Gerald Santos Impressive As 'San Pedro Calungsod' In The Stage Musical On The Life Of The Second Filipino Saint

GERALD SANTOS gives a very impressive title role portrayal in “San Pedro Calungsod”, a musical based on the life of the second Filipino saint staged at SM Skydome, with libretto by Rommel Ramilo and music by Elmer Blancaflor, produced by Loven and Bem Red Reyes of Red Life Entertainment. This is an interpretation on the life of San Pedro Calungsod that is so different from the film version shown in last year’s Metro Filmfest which suffered so much from endless boringga factor. The musical runs for a compact two hours with ten minutes intermission but it is replete with colorful musical numbers.

The opening song, “Celebrate”, involving the entire ensemble cast is a rousing production number that sings praises to the Lord. The other great number is the touching theme song of the play, “The Journey”, which Pedro sings while on board the ship that will take him to the Ladrones Island where he will be a missionary spreading the word of God. It is clear from the start that Pedro is devoted to his dream of serving the Lord because the Lord’s word was given to him in a vision.

The show uses a big video screen to help forward the story, indicating the changes of scenery and location. The ending which shows how the Chamorro natives disposed of the bodies of Pedro and Fr. Diego Sanvitores after killing them (they were thrown into the sea) is videotaped and shown on the big screen. Then the action returns on the stage with angels welcoming Pedro in heaven.

It’s Gerald who holds the show together. It’s a very difficult role as he is in every scene, but he gives a consistent performance in both the heavy dramatic scenes (like his farewell scene with his mom, Shyr Valdez) and the lighter ones (where he’s seen having fun with other young missionaries). And no one can fault Gerald’s vocal performance that really soars in the “birit” portions. He sounds perfect for musical theatre. Maybe he should audition in the next “Miss Saigon” tryout. He has a good chance of making it. No wonder he got hearty applause when he appeared on stage during the encore.

“I’m so happy we were able to please the audience,” Gerald says later. “We rehearsed for two months. I did another Pedro Calungsod play before but this one is grander in scope and execution. Mas mahirap ang klase ng production namin kasi kumpleto sa period costumes, sa audio visual presentation at pati sa props na may kasama pang galleon that appears on stage. For the underwater scene na tinapon kami ni Jon Achaval (who plays Fr. Diego) sa dagat, nag-aral ako ng diving.

Nu’ng una, nakakatakot, kasi 20 feet ang lalim ng paghuhulugan sa akin, so, kailangan i-dive ko muna ‘yun, ma-praktis ko na mapunta sa ilalim at dun lang ako kukuha ng oxygen. It’s not easy pero nagawa ko naman.”

The play will be shown in various Catholic schools in the country, especially in Visayas and Mindanao, to help propagate the faith. Kudos to all the ones involved in the production.