THEY are just children, but they have the pipes that can give adult singers a run for their money. Krystal Brimner, nine, and Isabeli Araneta Elizalde, 10, star in a Philippine production of one of the most popular plays in the world, Annie.
Brimner and Elizalde are at the homestretch of playing the title role. They have alternated as Annie since the Resorts World Manila (RWM)-produced play debuted last Oct. 7. The musical ends its run this Sunday.
Members of the Cebu media met the two stars at a RWM Christmas Party last Nov. 17, along with the other child actors playing the orphans in the play. Brimner and Elizalde have the spunk of a smart child and the wits of an adult.
The stage gave them maturity beyond their years.
“The idea of carrying the weight of the titular role may seem daunting for most little girls. But these two are special,” said Annie director Michael Stuart Williams.
During the Nov. 18 play, it was Brimner’s turn to don the red dress. After the show, Brimner and her fellow child actresses posed for photos from audience members willing to pay the extra P100.
Brimner and her fellow actresses certainly knew how to entertain.
“Did you enjoy the show?” asked Brimner when it was the turn of the Cebu media to pose for a photo with them. It certainly was the first—for journalists to be subjected to questions.
When told the group came all the way from Cebu to watch them, Ataska Mercado, who plays the bossy Pepper, lit up: “Oh wow! That’s fantastic!”
The other young actresses were just as bubbly. It was as if they didn’t just work for close to three hours on stage.
But acting isn’t really work for most of them—it’s something they love and enjoy.
Brimner acted opposite John Lloyd Cruz in the critically acclaimed Erik Matti film, Honor Thy Father. The film gave her a Best Child Performer trophy in last year’s Metro Manila Film Festival.
Mercado, on the other hand, has been in stage productions of Hansel and Gretel Musical, Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin. She was also a finalist in ABS-CBN’s Star Circle Quest Kids and had a three-chair turn in the second season of The Voice Kids.
But the kids were not the only standout in the show. Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo received the second loudest cheer of the night—the loudest was reserved for Brimner, of course. She plays the abominable orphanage guardian, Miss Hannigan, who drinks a lot while forcing the orphans to work. Lauchengco-Yulo may not be a mainstream celebrity but in the Philippine theater world, she is known as one of the best actresses.
Known as the First Lady of Philippine Musical Theater, Lauchengco-Yulo has played several important characters in musical theater: Maria in West Side Story, Eva Peron in Evita, Guinevere in Camelot and Fantine in Les Miserables.
But the most popular face in the play is Michael de Mesa, who plays Oliver Warbucks, the rich businessman who was too busy to do anything else until Annie walked into his life and changed his priorities.
While they all talk in English and the story is set during The Great Depression, everyone involved in the play—those on stage and behind it—are Filipinos.
“It has always been RWM’s advocacy to champion the Filipino in all of our endeavors… Our theater stage has served as the platform to showcase the talent of the Filipino, and the response from the audiences has been phenomenal,” said RWM president and chief executive officer Kingson Sian.
“We are proud to have a new generation of Filipino artists bring Annie and her friends to life after she made her Philippine theater debut in 1980, with a young Lea Salonga playing the titular role. Annie remains relevant through the years, anywhere in the world. In many regards, all children are the same—innocent and playful, loving and in need of love,” said RWM chief operations manager Alou Almaden.
Last year, RWM staged Bituing Walang Ningning: The Musical, based on the hit Filipino film starring Sharon Cuneta, Cherie Gil and Christopher de Leon. Lauchengco-Yulo was also part of the musical.