Musicals a Great Reliever of Anxiety in COVID Times

Volume 1, Issue No. 40

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .

Our latest as of Tuesday, April 21, 2020 

~ No better way to relieve stress and anxiety than to relax and watch the full and uninterrupted video of one of the longest-running musicals in the comfort of our homes. Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera streamed for 24 hours for free from London, England this past weekend as a means to ease the uncertainties brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

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WATCHING MUSICALS ON THE WEB  

Easing the Stress of COVID Days

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” ― Amit Ray

TORONTO - For nearly three hours on Saturday, April 18, 2020, I sat in front of my desktop computer watching what I thought was the live streaming from the Royal Albert Hall in London, England of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera.

A friend had emailed the internet link with the note that it would show, for free, only until 7 p.m. London time, which prompted me to just click it and watch the show without reading the notes below the screen. 

In reality, what was showing was a video recording of the performance in 2011 of the lavish celebration of The Phantom's 25th year, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nINQjT7Zr9w).

In my eagerness to share and break the gloom of isolation and quarantine forced on us because of COVID-19, I forwarded the earlier email to family and selected friends. I was hoping it'll provide some delightful relief from the pandemic, if only for a moment.

On my own, my coping mechanism involves watching documentaries on YouTube, reading non-fiction and poetry from my collection, writing news articles and feature stories, and doing videos whenever possible. There's not much else to do. I can't even go hiking or wander in parks as I used to.

My sense was that the musical would help steer our thoughts away from the never-ending tally of confirmed cases of coronavirus (2,540,553) and deaths (175,438) based on worldwide counts as of 2:45 p.m. (Eastern) today, Tuesday, April 21, 2020, by Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

I like The Phantom in its entirety. But only one song appeals to me personally. And that's All I Ask of You written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq6NUKNF3LQ&list=RDYq6NUKNF3LQ&start_radio=1&t=11).

The song was described as "one of the biggest and most commercially successful hits" from The Phantom. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Ask_of_You). It quickly became a favourite the first time I heard it in the mid-1990s.

The three individuals behind the song are excellent musicians and wordsmiths for capturing love's essence in every man's vow to his beloved. There's poetry in every lyric.

Indeed, the words are very touching, for example, the man's strong affirmation of his life-long commitment to the woman he loves: "Let me be your freedom/Let daylight dry your tears/I'm here, with you, beside you/To guard you and to guide you x x x Let me be your shelter/Let me be your light". Nothing compares in meaning.

I told my friend who called my attention to The Phantom that I've watched it live in London a few years ago but wouldn't mind watching it again on YouTube. I knew I took a video of the theatre at that time it was showing.

To my astonishment, it wasn't The Phantom that I had watched; it was Les Miserables at Queen's Theatre (renamed Sondheim Theatre last year) in London's West End in November 2016. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoVsPF8nBTk).

I remember going there for a reason. Then and now, I'm still not quite acquainted with renowned Filipino artists in the Philippines and abroad, but while exploring London at the time, I saw in billboards huge posters of two Filipino artists who were in the cast.

Les Miserables (or Les Mis) had selected Rachelle Ann Go (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachelle_Ann_Go) to play Fantine and San Diego, California-born Eva Noblezada (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Noblezada) as Eponine.

It's a matter of pride to support them regardless of how inconsequential it might look with just a ticket costing £32.50. So I went to the theatre. It felt good that I was not alone in that way of thinking for inside, Filipinos were everywhere to see the two performers excel on stage.

Taking pictures or videos during the performance was strictly prohibited so the visuals I had were taken outside the theatre. Anyway, watching Les Mis with Filipino artists in it proved to be an overpowering experience particularly in a place like London. (I just saw somebody else's video of their June 2016 performance on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdJBMQcgke4&list=RDMHeid6YECno&index=4).

I like Go's interpretation of I Dreamed a Dream, the song that catapulted Susan Boyle, a middle-aged Scottish singer, to heights of fame. (Her version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk and Anne Hathaway's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmHcDWrMH-8).

Misses Go and Noblezada earned praises for their Les Mis performance. Go eventually got the "Best Performance of a Song Award" for her rendition. 

Watching them in London's Queen's Theatre was quite a prideful experience then. They affirmed what we all knew long before them, that Filipino artists have arrived! (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).