A sad-funny cancer musical

It certainly took strength of character for those behind the production of Dani Girl to risk staging a musical that deals with childhood cancer. Indeed, this is not a topic to laugh about. Neither is it a teleserye requiring of the cast the ability to cry copious tears upon a signal from the director.

Although we had been given an idea of the musical’s theme, nothing could have adequately prepared us for this cancer musical. Watching the film in its entirety still caught us by surprise.

The curtain rises with a requiem to a rabbit sung by Rebecca Coates, the youngster afflicted with cancer. We are then introduced to Reb Atadero, who plays Raff, Dani Girl’s guardian angel and imaginary friend who helps her carry the made-up tune in the rabbit’s honor. Reb is quick to point out the connection between Dani’s shrinking toy collection and the cancer she has had in her short life, now back from remission after a three-year hiatus.

In the process, Dani loses her hair to chemo, but instead of accepting defeat, she sets out on a fantastical quest to revive her lost hair. Joining Dani is a quirky kindred spirit from the children’s ward Lugi Quesada who prefers to escape his reality through action films. Lugi’s knowledge of space travel and futuristic science enables the two youngsters to journey deep into the bowels of Dani’s teddy bear, as well as soar to the heavens to talk to God.

The cast is small and fluid as they harmonize with their movements and songs. Rebecca, in particular, remains captivatingly crisp and strong throughout the performance. We especially enjoyed Reb’s many colorful roles demanding incredible versatility and spot-on timing for comic relief, both at which he is excellent.

Strange as it may seem, Dani Girl ceases to be a bleak melodrama that revolves around cancer. Instead, it becomes a comedy that takes the audience on a journey that is at once laugh riddled and bittersweet.  

As the crowd mingled around at the show’s end, heading towards the café for a late-night drink and some chitchat, we joined their discussions and their comments. A couple wondered whether the introduction of the comedy aspect could have had any negative reactions. A professor at a university added that it would be this kind of material that would be perfect for a classroom discussion.

We suggested some kind of competition involving material such as this that could be deemed dangerous by some but challenging by others. Whatever the results, the fact that Dani Girl was creating some furor could be the best thing that could have happened to Toff de Venecia and The Sandbox Collective for going out on a limb and staging a musical that is at once cutting edge and out of the ordinary. The show’s creators, Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond, once uttered to LA Times’ Karen Wada, “People aren’t exactly chomping at the bit to produce a cancer musical.” Dani Girl walks a fine line of a tricky situation and falls deep into the side of bittersweet success.

Thank you to all who helped in the production of the musical. Thank you to Jose Cabaltera, who provided us with the heart and the vision to understand just what it is to suffer from this ailment.

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