Oral Presentation. 67th International Federation for Theatre Research Conference (Performing Carnival: Ekstasis, Subversion, Metamorphosis). University of Cologne.

ABSTRACT. In December 2019, the musical Himala (Book, Lyrics, and Music by Vince De Jesus) received a new staging at the Power Mac Spotlight in Makati City. First staged at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theatre) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 2003, the musical is based on the award-winning film Himala (dir. Ishmael Bernal). It follows the life of Elsa, an eccentric young woman from the village of Cupang, who claims that the Virgin Mary appeared before her during the solar eclipse. After miraculously healing a young boy, Elsa becomes the village’s messiah. Consequently, Cupang is transformed into a sought-after pilgrimage destination in the country. In this presentation, the musical is argued to intersect faith, relations of power, and fantasy production. Through Elsa, community members are initially brought together: the town mayor, city-dwellers, the faithful, and even non-believers begin engaging in free interaction and individual expression about Cupang and the events surrounding the apparition. Elsa’s proclamation as the chosen one gestures toward the dissolution of hierarchical relationships and mocks religion as an institution. However, as the musical progresses, the dramaturgical strategies show how community members theatricalize and spectacularize miracles, almost carnival-like, but not to subvert and liberate the dominant social structures. Instead, the carnivalization is framed as engagement in fantasy production, with the belief that Cupang has been transformed into heaven on earth. However, such a utopic world only masquerades as a neoliberal form of spiritual institution.