Remember Ivy Melody Madjus Gallur of Dimiao who essayed the lead role of Princess Yasodhara in Siddharta the Musical? She was featured this year in the June 28 issue of Bohol Chronicle.
After the play premiered in Cebu City last June it was brought to the Cultural Center of the Philippines in July after which it embarked on an Asian tour with Gallur giving out well-reviewed performances.
Siddhartha, a play about the life of Buddha, toured Taiwan in September, China in October, and this month in Singapore and Malaysia. The musical in its entirety has been scheduled for today, November 29, in the lion city.
The cast met the Malaysian press early this month and performed an excerpt to promote the full show to be staged in Kuala Lumpur on December 27.
Gallur, a registered nurse and member of San Diego Dance Company, as are his brother Joer Ivan and sister Ira Kristina, is dubbed as Cebu’s acoustic gem. Both his father Joselito, a businessman, and mother Erlinda (nee Madjus), a language teacher and also a Dimiaonon, are very active prayer warriors and choir singers in a Catholic ministry.
Based on the life and work of Siddhartha Gautama, a historic figure in the old 600 B.C. India, the musical features his search for the meaning of life and found it silently tucked within himself after having been exposed to religious teachings and human suffering.
According to traditional account, Siddhartha left his cousin-wife Yasodhara with whom he had a child named Rahula.
The musical is based on the book The Biography of the Sakyamuni Buddha by Venerable Master Hsing Yun who founded the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order in Taiwan in 1967. It was presented by the Buddha’s Light International Association and the Fo Guang Shan Foundation to raise funds to help the youth in the field of the performing arts.
Sarah Mae Enclona-Henderson directs the play with multi-awarded Jude Gitamondoc as musical director; Vince Paul Diez Gaton, choreographer; and Oj Hofer, costume designer. (Reigh P. Monreal)