(SPOT.ph) After years of online streaming and virtual events, Philippine theater is alive once again with successful stagings these past few weeks. One of the country's respected theater companies, the Philippine Educational Theater Association, is also welcoming audience members to their theater in Quezon City with a restaging of Christine Bellen’s Batang Rizal. The show, in true pandemic fashion, will be streamed online from October 14 to 16 before having a live staging from November 25 to December 2.
Batang Rizal, which was first staged in 2007, wowed Filipino theatergoers with its imaginative storytelling through timeless songs. This includes "Pag-asa ng Bayan," which has since become a classic song. The 2022 staging is set to feature new animations, a new set, and a new cast. The set of actors include Tim Mabalot, Yhuan Gatbunton, Gold Villar-Lim, Norbs Portales, Carlon Matobato, John Moran, Teetin Villanueva, Jovy Vieja, Raven Relavo, and Marynor Madamesila.
What makes Batang Rizal different from all the other narratives about the national hero is that "[Jose] Rizal’s story is told not through the eyes of an adult but that of a child’s," explained Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) artistic director and Batang Rizal video director, Maribel Legarda.
"We hope to inspire children and young people to imagine a world where they can participate and contribute in a healthy way. We want them to be conscious of not only their own reality but also of the world around them," she added.
Batang Rizal streams online from October 14 to 16 through KTX.ph, and runs with a live staging from November 25 to December 2 at PETA Theater Center, 5 Sunnyside Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. For updates, follow Philippine Educational Theater Association on Facebook.