(#28) Ang Kiri

“Ang Kiri (2009)” Intense scenes, sensual moves and shocking acts --- no matter how you describe what were seen in the play, no one can deny the fact that it made a big impact on the audience. Thirty minutes before the curtain time, I was already in front of the University Theatre in line to watch the zarzuela Ang Kiri. Feb. 26, Thursday (which supposed to be the day after) was the play date when I found myself talking with my friend about the meaning of the said play’s title. We considered promiscuous, slut, nasty, hostess, prostitute and mistress as the words synonymous and are related to the word kiri. And so I sat on one of the left front seats facing the theatre. Each and every setting looked elegant. I love the visual and lighting effects that added color to the scenes including the digital video that was aired while the two main characters (Cesang and Jacinto) were singing with somewhat sad emotions. The actors really did well in portraying their roles in such a way that even though they were just a part of a short scene, the viewers would definitely recognize their presence. They were also few enough to help us distinguish their characters from their coactors’. They had nice singing voices but sometimes during the play I noticed that some of them were lacking breath thus made it hard for them to express smoothly. I liked the energy of the dancers but then again sometimes they were not synchronized, maybe because of fatigue resulted from consecutive days of performing on stage. Add the fact that there were so many things to memorize. The props were appropriate to the background and so beautiful as well. I love the dresses that were worn by Cesang. They seemed expensive and were styled by a famous fashion designer. It helped in justifying the status of his Sugar Daddy (Don Ramon) and at the same time the role of Cesang as a GRO. The stuffed toys were also cute. The minor mistake (wrong delivery of lines) made during the early part of the play was forgotten as the play progresses. The kissing and other whatsoever scenes caught the audiences’ attention. I didn’t expect to see those things. How professional they were to do those acts! Continuing, the play had a very good story about the love life of a prostitute. It had no definite ending but the play as a whole still satisfied me as a viewer. It was just the way Jacinto looked at Cesang that made me wonder and curious if he still had feelings for the girl. Well, it was just safe to say that Cesang had a bad love experience but probably she can start a new life with God’s love and forgiveness. I hoped that the same way goes for GROs in real life. Overall it was a job well done for the organizers and the Dulaang UP Performing Group. Their spirit showed how they really prepared and exerted effort to give only their best to entertain the audience. P75 was worth it. I was lucky to be able to watch at least one play presented in Sarsuwela Festival. I’m grateful to have Comm 3 as one of my GE subjects, really! [email protected]