Filipino customs take center stage at Kennedy Center musical | TFC News Washington, DC
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Discovering one's roots, acceptance, finding one's path, and death.
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These are just some of the themes highlighted in the musical The Mortification of Phobia Munson.
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Based on the novel by Mary Wynne Heider, it's the first Filipino-centered musical,
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staged at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., which ran from March 5 to 19.
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The musical is about a girl named Phobia who's trying to find her way in the world
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as after she was stuck working at her parents' cadaver lab.
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M. Graham Smith breathes life into the novel, music and lyrics by Justin Huertas,
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music direction and arrangement orchestrations by Stephen Tran, and choreography by Ashley King.
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Kennedy Center is producing, they have produced it, and that's a really big deal
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because the Kennedy Center doesn't produce many plays.
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The musical is headlined mainly by Filipino talents like Justine Moral, who plays Phobia,
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and Regina Aquino, who plays Phobia's mom and Lola Van.
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Twelve years old and doesn't know what she wants to do yet with her life, right?
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But there's this pressure from her parents to become a doctor.
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Aquino is the first Filipino to win the prestigious Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a play in 2019.
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She shares the Filipino identity of the musical's main character, Phobia, is more subtle in the book instead of being upfront.
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However, what brings out her identity were the songs and inputs from Filipinos involved in the musical.
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Meanwhile, Lola Van is an immigrant whose character is being enlivened through the different Filipino customs like mano.
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It's really interesting how the Filipino identity becomes enlivened throughout this book,
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more and more throughout the process, as they brought in Filipino actors and a Filipino dramaturg.
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The cast and crew of The Mortification of Phobia Munson are also mainly Filipinos and Filipino-Americans.
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Moral hopes to see more theatrical work led by Filipino artists and more stories about Filipino culture portrayed on stage.
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In the musical, Phobia explores her roots through Lola Van, whose journey in the story somewhat parallels that of her grandchild.
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Phobia is discovering what she wants to do in her life and what she wants to become while trying to connect her with grandmother's ancestry.
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She starts to explore her connection with her Lola Van and asks her to teach me more about the Philippines and teach me more about our culture
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because I think she doesn't get that from her mom.
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Both Filipino-American stage actors hope that the story of Phobia will inspire different generations of Filipinos in the U.S.
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to embrace and love who they are and where they come from.
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It's that realization that all the things that might be weird about me might also be what is cool about me too.
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The Mortification of Phobia Munson musical opened full house on March 4th and concluded on the 19th.
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Monica Galazo, ABS-CBN News, Washington, D.C.
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For the love of God.