Tanghalang Pilipino is staging a musical featuring fictional superhuman Lam-Ang, the protagonist of the Ilocano poem Biag ni Lam-Ang — the pre-colonial Philippine folk epic about an immortal with unbelievable strength who seeks to avenge the death of his father.
Lam-Ang will be played by movie actor JC Santos, known for the romantic films 100 Na Tula Para Kay Stella (“100 Poems for Stella”) and The Day After Valentine’s. Tanghalang Pilipino has posted a video of Santos’ audition tape on its Facebook account last week, in which he delivers several lines from the play and deftly wields nunchaku, a martial arts weapon.
Santos, who started his career in the college theater group Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas told Theater Fans Manila that he was pumped to play Lam-Ang. “This is my first time to play a lead role in a musical, and I am very excited… to go back to my first love — theater,” he said.
Lam-Ang‘s principal cast also includes theater darlings Angeli Bayani and Anna Luna.
Tanghalang Pilipino’s Artistic Director Nanding Josef says that he is proud of the artistic team’s dynamic roster, which also includes writers Jen De Torres and Eljay Deldoc, and theaters vets Fitz Bitana and Marco Viaña as musical directors.
Bitana, one of the musical’s directors, said, “Lam-ang will dissect the journey of a conqueror and his journey towards conquering himself, and how he was eventually conquered by love.”
“This staging is very grounded, so it is relatable as it is aspirational,” he added. “It is a beautiful love story of family, self, and romance.”
Lam-Ang will run at Cultural Center of The Philippines’ Little Theater Dec. 6-15. Tickets start at PHP1,000 (US$20) and are available on site or at Ticketworld.
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Cultural Center of the Philippines is at Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City, Philippines
Phone: +63 832 1125
FB: @culturalcenterofthephilippines | Twitter: @culturalctrPH
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