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| photo credits: cyril balderrama |
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| photo credits: CALIX DIGITALS |
When one blogger saw a statue-image of Jesus Christ passing by atop of him at the basement wide open-air arena of the spacious theater venue of the Valenzuela People's Park in Valenzuela, Bulacan- he knew, it wasn't just director Jose Jeffrey Camanag and bro Roeder Camanag who invited him to be there. Deep within the innermost recesses of his heart, the blogger knew, it was Christ himself who wanted him to be THERE.
There was a Station of the Cross happening right at that moment, 20 minutes before the play DAAN NG KRUS, THE MUSICAL Daan Ng Krus, The Musical started. It was walking-by from the top-side area of the venue. And the blogger saw how the image of Christ was being carried, though, he only saw Christ almost flying from the air, and the hands that carried Him were invisible to the eye.
His dramatic life was about to start. And the blogger felt it so deep, that Jesus was again sharing HIS LIFE to him - and in a few minutes, His life would be recounted all over again.
It was a very calming experience, too. Seated beside the very gentle presence of actor Paul Jake Paule, he saw a magnificent bunch of crowd gathering to watch the play DAAN NG KRUS Daan Ng Krus. Mostly handsome and young people, innocent souls and aspiring theater enthusiasts of Valenzuela, Bulacan. Being a part of them as among the crowd felt so meaningful to one blogger.
Without much further ado, the play started. It started with angels visiting Mama Mary, announcing the birth of Christ. At once, director Jose Jeffrey Camanag captured the proper ambivalent feeling of joy and delight on this opening scene. The Chorus actors looked like real angels on this scene. Simply captivating.
And when the grown-up JESUS finally appeared on stage- the expression upon his face was perfectly right. There's so much softness in his face, so much gentleness- and it was mesmerizing to the eye. That kind of a 'Jesus expression' (not so holy, but very 'humane') was the kind of a facial expression we'd been wanting to see for an actor portraying a character that was so kind, loving and affectionate. Actor Roeder Camanag got it precisely right and with loving 'gusto'. It was overwhelming to see that kind of a Jesus portrayal.
And when HE spoke (the actor, we meant- the one who portrayed Christ),- again, as he delivered the words and the lines- surely, he knew THE CHARACTER he was portraying. Alongside the cotton-like expression of his face, it was mixed perfectly with the proper volume of a strong and manly voice that speaks of authority and power. That was very Jesus- because HE's the Son of God. Perfect.
Let's take-away all the other "inventions" on portraying Jesus. This one was more real, more touching, more HUMAN. It was, indeed, the most powerful portrayal of Jesus Christ. His eyes spoke of forgiveness, and his moves and ways, so comforting. Almost like Jesus himself.
Kudos, Roeder Camanag, for bringing so much justice to a FRIEND. To that friend called Christ.
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How we love to see a play on Jesus with the DEVIL participating in many of the well-choreographed scenes of this theatrical presentation. The devil looked so naughty and flirty, dancing and moving in ways no one might have seen before. Fabulous. Suddenly appearing in some dark corners or center stage- this kind of Devil could somehow steal the limelight but abruptly faded-out whenever Jesus Christ appeared, the devil diminished. It revealed a divine kind of power.
The scenes of Mary Magdalene were luscious and tempting. The attack was modern and the dances were not holy to the eye, but perfect for artistic cravings. Again, the way the director handled this mixture of holiness and devilish moves- was something to be applauded for.
Mama Mary was the story-teller of the play.It was her own point-of-view on the life of her son. And this attack was something one blogger liked fully well. Because it made the story and the libretto of director Jeffrey more convincing.
THE DIRECTION of this play was truly the best of all, too. The timing was perfect. The vision, complete.
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In a play filled with lovely music and songs by Maestro Jessie Lucas, it was more than that. In which you could see, there's a HEART far greater than the universe- and a SOUL that continued-on fighting for us and loving us.
And that is the very message of the play DAAN NG KRUS.
As you see those young actors in the whole Cast Ensemble performing with might and precision, the faces became real. You saw how they made Jesus suffer more, and you also saw how much they loved Him.
You saw those images you haven't seen before, faces that mingled upon various faces of emotions and characters- sticking by the door and never leaving to challenge the heart of Christ.
You wonder, how much love could one person give to another?
In The Greatest Story That Was Ever Told,
one person knew-
it's still the LOVE of Christ
that would always matter-
FOREVERMORE.
(as the words were written by robert manuguid silverio)
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| PHOTO CREDITS: LEZLIE DAILISAN |
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| director jose jeffrey camanag: the right execution on the story of Jesus |
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| roeder camanag: the perfect Jesus |
P.S. from the Author:
The play Daan Ng Krus will have a performance again tonight (March 29, Thursday) at the Valenzuela People's Park, 7 P.M.
And on March 30 & 31 (Good Friday and Black Saturday), at the Luneta Concert Park (beside the Japanese Garden), also at 7 P.M.
BELOW IS THE WHOLE PRODUCTION STAFF AND CAST OF "DAAN NG KRUS, THE MUSICAL":
Jesus: Roeder Camanag
Mama Mary: Tex Ordonez de Leon
Pedro: Erin Grae Guevarra
Mary Magdalene: Lodie Atis
Judas: Dave Aratan
Satan: Cyril Balderrama
Barabas: Christian Biando
Anas: Joseph Billeza
Caiphas: Paolo Gabuco
Pontius Pilate: Jhilon Biais
Veronica: Marilyn Ducumis
Hestas: Amstel Satorre
Dimas: Allan Rae Goodfellow
STAFF: Composer/Musical Director: Maestro Jessie Lucas
Libretist/Choreographer/Director: Jose Jeffrey Camanag
Stage Manager: Andrew Alcoba
Lights Design: Wenzel Fernandez
Production Manager: Donna Ballbag
Technical Director: Glendel Dacumis
Asst. Tech. Director: Paolo Galanco
Dance Capatains: Cyril Balderrama and Allan Rae Goodfellow
WITH VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO: Dr. Nedena Toralba, head of Valenzuela City Center for the Performing Arts and President of Pamantasan Ng Lungsod Ng Valenzuela.
And the ARTIST PLAYGROUND of Mr. Roeder Camanag.
