November 29, 2025
The story of the first act was pretty much straightforward -- about a son's initial act of rebellion against his father. Since he was young, Mico dela Cruz (David Ezra) wanted to be a rock musician. However, his father Paquito (Jett Pangan), a former military officer turned Christian pastor, wanted him to take up Nursing in college instead. However, he chose to join Paulo (Nino Alejandro) and Willy (Jeffrey Hidalgo) in their fledgling rock band Sikatuna.
The second act was a bit more all over the place. This started with Sikatuna's troubled stint in Japan. When they came back to the country, the lives of all three guys all went nowhere. Meanwhile, student activism against the corrupt government was on the rise. Mico got involved when Paz Angeles (Sheila Ferrer), a seemingly immortal girl he liked, disappeared after joining a rally. Mico reached out to her the best way he knew how -- the radio.
This problematic second act had very jarring shifts in mood per scene, from slapstick comedy to shocking violence in the next. The acting styles of the cast also fluctuated from a safe standard level to over-the-top histrionics in others. There was a sex comedy interlude which was funny, but felt completely out of place. The ending was an unexpected plot twist, as the time period you thought the events were happening in was apparently just about to start!
Geneva Cruz played a restless spirit who was visible only to Mico. Her face was bathed in bright light, so Mico called her Liwayway. The other members of the ensemble are: Bella Alejandro, Arjay Cabael, Vince Conrad, Marilyn Dacumos, Jasper Daguro, Kaloy Estrella, Jerome Ferguson, Chellie Maynes, Victoria Mina, Ariel Perino, Jerecho Ramirez, Mondrian Sampang, Jayce San Rafael, Rai Solomon, and VJ Vera.
The best performer in the cast is Jett Pangan in the role of Mico's conflicted father. His powerful voice, both speaking and especially in singing, had so much conviction and gravitas. Pangan of course was the front man of his own rock band The Dawn back in the day, and he still has that rock cred now. His best song was Mike Hanopol's legacy hit "Laki sa Layaw" which he sung as the show-stopping final song of Act 1.
As Mico, David Ezra has a bright and brassy voice that stood out from the others that he sang with. It was his first foray into a rock musical, so this was a big risk for this classical tenor, whose soaring voice I first heard in "Aurelio Sedisyoso" (TP, 2017). He did pull it off for the most part, bad long wig and all. There were a few stray notes here and there, especially in his scenes and duets with an uncharacteristically unsteady Geneva Cruz.
Nino Alejandro and Jeffrey Hidalgo mainly play comic relief characters. Their feathers did get ruffled in Act 2, which led to unexpected profane utterances. As a trio, Sikatuna performed a number of Hanopol songs which were familiar even to casual 70s OPM radio listeners, like "Umiikot-ikot," "Buhay Musikero," and the Juan de la Cruz anthem "Himig Natin," which was the final song of Act 2, before segueing out of the play into the encore numbers.
It was in this encore part that more popular Hanopol hits came out, like the hits of 80s boy band Hagibis, like "Legs" (by Cruz and Ferrer) and "Katawan" (by the male ensemble). This was followed by "Mr. Kenkoy" by Alejandro and Hidalgo, and "No Touch" by Ezra and Pangan. The whole cast then sang a rousing version of "Laki sa Layaw" over the final curtain call, with the whole audience up and dancing along. As a surprise bonus, Mike Hanopol himself also joined the happy cast on stage.
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"Jeproks: The Musical" ran from November 20 to 29, 2025 at the GSIS Theater.
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