Rivalry: Ateneo-La Salle Musical

"Rivalry" is a play that puts the famed blue-vs-green pissing contest between two of the top private universities in the Philippines on-stage in a musical.

Blue vs Green, since 1939.

I have seen quite a few Facebook status updates and tweets talking about how good this particular play was, so PJ decided to get us tickets. We watched it in the Meralco Theater, Ortigas.

 

Tickets in a neutral yellow :)

So that this is out right from the beginning, I really liked the musical.

 In order to prevent any spoilers (I highly recommend this musical, plus it makes a whole lot more sense if you are from either ADMU or DLSU), I will just give a very general review, at the risk of being a little vague.

The music, in my opinion, was excellent. I found my foot tapping to the beat, especially with some scenes featuring really upbeat music. The first two scenes did this well; the energy was maintained rather well, with comedic jabs at 'the other school' a prominent feature in the play. I thought that this accurately portrayed campus life even to this day, as my batch-mates and I have had our share of poking fun at 'the other school'. The singing was top-notch, especially from the main Ateneo and La Salle leads, who were singing while engaging in physical exercise in one scene! I was impressed.

The lighting was beautiful too. Some 'rivalry' scenes were very well set-up just by the mood change from the lights. The use of green and blue lights, while very liberal, kept the spirit of the play, in my opinion. The production design was very well thought-out too. The play was set in 1968, specifically the 1968 NCAA basketball season (and one of the most heated years between Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University), and I thought the values, culture, and attitude of the era was very correctly illustrated, even though what I know of said time came from history books.

As for the actors, it was very interesting how both sides captured little nuances that I thought really reflected a true Lasallian and a true Atenean, respectively. Take this comment with a grain of salt though, as my exposure to Ateneans are obviously much less than my experience with Lasallians. I will not divulge anything more; watch it!

Overall, one of the better musicals I have watched. 

Much better than The Sound of Music, in my opinion.

"Rivalry" picture from Cosmopolitan, retrieved on February 25, 2012.

Picture of tickets author's own.