“BAON” is a captivatingly fun, yet tearfully emotional production by UST Mediartrix, a University-wide multimedia arts organization, staged at the Albertus Magnus Auditorium in May.
The musical production, directed by third-year legal management student Jeri Allana Ramos, tells the story of the passing of Lolo Nestor (Gyrome Dagondon) and how each member of his family coped with his death.
Exploring themes of bereavement and maturity, the production depicted the strain caused by grief on familial ties and the subsequent journey toward reconciliation.
“Baon” delved deeper into how each character dealt with their emotions. The characters felt like real people with real sentiments.
“Grief isn’t linear, hindi iisang paraan lamang ‘yong pagluluksa natin,” Ramos said, “Baon is very intimate and real, na ang kada tao sa madla ay nakikita ang sarili nila sa kahit sinong karakter.”
While the production offers a few compelling moments, it was occasionally hampered by technical shortcomings, including flat notes and an overly loud band that drowned out the performers.
Despite that, the musical direction and choreography remained excellent, conveying the production’s soul.
The story of Lolo Nestor, Lai, Adan, Shaira, and Erick was the true paramount of the production, where each fight and each tear shed showed how these characters grieved.
Overall, the show is a tear-jerker and serves its purpose of highlighting loss, grief, and most importantly, healing. Inah Denise A. Manansala
