back. Yes, you can get $1 bus tickets on Megabus if you book early and if you select a not so popular departure time. The surprise of the day was how we all ended up on a Suburban bus, which had WiFi but no power outlets like Megabus does. But hey, for a $1 interstate bus ride am I really allowed to complain? Heading to New Jersey takes an hour and a half. Double that to 3 hours if going back to Manhattan on a late Friday afternoon.

The Sound Inside (Broadway)

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Bella (Mary-Louise Parker) is a tenured Creative Writing professor at Yale diagnosed with the same kind of cancer that killed her mother years back. Christopher (Will Hochman) is an overly enthusiastic student who comes over during office hours without appointments to discuss a novel that he is writing. The two get to know each other through discussions of Dostoevsky and some liquor, debating on grounds of literary criticism for her and on hatred of social media for him. As his novel progresses, so do their interaction and acquaintance. Still, there lingers the question as to what his motivations are for forging a close relationship with his mentor. The answer might just lie on the piece of literature he is writing or, as she would like to say, on the sound inside, whatever that means.

Beetlejuice (Broadway)

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Teenager Lydia Deetz (Sophia Anne Caruso) just can’t get over the death of her mother. She grieves and obsesses about death as much as she could. Her father Charles (Adam Dannheisser) hires life coach and his lover Delia (Leslie Kritzer) to help the girl move on. They also transfer to a new house for a change of environment, not knowing that it is the house of deceased couple Barbara (Kerry Buttler) and Adam Maitland (Rob McClure) who were just prepping up for family life when they met their sudden demise. Not willing to move on to the other side, the couple haunt the house, but are deemed not scary enough for the part. When Lydia sees the duo, she finds an opportunity to move back to their old home by conniving with the ghosts to scare her father and future stepmom, but it doesn’t work. Enter Beetlejuice (Alex Brightman), a demon who wants to be visible and will try everything to make it happen by finding an alive and kicking human being to say his name thrice. In the end, will it be Lydia?

Moulin Rouge (Broadway)

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American songwriter Christian (Aaron Tveit) moves to Paris to join the Bohemian revolution and hone his art, but instead finds an unlikely family in playwright Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Sahr Ngaujah) and narcoleptic Argentinean Santiago (Ricky Rojas). The trio of artists head to the Moulin Rouge to propose a new play, making the cabaret’s star Satine (Karen Olivo) believe that Christian is the Duke of Monroth (Tam Mutu) who she needs to seduce for financial backing of the now almost bankrupt theater. Sparks fly and the two fall in love despite clear warning from the Duke that he owns everything there is to the club, including her. With his investment, they come up with a play about two doomed lovers who can’t be together, mirroring their real-life setup. With the harsh reality of life quickly catching up with them, can they really afford to uphold the values of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Love?

Betrayal (Broadway)

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Emma (Zawe Ashton) and Jerry (Charlie Cox) are a married couple, but not to each other. Despite the fact, they carry on having an affair for seven years and believe that their respective spouses have absolutely no idea regarding their infidelity. Robert (Tom Hiddleston), Emma’s husband and Jerry’s best friend, actually knows for quite some time now, but is aloof because he himself has been having an affair of his own. When Jerry finds out that Robert knows, the two meet up and a discussion between friends begins, putting into detail what used to be mere suspicions and doubts. As the three continue to live a normal life despite their cheating tendencies, they discover what really makes their relationship with one another tick, but will friendship suffice to justify cheating and betrayal?

Dear Evan Hansen (Broadway)

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Aside from medication, Evan Hansen (Michael Lee Brown) is advised to write letters addressed to himself to ease his bouts of anxiety. When he does, he accidentally leaves one on the school printer which is eventually found by a high Connor Murphy (Alex Boniello). What should have been the start of an odd friendship takes an unexpected turn when their unlikely conversation becomes a misunderstanding and Connor commits suicide with Evan’s letter found in his possessions. Mistaking it for a suicide note addressed to his only friend, the Murphy’s hang on to the letter believing it to be their son’s last memory. Seeing how he can be instrumental in helping with the family’s grief, Evan crafts one lie followed by another and then another until he gets entangled in an intricate web of deceit that spirals out of control, affecting all of them in ways both beneficial and detrimental.