Glittering folk tales and classic kid stories hit the stage

‘When I ask Filipinos if they know the story Ibong Adarna, I often jog their memories by saying, ‘It’s the one where a bird poops on people and turns them to stone,” says Winnipeg writer Primrose Madayag Knazan.

But in Knazan’s one-hour theatrical retelling, the classic folk tale about a dazzling creature with the power to heal or petrify those who approach it transforms into a shimmering, ethereal being (Matthew Pagtalunan, an award-winning drag artist who performs as Nila Ganda), who instead of calcifying agents emits glitter: call it a glow-up with a less icky glow-down.

So yes, The Glitter Bird — this year’s entry into local company UNI Together’s Pamasko Tales holiday musical series — will feature its fair share of loving parody. But dramaturg Hazel Venzon says the story it pays homage to is also teeming with timeless Filipino ideals and wisdom, such as the principle of kababaang-loob, or inner humility, while also reflecting on challenging colonial histories.

“The endurance of the Ibong Adarna in Filipino education and common imagination speaks to its adaptability, as well,” says Venzon. “It survives not because it is static, but because it continually invites reinterpretation — whether as a children’s tale, a nationalist allegory, or a critique of authority.”

The Glitter Bird runs at the Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba for five matinee performances between Dec. 22 and 30. The production sees UNIT collaborate with Magdarat Philippines, a non-profit dedicated to promoting Philippine culture through dance. Venzon was excited to forge the partnership, which she says allows Magdarat to celebrate its theatrical roots.

Featuring a cast with performers as young as 10 years old, The Glitter Bird also connects UNIT with choreographer Maribeth Manalaysay Tabanera, who co-ordinates the movement to a live soundtrack from percussionist Elliz Alvarez of soul collective NYOH and pianist Seanne Buenafe, the incoming musical director of Rainbow Stage’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Joyce Jugo, who’s performed with Rainbow (Rent) and the Winnipeg Studio Theatre (Fame), appears as Nanay in a cast that includes Vina Dimayuga, Ehrian Federis, Daniella Mariano, Kisa Ramos, Raya Esteban, Rei Rei Laureta and Viardo Koh.

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Downtown at Prairie Theatre Exchange, Robert Munsch is on the menu.

For the first time since 2019, the company is returning to its decades-old tradition of compiling the beloved children’s book writer’s published works into a family-friendly stage medley, including The Paper Bag Princess, David’s Father, The Fire Station and It’s My Room!

“It’s about a young boy and his mom who move into a new trailer,” director Alissa Watson says of the latter. She has toured the province with two Munsch productions as an actor, performing in a psychedelic Beatles-inspired collection called Magical Mystery Munsch during the 2013 PTE season.

Travel across provincial lines factored heavily into Munsch’s inspiration for several of his classic books. It’s My Room! was inspired by a story tour stop in Fort McMurray, Alta., where Munsch met a boy named Matthew who got his own bedroom in his family’s big new trailer.

“When Michael Martchenko started to illustrate the book, I sent him a bunch of photos of Fort McMurray and Matthew’s neighbourhood to use for inspiration,” Munsch wrote on his website, robertmunsch.com. “Because Matthew’s family was originally from Newfoundland, he also put a lot of souvenirs of Newfoundland in Matthew’s bedroom.”

Those visits gave Munsch’s stories a certain level of authenticity, with a legacy of fun over morality, says Watson, an actor, music and drama teacher who’s finishing her master’s in directing from the University of Alberta.

In the classroom, both Watson and her mother, an English teacher who became a language arts consultant for the Winnipeg School Division, could easily see evidence of Munsch’s staying power, along with the stories’ lasting capacity to induce fuzzy nostalgia of loved ones turning pages.

Watson, a proud child of the ’80s, says Munsch Upon a Time — starring Gwen Collins, Kara Joseph and Ben Krawchuk — appropriately features a uniting theme of time travel, set 50 years in the future, making the case that Munsch’s stories will outlast not only the author, but the generations whose schools and libraries he visited.

Munsch, now 81, has Parkinson’s and dementia, and was approved this year for medical assistance in dying (MAID), he said in an interview earlier this month with CBC News correspondent Adrienne Arseneault at his home in Guelph, Ont.

“There’s about 50 stories,” Munsch told CBC. “When I’m dead, they’ll still be putting out Robert Munsch books.”

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