Muli (FlipMusic)

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Anita (Kakki Teodoro) has separated from her husband Maki (Marvin Ong) three years ago but her house and her life are still in shambles. She is caught up in a constant state of chaos as she tries to declutter but always fails at the attempt. At least her daughter is supportive. Kath (Janine Teñoso) has always talked about leaving and moving on but for now she serves as her mother’s only emotional support. For how long, she doesn’t know. Anita has been plagued by nightmares lately, what-if scenarios that shake her to the core, some of them including: a life as a successful but politically corrupt real estate developer; a diva in every sense of the word; or even a “momfluencer”. The common theme of her nightmares is that her daughter also exists in those realities but they are estranged. Moving closer toward the edge, their upcoming high school class reunion might just end up being the final straw.

In fairness to the playwright, I didn’t expect the Next To Normal plot twist. The problem is that they hit you with this revelation two hours and a half into the musical. I just feel like such a twist would’ve benefited the material had it been placed before the end of the first act. That way, the audience could then use the 15-minute intermission to reframe the musical as a narrative about grief. The way they did it also works, but the appreciation is in hindsight, which seems to be more suitable for film. Either way I did enjoy the realizations. So that’s why her sister is so worried about her. So that’s why the lampshade bulbs are flickering.

And then there’s also her beef with her ex-husband. The audience just knows that there was a traumatic event three years ago which resulted in their eventual separation, but whatever tragedy it was it isn’t explicitly named. I don’t know. I feel like they should’ve added more hints. I’m sure they could’ve done something with the lighting, aside from the ridiculously subtle flickering of the lampshade bulbs, or maybe even wind effects to achieve the desired effect. Anyway what’s done is done. Original musicals in Tagalog are rare nowadays so this is a decent and laudable attempt from FlipMusic. I still believe that Barefoot Theatre Collaborative is the one to beat among the newbie theater companies in terms of going all in.

As for technicals, I hate to say that I hate the acoustics at Maybank Performing Arts Theater. The echo is HORRIBLE and was getting in the way of understanding what the actors were saying from time to time. There were also instances when the musical score just overwhelmed the actors’ vocals during the song numbers. Now it makes me wonder how my appreciation for this musical would change should they restage it in a larger theater with a full orchestra. Kudos to everyone for being awesome singers, though.

Muli: An OPM Musical contains original OPM songs, as promised. The most memorable is the act one ender Ina Niyong Lahat, which I felt was so Gregoria Lakambini of them. Lo and behold, I found out later that FlipMusic was a co-producer of that musical. The similarities in terms of beat and gratuitous use of profanity can’t be denied. It’s really effective, though, and the audience just went wild. It’s the ballad that Anita sings as the closing song number of the musical that really hit home, though, mainly because of her heartfelt rendition. It effectively summed up what the musical is all about.

In the end, Muli: An OPM Musical really milks the 90’s nostalgia so hard, but it’s so fun and, well, nostalgic, that I really can’t complain. Regret is a storyline that our species just never gets tired of, because we have so many in life. That’s why what-if and multiverse narratives are as en vogue as they could ever be. Any millennial, especially those in their 40’s, will not have any reason to hate this musical. I just wish they had a longer run for word of mouth to do its job. Just three weeks? Too short. I guess a rerun would be our best bet. In a larger theater and with a full orchestra, hopefully.