MELBOURNE, Australia, September 5, 2013—During his brief lifetime, St. Pedro Calungsod may not have even heard of Australia, but somehow, his story of faith and martyrdom has found its way into the hearts of people in two major Australian cities through the Teen Saint Pedro musical.
According to the musical’s producer, Bob Serrano, the flurry of positive reactions from both their Melbourne and Sydney audiences shows how universal Calungsod’s story is.
Apparently, it was so good, one family who watched the musical in Sydney drove 8 hours to see it again in Melbourne.
Eyes and ears glued
Serrano said several people approached the cast to give comments about the show: “It’s like watching Miss Saigon”; “Thanks for telling us the story of Teen Saint Pedro”; “[Our] eyes and ears were glued to the show, especially during the martyrdom scene”; “Truly inspiring”; “A great miracle.”
A mother commented how the scene between San Pedro and his mother touched her, making her remember her own son who is a seminarian in New York.
Another was amazed at how a “a simple story could be so meaningful and so inspiring.”
In general, Serrano noted, the audience, made up of Australians and Filipinos, was quiet and many were in tears.
According to Emer Guingon, who plays Choco, the scheming ship-wrecked pirate in the play, people also noted the interesting mix of both “tragic and comic elements” in the musical, as well as its over-all “world-class” quality.
God runs the show
800 people came to watch the first run at the Marconi Club Auditorium in Sydney
last August 24, while more than a thousand showed up for the next show at the Union Hall, La Trobe University in Melbourne last August 31.
Teen Saint Pedro’s first international tour was not without difficulties, as the crew had to brave the fury of typhoon ‘Maring’ and Habagat rains just to make it to Australia with some cast members grappling with flight cancellations, flooded homes and the flu.
“We encountered technical challenges left and right, but again all these were miraculously solved. We couldn’t believe our eyes. God was running the whole thing,” Serrano added, saying several production team members could not help but cry during many parts of the show because of the many instances of Divine providence.
Serrano said, invitations to have the musical in New Zealand, Brisbane, Dubai, Canada, Guam and Singapore are starting to pour in. [Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz]
