Among the more redeeming aspects of Spotlight Artists Centre’s “Dirty Old Musical (DOM)” is its utter lack of pretentiousness. The audience, which filled the…
Among the more redeeming aspects of Spotlight Artists Centre’s “Dirty Old Musical (DOM)” is its utter lack of pretentiousness. The audience, which filled the seats during the show’s first run in 2016 and is coming back for more in this rerun, knows what it’s getting into.
This is a jukebox musical that banks on the ensemble’s singing and acting prowess, and the way that the songs from the 1970s and ’80s still tug at our heartstrings. Unlike its more recent counterparts such as “Eto na! Musikal nAPO!” or “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” “DOM” does not single out or pay homage to any particular band from those eras.
Enjoy the music
In Rody Vera’s very loose script, there is no attempt to burden the plot with more pressing social issues like rising authoritarianism or rampant corruption. The message is simple, especially to Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers—just sit back, enjoy the music, and roll with the sex-laced humor.
Not that the characters are not relatable. The generation who grew up in that era and continue to wrestle with their ghosts from the past 30 years can identify with each character’s regrets—and their joint effort to recapture their lost glory.
