Can you believe that we’ve already arrived at the part of the year when Repertory Philippines unveils their children’s fairy tale musical? I remember watching their staging of Sleeping Beauty five years ago when me and my friends were shocked at the fact that not only were we basically the only adults seated in our area, the sea of kids surrounding us were all tinkering with iPads (which were a lot more expensive then I’d just like to say).

Last week the stars realigned themselves enough that I was able to see the Micheal Valenti and Elsa Rael’s version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with the very same people I sat down to see Sleeping Beauty with. I subscribed to the Repertory Philippines’ season tickets last year and as a sort of reward, they sent me tickets for this year’s shows with a 20% discount on the orchestra seats.

After a very hearty breakfast at Mom and Tina’s, we hauled our asses off to catch the 10:30am show last August 15^th (their very first public show, I believe). Again, children on all sides surrounded us all, but we didn’t really mind because I don’t think any of those kids could’ve beaten us in an immaturity contest.

Joy Virata, who certainly knows her stuff when creating a show lively enough to hold a child’s attention for a full hour and a half, directs the show. The dance and song numbers were plentiful and lively, with the acting slightly bordering on the exaggerated (which is just perfect if your audience are kids).  

There are multiple actors playing the leads but we caught Christine Flores in the titular role and Hans Eckstein who doubles up as the Woods man and the Prince.

I’m afraid that I ran out of programes so I can’t name the dwarves (but apparently in this version their names are Scrubber, Blubber, Scotty, Flubber, Pepito, Mosquito and Fred).

The real show stealer (at least for me) was Bituin Escalante who played the evil Queen because daaaaaaamn, those pipes, man, those frakkin’ pipes. Also she nailed that evil vibe down; even during the mandatory photo op after the show I heard her scolding the kids to capture her “good side”. Talk about commitment.

And can I just say how ridiculously awesome that stage is? One of the things I love about the Onstage stage is that it’s not overly big and this time the set designer really did a superb job. A friend of mine who works the local theater circuit said that those backdrops were actually hand painted. What the flying frak, right? No wonder it looked so good!

Now, onto the part about grown-ups not watching kiddie shows. Well, I’m not saying that adults can’t, but when you’re past a certain age and have been exposed to the world a little bit longer, you begin to notice things. In this case, I noticed a few things that probably would’ve flow right past my head had I been under the age of ten.

1. Snow White is pretty but she really isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, is she? From the time she willingly went deep into the woods ALONE WITHOUT A CHAPERONE with a woodsman who can’t stop harping about how gosh darn pretty she is, to the time when, after barely surviving an attack on her life and being specifically told by the dwarves NOT TO LET ANYONE IN, she still welcomes an old lady (the queen in the disguise, duh) who is a total stranger into the house. Like I said, pretty and nice, but not overly bright.

   

2. I cringed every time Snow White almost jumped in joy at the thought of doing housework. I haven’t researched but I’m guessing that this version of the story was written back in the dark ages.

   

3. I ship Snow White with the dwarf in the kilt (Scotty, I’m guessing). Don’t deny it, there’s some sexual tension there, with him being the only dwarf who didn’t hug her or kiss her on the cheek (he only took her hand and did that gentleman’s bow thing). Okay, yeah, this one’s a bit farfetched, but these are the things you see when you’ve been out in the world for as long as I have.

All in all, Repertory Philippines’ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a fun show to watch, especially if you have kids or nephews or nieces to watch it with. It’s a cleanly done show, with very little hiccups (that I could see at least) even on their first public show. Although if you’re the adult accompanying them, just try not to notice the things I did, okay?

The show is on until December 10 and you can get tickets either from TicketWorld or by contacting Repertory Philippines at 632 843 3570, 555 0082 or email inquiry@repertoryphilippines.com. (I just messaged them through their FB page and made the reservation there.)

*All of the images were taken from the Repertory Philippines’ official Facebook page.