Dani Girl is an enlightening tale of 9-year old Dani Lyons’ battle against cancer. At some point in our lives, we get a first-hand experience of cancer and how it affects our families.
The musical is about the child-like hope needed to battle against the dreaded Big C. I’ve always admired the work of non-profit organizations like Kythe here in Manila and how they are able to help kids with cancer.
Thanks to 9 Works Theatrical and Sandbox Collective for presenting Dani Girl, a relevant musical to raise awareness and empathy about Life with Cancer, again.
DANI GIRL by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond
a musical about hope
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium
4th Floor, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave., cor. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City
Saturdays and Sundays of August until September 1
Official Hashtag: #danigirlmanila
Instagram: Tag @thesandboxco
Buy your tickets now! https://www.ticketworld.com.ph/
First Things First
We watched Felicity Kyle Napuli, the young Nala of Lion King fame, as Dani and Daniel Drilon as Marty.
They alternate with Becca Coastes and Luigi Quesada, who were the original Dani and Marty in the Manila premiere 5 years ago.
*Spoiler Alert: The next section contains detailed scenes from the show. It is highly recommended to watch it without knowing what will happen and let the show unfold by itself.
Act I
The show started with Dani’s cancer recurrence and when she still had hair.
Unlike fairy tales, life with cancer does not have a happy ending, and it often affects the family.
Kids use their imagination to battle against the Big C and cope with the help of a companion like other patients or stuffed friends.
I loved how the show portrayed cancer from the point of view of children, highlighting their inner struggles as they try to understand the disease.
The best part of the show was the Star Wars sequence and…
…how the children fought valiantly against the mighty Darth Vader cancer.
There was a 15-minute intermission, enough time to take a toilet break and souvenir photos with the Dani Girl wall as background.
Act II
Cancer was depicted as a person with funky colorful headgear and a nemesis that was hard to defeat.
Sometimes, you need to be a Super Mom to deal with life-threatening situations like when your kids have seizure attacks.
As a child, you never break the sacred bond of the Pinkie Promise.
This was the best musical part—the hip hop sequence with the drug dealer suggesting stronger drugs to the kids.
Succumbing to the disease but still fighting in Coma Land.
It ended with a Conversion with God about Why Cancer?
It concluded with an embrace for a fight well fought.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I like the light and the child-like point of view on life with cancer. It’s like a comical morbid take using a lot of imagination to depict the battleground in the mind of a kid with cancer.
It gives an emphatic insight into what a kid would be thinking and struggling with inside as he/she battles the Big C. The show, after all, is really about having hope as a child even in the face of a fatal disease.
Congratulations to 9 Works Theatrical and Sandbox Collective, and cheers to a successful run of Dani Girl Manila to celebrate their 10th year anniversary!
DANI GIRL by Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond
a musical about hope
Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium
4th Floor, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Ave., cor. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City
Saturdays and Sundays of August until September 1
August – September 2019
Aug 10 • Sat • 3pm
Aug 11 • Sun • 3pm
Aug 17 • Sat • 8pm
Aug 18 • Sun • 8pm
Aug 24 • Sat • 3pm & 8pm
Aug 25 • Sun • 3pm
Aug 31 • Sat • 3pm & 8pm
Sep 1 • Sun • 3pm & 8pm
Buy your tickets now!
https://www.ticketworld.com.ph/
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Sandbox Co and 9 Works Theatrical. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions and insights.
P.S. Traffic is really tough these rainy days; would suggest watching the matinee show or arriving in RCBC as early as 7 pm.