 Production: Noli at Fili Dekada 2000
Theatre Company: PETA
(www.petatheater.com, mpr@petatheater.com)
Date Watched: August 23, 2008 (Saturday, 9:00 am)
Show Dates: July 18-August 24, 2008
Venue: Peta Theatre Center
Playwright: Nicanor Tiongson
Director: Soxie Topacio
Actors (Main Cast): Lex Marcos* (Mayor Ibarra Marasigan/ Kumander Simoun), Alleyne Julia Enriquez (Clarissa Santos), Robert Sena* (Colonel Salvi Salvatierra), Bembol Roco (Bishop Damaso Villareal), Gilbert Onida* ( Gov. Tiago Santos), Raffy Tejada* (Ka Badong), Jack Yabut* (Kumander Elias), Joseph Grantusa* (Basilio Pilapil), etc…
Ratings (in increments of 0.5): Lowest – 0.0; Highest – 4.0; * - Outstanding
Production : 4.0 *
Stage Direction : 4.0 *
Story/ Script : 4.0 *
Production/Stage Design : 4.0 *
Costume Design : 4.0 *
Lighting Design : 4.0 *
Sound and/or Music : 4.0 *
Theatre Performance : 4.0 *
Average Rating: 4.0
Comments: Nicanor Tiongson wrote this story about the illegal logging operation rampant in Maypajo town in the province of San Lorenzo in Southern Tagalog, slightly parallel to Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. What is intriguing here is that this play is not really about Rizal’s novels. The story, which Tiongson really researched on, actually took place in 2002, where about 3000 people were killed and 200 homes were destroyed.
The title is not appropriate to the story. Eventhough Tiongson had the intention of connecting his characters to the ones in Noli & El Fili, he could’ve given it a creative title without duplicating Rizal’s titles.
Soxie Topacio gave a wonderful treatment to the text in which he employed the interplay between the actual drama onstage and the multimedia presentation. This served the purpose of connecting characters set in two different locations, and giving the audience a glimpse of what might be happening outside the “stage.” Everything was well-planned – the blocking of characters, the use of lights, sound & music. The set was very inventive – left & right platforms, left & right staircases. There is also a spiral staircase on the right leading to the upper part of the stage where there is a long banister; well-textured backdrop.
Robert Sena & Lex Marcos did a powerful performance. Overall, the cast was excellent!
  | I've read the reviews and it was great. |
 | I heard a lot about this play. |
 | well this was my first time to watch a play, thanks for Arvin, Over alll what the play wants to imparts to the audience are 1. We have to care,protect our forest and the likes, because when we exploit our natural resources, thier would be imbalance in our planet thus, disaster came, global warming,El nino and La nina phenomenon,but sometimes we can't do a thing especially when few people have control on this area, how sad.. 2. Empowering every Filipino by knowing Our Rights,
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| about thier performance, wow Grbeh ang galing nadadala ako sa sa acting nila , they are very effective on thier characterization, may scene nga na nkakaiyak at tindig ng balahibo whew! |
 | Hi Arvin. Interesting thoughts.
My experience was very different, though. I really didn't like it. Too literal, and the attempt to turn the Noli and Fili into telenovela-like melodrama just didn't work for me. Hanep yung first 10 minutes -- yung baha -- but it was all downhill after that. |
Comment deleted at the request of the author.  | ronivalle wrote on Aug 31, '08, edited on Oct 18, '08  Hi Arvin. Interesting thoughts.
My experience was very different, though. I really didn't like it. Too literal, and the attempt to turn the Noli and Fili into telenovela-like melodrama just didn't work for me. Hanep yung first 10 minutes -- yung baha -- but it was all downhill after that.  haha. Having said that, kaya siguro nagustuhan ko kasi I like watching dramas. :) I like it because as I was listening to the dialogues, I was also seeing it as a text - the spoken text as a written text. And of course, I was visually stimulated by the play.
Exie, I had a very unpleasant experience watching that play in PETA. The audience were students from Nuestra Senora something from Rizal -- they were very rude, obnoxious and very unethical. The staff and the cast were very disappointed. Grabe, parang I don't want to blog about it anymore. I reprimanded some students - really! Generally, they made unnecessary noise, loud talking, and guess what - some students kept on distracting the actors by answering the actors' lines. You'd never believe it! I was very frustrated at those students! One more word - BASTOS!!! And they kept on reacting to many scenes and lines - nonstop! Weird! The teachers did not do anything. I was supposed to get mad also at those teachers who tolerated their kids to misbehave in the theater. |
Comment deleted at the request of the author.  | grabe ang ganda ng noli at fili..ang galing ng mga artista..first time kong makanood ng play and sila pa ang una kong napanuod..swerte..
sa sison auditorium namin sila napanuod,and gusto pa namin ulitin kaso ala na eh...panu pa kaya namin sila makikita uli???
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 | grabe na amaze aq ang gnda ng noli at fili...mas lalo kong naapreciate ang pagiging Filipino ko...I promise dat i will apply the lessons that i learned in noli at fili in my everyday life....love mother nature..:) |
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