The Angel of Music Sang to Me

I have always been an actress. Whether my family, friends or whoever agrees with me or not does not really matter, I still claim to be an Actress!

I love anything about acting. One of our family's favorite activities is to go watch movies on weekends. But last September 14, Friday night, to celebrate the birthdays of my husband and youngest daughter (which falls on the same date), we did something different. We mixed and mingled with the more "refined” sector of our society and allowed ourselves to be sprinkled with a little bit of “culture” and watched a musical play at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, The Phantom of the Opera.

Last year, I watched an international production at the CCP and it was a big disappointment. So, I was a bit hesitant to watch the Phantom production because I might get frustrated again. But I was wrong. I was so glad that I went and watched because I was a witness to a night of inspiration and excellence. That night I fell in love with the stage all over again.

When the first note of the overture struck, it just gripped me and I got lost in the world of what is called Theater. Nothing beats live orchestra. From the start, I was filled with anticipation of what is to come, that when the Phantom appeared I could not help the tears from falling. I was captivated when The Angel of Music sang to me.

Movies will always have a different appeal but theater is special. Live, real time acting is different. You get hooked and you cannot help but feel each character as they share their emotions of love, hate and life right there on stage.

Broadway plays will always be excellent. Watching that night, I felt a little envious and at the same time felt a bit of pain because I know that we Filipinos can also create excellent plays like that. Using our own talents, our own creativeness, our own stories, with excellent production at par with the rest of the world. We can. It is just frustrating most of the time due to the fact that it is sometimes hard to get people to partner with to produce such productions.

But I believe, as my friend said, we will get there...one day.