Rak of Aegis

After the long hiatus, I have decided to write again. My first entry for this year is not about a film I just recently saw, rather I would like to share my experience with the play I witnessed 2 days ago. No, I haven't gone and see Wicked. I could have but my financial standing won't allow me to experience the play that everyone is raving about. Instead, I went to see one of our own.

Rak of Aegis may feel like a rip off of the play Rock of Ages. Surprisingly, the two plays are unique at their own terms. Rak of Aegis deals with the day to day lives of a community submerged in flood and desperation. The play revolves in the dreams of Aileen in becoming a worldwide sensation through the help of YouTube. She shoots and uploads a video of her singing, hoping that one day she will be discovered by Ellen and be discovered. Along with her quirky character are other personalities that revolves not only to her dreams but to her family's survival.

Kenny, who happens to be her love interest and has a complicated relationship with his mother, and a baranggay captain of their community, Mary Jane. Kill (short for kilabot ng mga chicks), is Aileen's proud father who has a not so distant past with Mary Jane. Tolits, who is the silent charmer and has secret affection to Aileen. Jewel, the queer, provides the comic relief to the play.

The plot is not trivial. It does not only entertain but provides a pinch of social awareness. The community is torn between long term and short term solutions providing the enticement of the latter. It questions how people should think. The show is great mix of songs, humor and drama. The songs were not awkwardly injected in the sequences. 

The vocal prowess of the actors are beyond expectations. I was in awe watching and listening to Isay Alvarez, who played Mary Jane and Robert Sena, who played Kill. Aicelle Santos, who played Aileen, performed very well. The showstopper of the play is Jerald Napoles, who played the charming Tolits. He sizzles every time he is on stage. With his every move and note he sings becomes an instant classic making him the crowd favorite in the entire show.

Rak of Aegis is one of the plays I enjoyed. The songs are reminiscent of my childhood years while reminding its audience of the current issues we currently face. Sadly, we saw the play in its final run. Do we hear movie reels? Well, I hope there will be, but I hope they will pull it off like the play did.

GRADE: A

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