Lola Basyang reminds us of our values

By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman

Theater
Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang
Presented by PETA
Sept. 27 to 29
Star Theater, Star City, CCP Complex,
Roxas Blvd., Pasay City

IT HAS BEEN STAGED here and abroad perhaps a thousand times over the last 11 years — its production team has lost count — Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang has an appeal that never grows old.

The children’s play is one of Philippine Educational Theater Association’s (PETA) longest running productions. For reference, PETA’s Rak of Aegis, one of its most successful shows ever, has had 300 performances to date.

Last year, Lola Basyang was well received in South Korea — PETA hired a Korean “Lola Basyang” to localize the setting. In 2013, during the trying times following typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), the show brought hope and joy to its audiences in Leyte.

The children were unruly at first but “it was total silence” during the entire show, PETA President and veteran actress Cecilia B. Garrucho said during a pocket preview for media on Sept. 7. She played “Lola Basyang” on that day, but actress Kiki Baento (she was in the 2015 movies Bambanti and My Bebe Love: #KiligPaMore) will play the storyteller for the run of shows from Sept. 27 to 29 at the Star Theater inside the Star City Complex.

For this staging, the production will bring back the story of “Ang Prinsipeng Duwag” (The Cowardly Prince), “because it is the story of our current time,” said Ms. Garrucho. “It has a clear message: No to violence,” she added. It takes the place of the story “Ang Mahiwagang Kuba” (The Magic Hunchback) which has been part of the anthology of children’s stories for the last three years.

“Ang Prinsipeng Duwag” tells the tale of a prince who hates blood and refuses to fight wars. Shooed away from his land, he soon meets and marries a princess but is again questioned about his ability to lead a war. Which will he choose? War or peace?

“Ang Prinsipeng Duwag” is just one of the classic stories by Severino Reyes, the country’s “Father of Sarswela” (a musical theater form). Mr. Reyes, the founder and editor of Liwayway magazine, created the character of the storyteller “Lola Basyang” who first appeared in print in 1925.

The two other stories included in the one hour and 45-minute production are “Ang Prinsipeng Mahaba ang Ilong” (The Prince with the Long Nose) and “Ang Binibining Tumalo sa Mahal na Datu” (The Maiden who Fought with the Beloved Leader).

As the title suggests, “Ang Prinsipeng Mahaba ang Ilong” is about a young prince who has a long nose. He embarks on a journey to find out why he looks different from everyone else, making a friend in the process, a girl who, like him, looks different: she has a skin as dark as a charcoal. The moral of the story: Beauty is beyond skin deep.

“Ang Binibining Tumalo sa Mahal na Datu” follows Sharay, a servant’s daughter who is kind and beautiful and bright. The King of Tondo presents her with a series of riddles to test if she is fit to marry the prince.

The stories were chosen because they “teach our current children the values we uphold,” said Ms. Garrucho.

The production is interactive, participatory (the children are encouraged to come up on stage), and musical. Singer and composer Noel Cabangon wrote the lyrics to the songs.

“Kaya kong singhutin alikabok man ng bituin” one funny lyric said. (“I can inhale the dust of the stars” — a lot is lost in translation).

PETA’s Phil Noble directed the production. “I brought together all my memories of my childhood and used my love for the circus, wishing that the audience will enjoy the circus as much as I do,” he said of this incarnation of the play. “I want to create a playground with this play. I want the children to know what the circus is all about… I want us all to be childlike [and] to be children again, even for a while,” he said in a statement.

In celebration of National Grandparents Day which is held in September, PETA will give a 50% discount to all senior citizens in audience. Tickets are available at