Pensive moments via The Bluebird of Happiness

Due to a spontaneous decision to accompany my sister to Ortigas and just wait for her until she finished watching The Bluebird of Happiness, I found myself inside the Meralco Theater as well on the chance that I might still be able to purchase a ticket on the spot. I did, and it was quite...an experience. The lessons in the story felt like a reminder for me as well, and I found myself reflecting on my life and current goals (like an original LV Bandouliere or Speedy. Oh, I know, I know) while watching the play. It was disconcerting, especially since I watched to be entertained and to be transported from my usual thoughts. In fact, I was just quiet afterwards since I was still feeling a bit disturbed by my decision to veer away from a dream that I held to my heart since I was in high school (which is like a decade ago).

The Bluebird of Happiness is actually an original Filipino musical play, but the songs were purely in English. This was my first time to watch a play by Trumpets, so I really didn't know what to expect. Actually, my sister watched it because she's friends with Tracy Santuyo, who is one of the chorus. But what I didn't expect was to be blown away by certain performers in the play.

I'm not sure who the lead kids were in the show we watched (8PM last Saturday), but their voices blended quite well together. However, I was a little sad with the girl lead because there were times when her voice would truly shine and I would hear the beautiful quality of her voice, but that was not shown throughout the whole three hours. The character I liked the most is Night, played by Joel Trinidad. I thought he was a different Filipino theater actor, and this is actually the first time I've heard of him (sorry, no offense) but I am now a fan! His portrayal of Night as this devious character was just amazing and totally enjoyable. His delivery of his puns were just spot-on, and the adults definitely laughed at every perfect punch.

The costumes and sets were very nicely made, and the performance by the whole cast made me see why Trumpets shows are very notable in the theater scene. However, I felt every minute of the latter two hours of the show after an hour has passed. By the end of the show, my butt felt like it was stuck to my seat. It felt like there were too many songs, and maybe it was just me, but I did not clearly understand the lyrics of all the songs.

The Bluebird of Happiness is a show that reminds everyone, both kids and adults, to be content with the material things you have and that the thing that matters most is family, and that having more material things won't necessarily make you happy. It definitely made me a little pensive by the end of the show.

It was my first time to watch in the Meralco Theater. While waiting for the show to start, I enjoyed looking at the walls with the lights behind them, which gave a soft glow to the walls. I don't know if it was just the sound system but there were times when the sound would overpower the performers. Also, the seats were not very comfortable. However, I like that it's closer to the stage and even if we just sat on the balcony side, we were still able to see the entire stage.

Aside from the required plays we had to watch for school, this was my first time to watch a local play, and it was an eye-opener. Despite the few misses, I feel like our local theater scene has a lot to offer and I'm looking forward to catching more local plays.

Till the next musicale. :)