Breakups & Breakdowns

On Valentine's Eve, I caught the evening performance of Breakups & Breakdowns, a comedy musical written by Joel Trinidad and music composed by Rony Fortich.

As this is a Filipino work, created by young artists, I was rather enthusiastic to see the production put up by Ateneo Blue Rep. I won't call this a review but rather a first take or impression since I need at least two viewings to make a defensible assessment.

The musical centers around the romantic relationships of two roommates: Mark, the playwright and Derek, the actor. Mark is played by Mark Baluyan; Derek by Gigo de Guzman; Nina, the love interest of Mark, is played by Mian Dimacali, and Sandy, Derek's love is played by Mav Gonzales.

I love these young actors, but the vocal performances didn't do it for me this evening. All four members of the cast had pitch problems, but especially the women. This was unfortunate because I think this obscured how good the songs are. They sang decently during pieces that required all four singing together, but on their "solos" there were some real issues.

I had some problems with the acting, as well. Mark's character is supposed to be a perfectionist. However, he comes across more as an idealist. I didn't see the obsessiveness, the need to correct other people, that I think the playwright was trying to show. In the many times that Derek tells his roommate to "shut up", it comes across as a forced script device, rather than a genuine doorstop to another one of Mark's pointed comments.

Sandy is supposed to be pretending to be something she isn't -- a player when in reality she really is a clingy person. I didn't see this tension of keeping up appearances, nor did I see any real change in character when she finally stops playing "the game" with Derek.

It's easy to point out the aspects of the show I found lacking. However, I did enjoy myself. I found myself laughing from the many witty bits in the dialogue. I've been rewarded watching small productions in Ateneo that are better than larger productions of the same musical staged in venues like RCBC. I would watch this production again, because I know they're capable of better.