November 14, 2025
We know Gregoria "Oryang" de Jesus as the wife of Andres Bonifacio. But beyond that, we do not know much about her anymore. To remedy this, November 2025 seems to be Gregoria de Jesus memorial month. The film "Lakambini: Gregoria de Jesus" by Arjanmar Rebeta opened last November 5. And now, just one week later, "Gregoria Lakambini," a new stage musical by Tanghalang Pilipino opens tonight at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP Complex.
Both film and stage musical touch basically the same highlights of Oryang's life -- her parents' dislike of Andres, her letter of appeal to the gobernadorcillo, their Katipunan wedding, the Tejeros Convention, Agapito Bonzon, Bonifacio's arrest and execution, Julio Nakpil. However, the musical added segments about how Oryang first met Andres at Teatro Porvenir, Oryang's only son Juan Nakpil, and her last encounter with Emilio Aguinaldo.
Even if the topics were the same, the treatment of the material was definitely different. The title of this new production proudly announces that it is "A Pinay Pop Musical." and this subtitle immediately brings up a host of exciting expectations about the show. P-pop is the latest phase in the evolution of Original Pilipino Music in the 2020s among the Gen Z. These catchy pop songs have elements of dance, rap and ballads, heavily influenced by the distinctive style of South Korean and Japanese pop idol groups.
Marynor Madamesila plays the title role of Gregoria de Jesus. Madamesila has steadily been building up her name in the theater industry, recently just playing joint leads in PETA's "Walang Aray," Full House's "Buruguduy..." and Sandbox Collective's "Side Show." However, this solo lead role may just be her biggest breakthrough. She had songs that ranged from subtle melisma to power belting, as well as rapid rapping. She was always at the center of every group dance number and she can certainly nail those complex steps.
The other six actresses in the cast can all sing, dance and act just as well. They form the Ensemble portraying all the other roles of either gender, as well as the Greek chorus who broke the fourth wall and provided comic commentary along the way. They all get to play one main supporting character: Anya Evangelista as Andres Bonifacio, Sarah Monay as Gregoria's father Nicolas, Murline Uddin as Agapito Banzon, Sofia Sacaguing as Julio Nakpil, Ynna Rafa as Juan Nakpil and audience favorite Heart Puyong as Emilio Aguinaldo.
The book of the musical is by Nicanor Tiongson and Eljay Castro Deldoc, with music by Nica del Rosario and Matthew Chang, arranged by Flip Music Productions. Stage direction is by Delphine Buencamino, who also co-choreographed those fun energetic dances with Jan Matthew Almodovar. Mark Lorenz designed the set, Earvin Estioco the lighting, JM Jimenez the projections, and Arvy Dimaculangan the sound. Sabrina Basilio was the dramaturg.
The most striking aspect of this production are costume designs of Marco Viana. The cast wore avant-garde costumes fusing period Filipiniana with street punk and cowboy-Western accents. Various little accessories were added to the basic costumes for the actress to transform them from one character to another. Hat color distinguished the members of opposite factions. While looking artistically creative, they also had to be durable and flexible to withstand the dynamic dance moves that the cast had to execute.
"Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical" is the only new production in Tanghalang Pilipino's 39th season lineup, previous hit productions "Pingkian: Isang Musikal" and "Mabining Mandirigma: A Steampunk Musical" being the other two -- all about the thoughts and actions of heroes who ignited the Philippine Revolution. By using the current style of P-Pop music, this show's message of nationalism and woman empowerment is specifically targeted to Generation Z. With songs so catchy and dances so fun, this show can definitely do the job.
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"Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical" runs from November 14 to December 14, 2025 at the Teatro Ignacio Gimenez, CCP Complex. Get your tickets via Ticketworld (LINK), Ticket2Me (LINK) or by direct selling (LINK). Ticket prices: VIP P2,000 and Regular P1,800.
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