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LOOK: 'Dekada 70' staged as a musical

Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-1.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-2.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-3.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-4.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-5.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-6.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-7.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-8.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-9.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-10.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-11.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-12.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-13.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-14.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-15.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-16.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-17.jpg"/></div><div><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/06/10/dekada70-18.jpg"/></div></div><div class="media-content slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A scene from the musical &quot;Dekada 70.&quot; <cite>Courtesy of Vladimeir Gonzales </cite></p></div></div></div><p>MANILA -- The award-winning film &#x27;Dekada 70&#x27; is back, this time not on the silver screen, but onstage.</p><p>UP Dulaang Laboratoryo mounted a four-night run of the classic by Lualhati Bautista, this time as a thesis production of Palanca Award-winning theater artist Pat Valera, who staged the successful &quot;Mula sa Buwan&quot; at Ateneo de Manila University in 2016.</p><p>The stage adaptation is a retelling of the story of the Bartolome family who lived through the tumultuous &#x27;70s. With a Marcos loyalist for a patriarch and sons joining the underground movement to topple the dictatorship, their household had political dynamics like no other.</p><p>Originally played by Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon, the characters of Julian and Amanda Bartolome are now played by real-life thespian couple Juliene Mendoza and Stella Cañete-Mendoza. Raising five boys during the Martial Law was no easy feat. It asks the question: How can one roof be a home to clashing political beliefs?</p><p>The piece harrowingly puts to life various layers of love -- love for the family vis-a-vis love for the country. It was a polemical discourse against authoritarianism. Jules Bartolome, the eldest of the brood, eventually joins the resistance movement, against his parents&#x27; wishes. But the family soon learns how to accept and respect their decisions. It is a story of sacrifice during the struggle to gain lost freedoms.</p><p>The two-hour musical features new songs by Matthew Chang and Valera himself. Young millennial actors from the University of the Philippines and Ateneo completed the cast.</p><p>Staged at the UP School of Labor and Industrial Relations auditorium, &#x27;Dekada 70&#x27; was a rather intimate experience, as it only accommodated an audience of 80 people. </p><p>Valera refers to his adaptation of the classic piece as his &quot;alay sa bayan&quot; (offering for the country).</p><p>In the audience during opening night were theater luminaries Antonio Mabesa, Alexander Cortez, and College of Arts and Letters Dean Amihan Ramolete, who served as Valera&#x27;s adviser in his production. The writer of the novel, Bautista, also graced the premiere.</p><p>&quot;Dekada 70&quot; was originally written by Bautista in 1983. Almost two decades later, it was made into a film in 2002. Directed by Chito Rono, the movie reaped awards and recognition from here and abroad. </p><p>&quot;Dekada 70&quot; is showing in UP until Tuesday, but reservations are recommended. They will be back for a re-run soon. </p>

<p>The award-winning film 'Dekada 70' is back, this time not on the silver screen, but onstage.</p>

The award-winning film 'Dekada 70' is back, this time not on the silver screen, but onstage.

LOOK: 'Dekada 70' staged as a musical

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LOOK: 'Dekada 70' staged as a musical

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 10, 2018 05:03 PM PHT

Read More:

theater

arts

martial law

adaptation

Dekada 70

Marcos

Lualhati Bautista

UP Dulaang Laboratoryo

Pat Valera

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