ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH: ZE MUZIKAL! =D

With such a campy title, how could this be anything but FUN! Yes, FUN. In BIG. BOLD. LETTERS. Even that would be up for running as the biggest understatement of the year. HAHA! 'D

I had previously missed two runs of this darn muzikal (using musicale seems like a great disservice to the theme, haha). The first time, Hubby Sweet & I were getting married, and goodness knows where I was the second time it was staged, but I wasn't able to go either. Boy (or girl or gay!), am I glad I finally got to see it this time. =D

Zsazsa Zaturnnah: Ze Muzikal is based on a comic book by Carlo Vergara. Loose plot: Ada, a gay beauty parlorista gets hit by a stone that falls from the sky while he was taking a bath. Believing they were being stoned (as in, binabato ng mga kapitbahay, haha), Ada stormed out of the shower. After a hilarious dialogue with his/her sidekick Didi (also gay), they both discovered that the pink rock was actually labelled Zaturnnah-HAH(!). Getting the crazy idea that it might be like the famous bato of another popular Filipino comic book hero (you know...taking off from Darna), Didi managed to make Ada uto-uto into swallowing the rock.

Didi: Malay mo, may magical powers yan.
Ada: Eh, ang laki naman nito!
Didi: Eto naman. Parang di ka sanay sumubo ng malaki!

HAHAHAHAHA!!!! 'D And that was just the beginning of a shallow, mala-70's plot--complete with Darna-esque encounters with a giant palaka, zombies and aliens (visions of the young Vilma Santos in black & white, HAHAHA)--that was updated to the here and now into a colorful, entertaining muzikal with the wittiest, most hilarious lines I've ever heard on Philippine stage.

The dialogue was also aided by witty takes on special effects from beginning to end (translation: low-budget, pero bongga! Haha). Truth be told, they had me as soon as they transformed the darkened theater into a colorful galaxy with the witty use of lights, umbrellas and rotating what-have-yous. It was equally entertaining to look around the audience (to check if their reaction was the same as mine) to find the theater "glowing" with floating white teeth. (They used special lights that made anything white glow so the number of floating white teeth is equivalent to the number of people smiling in the audience, haha!) Yup, ZZZ:TM may not have the big-budget backing of Broadway productions but, as it is with Pinoys, they made something big out of what they had. Their hilarious takes on the aerial fight scenes, mala-Matrix bullet sequences, an abandoned Bulacan kakanin factory, etc., etc. had me not just rolling in laughter, but also ecstatically in awe at the brilliance that managed to think and put all of these together.

The cast was perfect. Eula Valdes was a revelation to me. Granted, she may not be the best singer in the world, but hey, I didn't even know she could sing that well! And, dang, heaven knows what kind of bribery she has offered to ze gods to have that knock-out body at the age of...uh...38(?)....39(?) ...40(?). LECHE SYA. And I say that will all the green envy I could muster in this world. Hahaha! =) Didi's part was beautifully written and I suppose that would mean that anyone playing him/her would upstage everyone else (to the nth millionth power in the whole wide universe). Shame on me, I forgot to note down who played it during the February 14 matinee show, but that said, whoever he was (*insert sheepish grin here =D*), ay, truly, ang ganda-ganda niya. Haha! =D Kudos too to those who played Ada and the villain Queen Femina and the Amaz(h)onistas! =D

Beyond the perfect leads, the company actors of ZZZ:TM was a truly talented and versatile bunch. They danced perfectly. Sang perfectly. Acted perfectly. Enunciated and threw their voices to the audience perfectly. As I sat through the entire production, I can't help but compare them to the company (and even the younger leads) of the recently-staged Hairspray (which was a disappointment to me because, heck, while the show was visually appealing, I couldn't understand what they were saying for most of the show! =(). Not the ZZZ:TM bunch. They knew how to bring it and, boy (or girl or gay!), they did! =)

I decided not go to to the details of the plot because I seriously recommend that you watch this one--if and when it is staged again. I'm actually hoping they will stage a fourth run. Because when they do, you can be sure, I will be there in the audience, rolling with laughter all over again. =D

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I had to settle for the crumpled flyer that I found in my bag because--learning from the Miss Saigon experience which was also staged at the CCP--we left all our cameras and cellphones in the car. We all thought waiting in line to get them back wouldn't be worth the hassle. (Besides, I'm not really one to take pics during actual performances, haha!) BIG MISTAKE. HUGE! Because after curtain call, the cast immediately proceeds to the lobby where the patrons can meet, greet and take pics with them. Ack! =(

Oh, well. I suppose I'd just have to do that next time. =D