ACC Stageville Presents: EVITA

Earlier today at around 2pm, ACC Stageville, Aklan Catholic College's theatre organization, presented its latest serving of theatre culture delight: its very own presentation of the hit Argentine musical, EVITA.

EVITA revolves around the life of Argentine political leader Eva Peron, the second wife of Argentinian President Juan Peron. Andrew Lloyd Webber scored its music while Tim Rice wrote the lyrics. For more on Evita, click this link: EVITA (musical).

Rhoden Mae Naldoza, AB Political Science, starred as the seductive Eva Peron. The cast included great singer-performers such as Eddie Boy Tabios, Lynel Jan Bonifacio, Aba Dae Nepomuceno, Femy Lyn Nahil and Alvin Artiga. The offering had two schedules: one in the afternoon, which I watched with Khalleen Cahilig, and another in the evening. I initially thought of writing a critique on the performance but I forgot that this was my first time watching something like this in a regional setting. There's a difference between a live stage play and a televised stage play. There are a lot of factors to consider when you write something critical of such performance and not one of those factors I'm familiar with.

I admired Rhoden's passion and determination to deliver an astounding performance, which she did with much success. Her crying scene was actually moving enough to pay too much attention to. I found myself at awe with those tears right around the ending. Eddie Boy Tabios wasn't that bad either. In fact, in my opinion, he once again (as I'm told he always do this every year) stole the show. He had more scenes, probably with the exception of Rhoden, than the other cast members. His stage presence and awareness made for a memorable performance. Lynel's natural prowess with shifting tones and pitch was a welcomed, and usual, respite from the expected display of talent. Femy did a great job of making even the weirdest dance numbers I have ever seen appear cutesy and gorgeous with her innate talent to charm the audience. Aba Dae was simply eyecatching. The rest of the crew did their job decently, albeit some of the performers took an unprofessional curve by laughing at their own roles.

All in all, it was an interesting experience to say the least. The venue wasn't that accommodating for the vocal play but the performers made do with what they had and won their crowd over with their first performance.

Also, don't you just hate grease monkeys with misspelled girl's names?

† Jofer