A RADIO play on the life of Dr. Jose Rizal will be broadcast across eight stations in the Sydney metropolitan area this month of December.
The play, Rizaliana Sesquicentennial, written and directed by Marcelino Cavestany of Filpinas Petals, will comprise 15-minute chapters in Dr. Rizal’s life and packaged in a two-hour presentation.
Eight programs in one national, one state and six community radio stations will broadcast the series over one week.
”This play is a searing interplay of melodrama, sarsuela-musicale, traditional patriotic Filipino opera arias and kundimans, poetry and other selected literature by and about Rizal,” Cavestany said.
“It will harmonize and creatively synergize the individual skills, talents, as well as collective ingenuity of Filipino journalists-cum-community radio broadcasters together with special guests featuring the stellar participation of visiting film-TV-radio star from Manila,Vangie Labalan who will breathe life to the role of Donya Teodora.
”Also in the cast and lending technical support is Bambam Labanan, Violy Calvert playing Saturnina, Nilda Carpo as Trinidad, Jhun Salazar as Padre Dalmacio, and Bless Salonga as Soledad.
Mars Cavestany will play the role of Jose Rizal.
The segments include a trilingual version of a little known sarsuela play that Dr Rizal himself wrote as a young man, Junto Al Pasig (Beside the Pasig river) written by the late Leon Ma. Guerrero and deconstructed, adapted/ and contemporized into Filipino by Mars Cavestany using original modern RNB and OPM music compositions by local talent Oliver Gadista and starring leading home-grown talents like Reggie Daguio and Grace Pasco and ably supported by senior actress Sally Clark.