Lean, Lean, Lean!

Ma. Ceres P. Doyo, Human Face
Philippine Daily Inquirer

25Sep97 Opinion p.9

THAT was how "Lean! A Filipino Musical" began—young people singing his name in a plaintive, haunting way. When the curtain parted and the cast gave me that first song, I knew there would be more I would like to hear. But of course, I expected Gary Granada's music and lyrics to surprise and touch me.
      Wow, I thought, this was something new and different, so unlike some local musicals that left me unable to remember words and hum tunes.
      I thoroughly enjoyed and felt good about the show because it did not turn out as I feared it might—with lots of clenched fists, red banners and leftist clichés. It certainly had those, but it had a lot more to say. Because the musical was first a musical about Lean, the activist, the young man, the son, the husband, the father, the thinker, and not about something else that happened to have music in it.
      Lean was played by Alfredo Encinas Pura Jr. or "Chikoy" whose band, The Jerks, provided the live music (Please see site editor's notes). Cooky Chua, lead vocalist of Color It Red, played Lidy, Lean's wife. Bayang Barrios who used to be with Bagong Lumad was the composite cadre, Lean's ideological guardian angel (P.O. to most of you). Bodgie Pascua was the venerable Lorenzo Tanada. Direction and choreography by Paul Morales.
      I watched the musical last Friday, Sept. 19, at the UP theater. On that day, 10 years ago, Lean was assassinated. The occasion was a reunion for many. There was food galore and, uh, so many smokers in the lobby it felt like the bad old days. And since it was two days before the big Sep. 21 anti-"cha-cha" rally, the mood was great and people were just raring to run to the streets again in protest.
      How to make Lean alive again on stage was, I'm sure, a difficult task for its creators and the actors. The right music, words, choreography and everything else could have come only after everybody had resurrected Lean in their minds and in their hearts and knew him again. For Lean was many things to many people. As Cookie Chua (Lidy) sang so soulfully, "Paano mahalin ang katulad mo?"
      If you ask me the big thing about the musical was its music and lyrics and the singing. Very Granada, very Pinoy. Galing-galing.
      I'm not a theater critic, so I cannot give a rating to the whole thing. But I thought some aspects of Lean's life could perhaps have gotten lost on the audience, especially the young. Those familiar with activism during Lean's time surely grasped what some scenes and dialogues were trying to project. Like for example the debate between the Reds and the Yellows, Lean's dilemma and all that. But if you were not an activist, you wouldn't know.
      The stage design was good enough for me. And while I liked the choreography, I wanted to see really high energy to complement the band's great job. But my, the stage floor looked really dangerous with its gaping gaps and uneven floor board. No wonder the Cory Aquino who did that death-defying split was generously applauded.
      There was just one character I could not relate to: the composite militaristic, fascistic, pistol-whipping character played by a woman (the other one was a man). Why a woman when the military establishment is so male? Hindi ko ma-take. (Please see site editor's notes).  And one more thing: Lean's assassination was so abrupt, suddenly it was all over. The audience had litle time to grieve.
      Lean passing on the flag to the young, in the person of his and Lidy's 10-year-old daughter, was a fitting climax. It was "Les Miserables"-type ending, with a lot of flag-waving and a thunderous "Lean! Lean! Lean!"
      Take time out to view the exhibit of Lean memorabilia and the words he lived by: "A socialist man must know how to compute the distance of the stars, how to differentiate a fish from a shark.... He must know how to distill wine into liquor, how to arrive at e=mc². He must know how to cook bacon, butcher a pig and roast lamb. He must be capable of leading enemies into battle. He must know how to follow orders and he must know when to disobey them.
      "He must know how to soothe pain, comfort the sorrowful, maintain his composure in hot water, drown gracefully, sink with his ship with honor together with the mice.... He must be able to debate, he must know how to analyze difficult political situations ... he must know how to sail a ship, dig a latrine, wash clothes, wash dishes, plan an offensive, plan a retreat ... take care of babies, manage a state bureaucracy.
      "He must know how to discuss Mao and debunk Zinoviev, ridicule Stalin, correctly read Mabini, recruit members to the party, motivate members to struggle, host a party, be critical, be self- critical, be honest...."
      I remember Ed de la Torre saying it's important for a revolution to have its own music. I said that I still keep the prison songs that he and other political prisoners put on tape (with the bathroom as sound studio). It seems, I added, that the music has stopped. The songs from "Lean" could, I hope, be part of the music of the younger generation of revolutionaries.
      More "Lean" shows in November.

Site Editor's Notes: While the production team did initially want to have Chickoy Pura's band, The Jerks, play for the staging of the musical Lean, the final band composition for the September 1998 staging as well as for the recording soundtrack had both award-winning lead guitarist and bassist of the band Rizal Underground, Mike Villegas and Angelo Villegas, with recording artist Neil Baruelo on drums, and Gary Granada on rhythm guitar.  Ms. Doyo was referring to a character named Erika, who was created by the stage director for the 1997 staging but is not a part of Gary Granada's original libretto. –mabq