‘Delia D’ wants to push the envelope
Every once in a while, a queer character takes the lead in a stage production. They usually struggle to overcome gender identity issues and gain acceptance by family and society.
In “Delia D: A Musical Featuring the Songs of Jonathan Manalo,” which opens on April 25 at Newport Performing Arts Theater, the titular character knows herself and is loved by people around her.
“I’m a drag queen with a big dream for her family,” said Phi Palmos, who plays the protagonist with the drag name, Delia D.
“Her story is totally relatable to every Filipino,” he pointed out. “But the path to reaching our dream is not easy. There are obstacles that have to be hurdled and people to cross paths with. They may hurt you and you may hurt them.”
The actor went on explaining in mixed Filipino and English at the musical’s recent media launch that Delia D. faces the biggest challenge in joining the singing contest called “Idols of the Galaxy.” The drag performer has to prove that she has the vocal chops and not just the talent to lip-sync.
Relatable
Palmos said he could easily relate to Delia D.’s story as an artist and as a gay man. But he felt great pressure when the role was offered to him by the musical’s producers, Menchu Lauchengco and Michael Williams of Full House Theater Company (FHTC), the production outfit of Newport World Resorts (NWR).
“I’m a fan of drag queens,” admitted the 40-year-old veteran. “How can I do their circus-like moves? Can my bones still handle it? I was thinking things like that. So, I had so many doubts.”
His reluctance eventually dissipated as he started “trusting the process” set by the musical’s director Dexter Santos and followed by the rest of the cast and creative team. They built a camaraderie that was in full display during the media launch.
“Most especially, it is such a big opportunity to represent my community,” Palmos said on the project’s significance to him. “My advocacy is always pushing for nuanced, sensitive, and truthful representation of the LGBTQIA+ community in media.”
He shared his vision for the show to be an inspiration for “a little gay kid” to aspire playing the Delia D. role on stage, and not the usual Kim in “Miss Saigon,” which was his peg as a child.
“When I was growing up,” he recalled, “I didn’t think I would be an actor or that I would see myself on the screen, on TV or in movies because when I was growing up, there was really no representation of myself.”
At that time, he noted that gay roles were typically meant for comic relief in productions. But little by little and now with “Delia D.,” different facets of the LGBTQIA+ community are explored and celebrated.
“They’re not just beauty parlor workers or drag queens, they’re also children, friends, and citizens of the world,” he pointed out. “I hope that ‘Delia D.’ would still further humanize those stereotypes because we just don’t break the stereotypes, we humanize the stereotypes. That’s the only way that we can understand them fully.”
Inclusivity
When the concept of staging a musical based on the hit songs of Jonathan Manalo was presented to the FHTC, Lauchengco told Lifestyle that the theater company didn’t have a problem with having a drag queen as the lead character. They were more concerned about how to tell the story written by playwright Dolly Dulu with Rody Vera as dramaturg in its clearest and most enjoyable way possible.
“I think we’re on our eighth draft of our working script,” she said. “So, it’s come a long way since we started four years ago. Jonathan Manalo also wrote six new songs for the musical, so it’s not a typical jukebox musical but a hybrid.”
Lauchengco, who’s artistic director of the NWR’s in-house production outfit, said the hotel’s top management is “very open” to staging forward-thinking shows like “Delia D.”
“I have to applaud them,” she pointed out. “They are very brave. At the end of the day, they just want material that will push the envelope. I think they’re not really crazy about safe material. There’s a time and place for that.”
Since establishing the FHTC in 2014, Lauchengco said they’ve been striving to create materials that will cater to everybody and push for inclusivity just like its 11th production, “Delia D.”
“But it’s totally different from the last two musicals that we’ve done,” she said, referring to “Ang Huling El Bimbo” and “Buruguduystunstugudunstuy.”
“I think the attraction here would be how fun the whole idea of drag is. Anyone who’s a fan of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ and all those other shows, they’re going to enjoy this show, though it’s not focused on the drag queens. The focus is really the ‘Idols of the Galaxy.’ It just so happens that she’s a drag queen. But her dream is to sing live which drag queens don’t do.”
Now imagine how Manalo’s hit songs such as “Pagbigyan Muli,” “May Kasama Ka,” “Gusto Ko Nang Bumitaw,” “Tuloy ang Pangarap,” “Rampa,” “Boom, Panes!” and “Tara Tena” will be interpreted by Palmos and the rest of the cast in telling the story of a big dreamer like Delia D.
