We all know King Solomon as the wisest Biblical king who cemented his reputation in that story that we all know about: the baby, the two mothers, and the sword.
So for those of us who have not read the Bible from cover to cover, what else do we know about this king? My daughter volunteered this information: his 700+ wives and 300+ concubines.
Oh that! Yes, I remember that from my Catholic school days, and my immediate thought was, “Boy! This man had been busy, to say the least!”
When I got a ticket for the gala performance of the Song of Solomon at the Luce Auditorium, I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and that’s the plain honest truth. It was only when the show started that I realized it was a musical and, did I mention that I am a junkie for musicals? Not yet? So okay, I’ll say this now, I have been a junkie for musicals ever since the universe gifted us with Lea Salonga and Miss Saigon.
That being out of the way, let me get back to my ramblings, and continue with that last thought. As I was saying, when I realized I had signed up for a musical, I settled into my seat with a gleeful and grateful heart for this unexpected treat.
The Song of Solomon featured the fictional character Almah, a peasant whose feisty spirit and wisdom captured the King’s heart. He wanted to marry only Almah and no one else, but the realities of his rule required that he formed alliances with other kingdoms by marrying their princesses. So that explains the 700+ wives and 300+ concubines. Hmmmmmm! So Israel had over a thousand kingdoms surrounding it. Interesting! I’ll keep that in mind.
Joking aside, the composer and lyricist weaved a beautiful love story that was doomed from the start, interlaced it with sex and political intrigues and betrayals, sprinkled some villainy here and there, and we had a musical which reflected the great ones in London’s West End and New York’s Broadway.
I was reminded of Kim and Chris, the star-crossed lovers in Miss Saigon or of Cossette who lost her mother at a very young age in Les Miserables. There was a Judas, too, which my friend Manoling Saldivar smoothly pulled off.
SOS felt very familiar. I had problems with its length though. I thought that three hours was too long. Unlike the epics Les Miz, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, etc. with their grandiose productions and mesmerizing sets that can keep you enthralled for hours, SOS calls heavily on your imagination to fill in the visual gaps with its minimalist approach. You really must be into music and stage performances to dig in this show.
There were scenes, too, which I thought the show could do without. But keep the scene of the wives and concubines. Those ladies rocked it!
Over-all, I enjoyed the show, delighted to have watched Menchu Lauchengco again, whom I remember from Repertory Philippines’ performances down at Luce during my high school days.
Sadly though, I did not come out humming any of its songs in SOS. This is just my observation, but the biggest ones out there have songs and melodies that will catch your attention and cling to you mercilessly, refusing to leave, giving you that last song syndrome, and making you want to go back and listen again and again and again until your cassette player starts protesting. I did not have any of that.
It had a strong cast though, and it was a delight to discover that we have an active company of local artists here who can bring us musicals of the magnitude of SOS. This made me realize how sorely I had been missing out on Dumaguete’s cultural events. I really must go out more often.
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Author’s email: olgaluciauy@yahoo.com
