Recap of APO HIKING SOCIETY 50 YEARS THE CONCERT

July 16, 2023

The very first concert I had ever seen was an Apo Hiking Society concert when I was still in high school and they performed in our school. That was 40 years ago, and tonight, they are already celebrating their golden year as an musical act. Like me, the whole Hyundai Hall of Arete in Ateneo was abuzz with excitement. At 8 pm, the concert began with an overture of familiar Apo Hiking Society tunes played by musical director Bond Samson and the 50 Years band, while a humorous history of the band was being flashed on the big screen onstage. 

Boboy Garovillo and Jim Paredes made their entrance on wheelchairs, pushed by nurses wearing bunny suits. Their first song was an upbeat new song about their 50 years together. Halfway though the song, Boboy and Jim changed into black Chinese-collared shirts with gold baybayin characters embroidered on the left side than meant "limampu" or "fifty.  Meanwhile their "nurses" had stripped off their PPDs and were gyrating in skimpy tops and shorts. 

The first hit song they sang was "Ewan" followed by "Love is for Singing". Then they stepped up the energy and sang the theme song of their first movie "Blue Jeans," letting the audience sing the "Whoo!" part.  After this, they performed their first comedy song number, singing classic songs like "Yesterday" and "Do, Re, Mi" with all the skipping, pitch changes and various other sound effects of a scratched up vinyl record. 

Boboy then sang a song he wrote entitled "Paano" which they said was their last major hit, and this was all of 15 years ago. The next song was "Yakap sa Dilim" which they naughtily branded as an "immoral" song. The guy who played the sax solo nailed his featured part and the audience appreciated that. This was followed by the novelty pop song "Syotang Pa-Class," with sexy back-up dancers and the giggling care of the female backup singer Camille Johnson.

Jim introduced their next song which was from their "latest" album,  which they then told us was released 13 years ago. This was "Boboy, Jim and Danny" which was the 27th album they had recorded. The song was a ballad entitled "Giliw," which Jim submitted to the soundtrack of a movie starring Regine Velasquez and Robin Padilla. Even if it was the first time many of us heard it, we still clapped and cheered.

The next three numbers were sung with a guest music ministry choir of Ateneo students called Hangad. They backed the Apo up when they sang "Wala Nang Hahanapin," a song they've dedicated to wives. When Boboy and Jim left the stage for a break, Hangad sang an Apo song (said to be inspired by a Pan-Am commercial) called "Minsan sa Buhay." The Apo guys came back out for another comedy number -- "Salawikain" sung in operatic style.

With Hangad

When Apo sang "Awit ng Barkada" and "Tuyo ng Damdamin," fans knew this was a tribute dedicated to their late friend and collaborator Danny Javier, who passed away last October 31, 2022.  The two guys sang with Danny's voice and video on songs like "One, Two, Three" and "Batang-bata Ka Pa." However, to sing the second verse of "Batang-bata", out came Danny's son Jobim Javier in a most touching surprise guest appearance. 

They then played a video of Danny singing the last song he ever wrote, a serio-comic song about dying called "Lahat Tayo". Despite its rather morbid lyrics, like "Lahat tayo'y mamamatay, gusto bang makisabay?" or "Sige akong mauuna, pangako susunod ka, ha? Malungkot ang nag-iisa, mas masayang kasama ka." In this new arrangement by Lorrie Illustre, Boboy and Jim comically responded with a vigorous "Ayoko pa!"

With Jobim Javier

Boboy and Jim proudly shared that the first local artist to coin the word "OPM" or Original Pilipino Music was Danny Javier. From there, they went on to perform "Pip-T," a elaborate medley of  folk songs and kundimans mashed up with foreign pop songs. Some of the notable ones are "Magtanim ay Di Biro" with EWF's "September", "Waray Waray" with Van Halen's "Jump," Diomedes Maturan's "Bulong-bulungan" with the "Voltes V" opening theme, and "Penpen de Sarapen" with the "Ting Ting Tang Tang" viral Tiktok dance craze. 

They shared an anecdote about an extravagant man who hired them to deliver a Valentine morning serenade of a single song in an effort to win back his ex-wife, then sang the song itself "Panalangin." This was followed by another one of their popular love songs "When I Met You." After they they argued about the definition of "medley," they sang their "Tagalog Medley" with "Lumang Tugtugin," "Pag-Ibig," "Araw" and the beautiful "Nakapagtataka." 

They could not resist to crack a political joke before singing "Tanggapin Mo Kung Gusto Mo" (from their 1996 album "Dating Alternatib") in a limbo rock rhythm. They then sang the rousing and hopeful "Kung Gusto Mo, Gusto Ko Pa" (from their 1991 album "Songbuk"), introducing their band, dancers and backup singers (one of whom was stage actor Juliene Mendoza!), which turned out to be the final song of their main set.

Of course, the audience clamored for more. So for their encore, they obliged to return onstage and sing three more of their most popular hits "Pumapatak ang Ulan," "Mahirap Magmahal ng  Syota ng Iba" and finally "Show Me a Smile." Everybody in the 900-strong audience that night was standing up, singing and swaying along up to the very last note. The rain was pouring very hard outside the Arete, but everyone's mood and energy was definitely happy and positive from their healthy dose of Apo Hiking Society music that night. 

Congratulations to Boboy and Jim, as well director Leo Rialp and his crew, for the success of this concert. 

Review of VIRGIN LABFEST 18- SET D (Muwang): Mind, Maid, March

June 21, 2023

1. ANG TUYOM

Writer: M. Manalastas

Director: Gio Potes

M (Jude Matthew Servilla) was a playwright cross-examining himself as he was drowning in his own loneliness. In the process, he interacted with his characters representing his younger self Batang M (Zöe De Ocampo), his mother Ma (Opaline Santos), his friend Raul (Fred Layno) and his love Elimar (Serena Magiliw).

To be fair, I came in a little late so I missed how it started. However, I never really got into the drift of this piece at all. The concept was theoretically good, but everything felt so abstract onstage. The lines were not connecting with each other. The humor was not working for me. The actors were trying to make things work, but I was not getting it. It just ended with a whimper with barely any impact to remember. 

2. HAWAII, HERE WE COME

Writer: Shenn Apillado

Director: Mark Mirando

As a crowd was forming outside Malacanang Palace during the final day of the ruling family, trusted aide Shirley (Madeleine Nicolas) asked her niece Angge (Sheryll Villamor Ceasico) to help her pack things for her dear Madam (Gem Padilla-Thomas). Angge came with another purpose in mind, to ask Madam's help to look for her missing son who was a political activist.

The story of this play could had more impact had it been part of Virgin Labfest 17 last year. However, since it was only staged this year, it was simply too late. The very controversial mega box-office hit film, Darryl Yap's "Maid in Malacanang" (2022) already beat it to the punch. Nicolas and Ceasico were dynamic in their banter as the lead duo. It was a pity that Padilla-Thomas's dry portrayal of the iconic Madam was not up to par, rendering the anticipation to her grand entrance a disappointment.

3. O'DONNELL

Writer: Jerry O'Hara

Director: Issa Manalo Lopez

A group of Filipino soldiers were in a field in Camp O'Donnell, where the Japanese confined prisoners of war from the fall of Bataan who had survived the death march.  Tunying Isleta (Eshei Mesina) was trying his best to keep the spirits of his comrades up. Pedro Peralta (Aldo Vencilao) had dysentery. Francisco Basa (Miguel delos Santos) wanted to escape. MSgt. Melchor Bautista (Joel Garcia) had gone mad. 

Like "Room 209" in Set D, this was another play that featured an all-male cast of characters who were struggling with serious issues of life and death.  It was interesting that, like "Room 209," this was also directed by a female director, Issa Manalo Lopez, who was able to give the formidable material a beating heart. This was undeniably powerful, moving stuff, but the play could use some streamlining, with edits of certain repetitive lines and situations.

Restaging Reviews: RED and PRIDE PLAYS (UNICA HIJAS, LARO)

June 17, 2023

RED (The Necessary Theater)

Writer: John Logan

Director: Bart Guingona

In 1958, abstract expressionistic artist Mark Rothko had just signed a contract to paint murals for the walls of the swanky Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram's Building. Because of the extensive scope of this job, he hired a young aspiring artist Ken (JC Santos) to be his work assistant at his studio in New York City. While working on the project for two years, the two discuss and argue about their clashing philosophies about art and legacy.

Bart Guingona was in his element as the arrogant, temperamental Rothko, after all he had played him before 10 years ago, with Joaquin Valdez as Ken. I was not able to see this original staging. This time around, Ken is played by JC Santos, whose command of English may surprise those who only knew him by his Filipino films. This is not a play that an actor can simply just memorize his lines to portray. They need to live and breathe their characters, immerse themselves fully into their talents, knowledge and neurotic idiosyncrasies before they can pull them off.

This was a deep, multi-layered script written by John Logan, who was nominated for a Tony in 2010 in its original Broadway run. It even actually required a glossary of artistic and historical terms in its souvenir program. However, despite its formidable premise, "Red" was a truly absorbing and immersive theater experience that will make us evaluate how we see our respective "arts" (even if they did not involve paint and brushes.  It will also make us reflect on your own professional principles as we grow older in our careers. 

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PRIDE PLAYS (Barefoot Theater Collaborative)

Writers: Mikaela Regis, Floy Quintos

Directors: Pat Valera, John Mark Yap

This twin-bill of LGBTQIA+ plays has been staged by the Barefoot Theater Collaborative to celebrate Pride Month. The first feature "Unica Hijas" written by Mikaela Regis and directed by Pat Valera. It was a one-act play first staged last year as part of Set C of the Virgin Labfest 17 "Hinga." The second feature "Laro" was written by no less than Floy Quinto, directed by John Mark Yap. It was a two-act play first staged in 2004, then only restaged in 2019 by Artists Playground. 

"Unica Hijas" was about two senior high school girls -- Nikki (Joy delos Santos) and Mitch (Ash Nicanor) -- who were caught in the act of almost kissing. They were called to the Principal's Office for this offense. This dreaded meeting will also have their parents in attendance. Before this moment of truth, the two were talking with each other, trying to come to grips with their sexuality, their parents and their school. 

Mitch was already sure of her gender orientation and was out and proud about it, even with her mother. The more interesting character here was actually Nikki, a girl who was still in the closet, hoping that she could still shake off this unnatural feelings she had sometime in the future. She did not want to disappoint her parents by announcing that she may be gay. She wanted to deny everything, keep things status quo, and not stir a hornet's nest.

The winsome and very realistic portrayals of both girls made this play light, sweet and engaging, despite the sensitive LGBTQ topic that it tackles. Gay audiences would invariably be behind Mitch all they way. Straight audiences may feel that doubtful Nikki was being pressured into coming out. It was just too bad that the director chose that Nikki's final decision had to be done via a phone call with loud music drowning out that actual words. 

"Laro" was a series of short intense scenes following a chain of gay men, with one character connected to two other characters. It began with an Call Boy and a Policeman, who later met a Drag Queen, who later met a User, who later met a random online Lover, who went home to his Ideal, who then met up with a Student, who then confessed to a cousin Writer, who then interviewed a Model, who then met his Philosopher boss, who later hired a Call Boy.

The most memorable scenes and acting were those which involved the scary Policeman (Gio Gahol), the perverse Ideal (Al Gatmaitan) and the megalomaniac Philosopher (Jojo Cayabyab). I had seen the original staging before and these scenes felt like Quinto could've upped the shock factor, or if not, director Yap may have intensified these specific encounters to make them seem more monstrous with his improved lighting, sound design and sets. 

Of course, only Phi Palmos can play a Tina Turner Drag Queen. Al Gatmaitan played Ideal and Mike Liwag played User before, though it was their alternates that I saw. The other members of the original cast took on different roles. Ross Pesigan from Student to Call Boy, and Gio Gahol from User to Policeman, and both of them upped their acting intensity. However, Andre Miguel, who went from Call Boy to Model, looked awkwardly miscast in his new role. 

Even if there was dark humor imbued in all the episodes, even queer audiences will find these salacious stories very disturbing. Straight audiences will likely react with disgust and revulsion to the sex scenes, all non-consensual. With all the gay predators depicted here, there was nothing positive nor feel-good in the whole of this lurid play. 

As "Pride Plays," while "Unica Hijas" tries to make straight viewers understand lesbian issues, "Laro" could actually alienate them against gays more. Provocative as he always is, Quintos surely will not let something like that get in the way. The cold truth needs to be told, uncomfortable and inconvenient as it may be. 

Review of VIRGIN LABFEST 18- SET C (Y.O.L.O.): Monsters, Machismo, Mush

June 15, 2023

For the first time since the pandemic, the Virgin Labfest is completely face to face at the new Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez, with the theme "Hitik." The initial reviews for these 12 new one-act plays have been circulating in social media since they premiered last week, and they were all generally glowing. It had always been difficult for me to catch all four sets because of my day job. This year, this Set C might actually be the only set I could catch. (But I hope not.)

1. MGA HALIMAW RIN KAMI

Writer: Jules Pamisa

Director: Tats Soriano

A centuries-old Aswang (Chrome Cosio) encountered a Manananggal (Skyzx Labastilla) who landed on the same rooftop as him. They tell each other their life stories, and compare their killings to the killings going on among the humans in the streets below them. 

This was basically an amusing two-hander (with veterans Cosio and Labastilla at their most over-the-top) about the misadventures of two traditional monsters of Philippine myth. Pamisa juxtaposed the monsters' stories of killing human victims alongside the extra-judicial killings done with impunity during the drug wars. However, since it has been more than a couple of years after the height of these EJKs, this play concluded with an oddly dated feel. 

2. ROOM 209

Writer: Zheg Arban

Director: Delphine Buencamino

Since he was a child, Cadet 4th class Perez (Jao Catarus) was prepared by his late father and his older brother (Gino Ramirez) to enter the Philippine Military Academy, where they both graduated from. However, Perez became the target of bullying by his upperclassmen. 

Arban's script was powerful, but it was the dynamic direction of Buencamino that gave this play such a galvanizing effect. The ensemble of new young actors (CJ Barinaga, Denmark Brinces,  Raphne Catorce, Earvin Estioco & James Lanante) was solid in their performances as the cadets, especially Jao Catarus in the vulnerable central role. However, I wish they also mentioned what happened to the perpetrators of the unforgivable crime. 

3. HUKAY

Writer: Ophalain Margaux Serrano

Director: Melvin Lee

When Noel (Andoy Ranay) was burying his dead horse in a field, his policeman friend Rico (Floyd Tena) came by to help. The two middle-aged men talked about their friendship began, and how they think this friendship will proceed in the future.

The way this play began with Noel digging a hole, you would never really see where the play would be going. However, along the way, several hints, both subtle and frank, were already being dropped to clarify the plot direction. This two-hander worked so well because the rapport and chemistry between Ranay and Tena was simply so realistic and actually quite sweet. If there was any significance about the horse being buried, I do not recognize it. 

Theatre Titas: Review of TWENTY QUESTIONS: Intimate Interviews

May 13, 2023

Jigs (Diego Aranda) and Yumi (Isabelle Prado) were members of one gang of friends. They had a yearly tradition to lock one boy and one girl, supposedly randomly picked, to spend 24 hours together in one hotel room. So far, those who had been locked together before all went on to have successful romantic lives as couples. At the start, Jigs and Yumi were determined to be the first couple not to end up together when they get out of the room. 

As an ice breaker, Jigs suggested that they play a game of "Twenty Questions" to be able to get to know each other better. Each one gets to ask any question on any topic about the other one. They would go alternatingly one after the other. One cannot ask the same question once it had been asked of him already.  The questions started off easy, but each subsequent question got more and more uncomfortable to answer, even with the wine.

"Twenty Questions" was the very first play written by playwright Juan Ekis in 2003. It won Ekis second place in the one-act play category in the Carlos Palanca Awards. This year, 20 years later, the play was chosen by the Theater Titas to be their fourth project, their first since the pandemic and since their membership in Philstage. Their first show "What's in the Dark?" was staged Halloween 2017, which I was able to watch back then (MY REVIEW).  

The twenty questions started with mundane questions like biggest frustrations or future plans. However, they soon went on to discuss more private matters, mostly about their past relationships. At first their conversations were light and jovial. However, as the questions become more challenging (and the wine they kept drinking loosened their tongues and inhibitions), the mood turned darker as more serious secrets were revealed.

Because of Yumi's more colorful love life and long list of past lovers, it was Isabelle Prado who had the more exciting and provocative stories to confess. This being her professional theatrical debut, Prado nailed her tough role, shifting seamlessly from wacky comedy to painful drama. Because Jigs was the conservative guy with a rigid-as-an-arrow sense of morality, Diego Aranda played him as the dorky yet charming straight-man in this two hander.  

I have not seen the original "Twenty Questions" so I could not comment on how director Cheese Mendez (one of the founding Theater Titas) had adapted the script to the present Gen Z milieu. The issues about virginity, living-in, sex and its attendant problems among the youth probably did not change that much in 20 years. However, there still wasn't much mention about social media and the major effect it had on relationships these days. 

In any case, the material still held up very well even twenty years after Juan Ekis wrote it -- a testament of its timeless appeal of Ekis's words and how they could make viewers reflect on their own attitudes about sex and relationships. It was a full-house when I watched, and the audience of mostly Gen Z and millennials lapped it up heartily, laughing and swooning in all the right places (probably also aided by the wine sold on their merch table).

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The Theater Titas' production of Juan Ekis's "Twenty Questions" opened last May 12, 2023 and will run up to May 28, 2023, weekends only. The play is staged at the Mirror Studio Theater, an intimate venue located on the 5th floor of the SJG Centre, along Kalayaan Ave., in Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City. It plays for one hour, without intermission, in Taglish. 

SJG Centre has no parking slots for private cars. They suggest parking in Century City Mall (approximately a 10 minute walk away) or Power Plant Mall (approximately a 15 minute walk away). They do not recommend Kalayaan Ave. street parking as it is a clamping zone, but there were cars parked along the road that Saturday night I watched.

TP: Review of NEKROPOLIS: Actualizing Anarchy

April 22, 2023

There were two sections in this city. The rich lived in Mariposa, where the rich residents were called butterflies. The poor lived in the Projects, where the poor residents were derisively called mosquitoes. The authoritarian leader was a man they called the Mayor. The main opposition was a woman they called the Kapitana (Julie Dimayuga). The nights in the city ring with gunshots as drug addicts were shot down without compunction.

One night, Miggs (Marco Viana) was contemplating about an imaginary wormhole where he can come out the other end as his younger self. A nervous young man named Alex (Marc Lorenz) met up with government employee also named Alex (Vince Macapobre) for his first sexual rendezvous. Claire (Lhorvie Nuevo) allowed lesbian drug pusher Karina (Mitzi Comia) into their apartment to hide during a surprise raid. 

This was an experimental project unlike anything I had seen from Tanghalang Pilipino before. It begins with a series of world-building episodes where various characters described their lives in this chaotic city which was on the brink of civil war. Admittedly, it was very confusing at first, I did not know what was going on. Even at the end, I cannot claim to understand everything that transpired, but I definitely felt the urgent unsettling message it was conveying.

The production design of Tata Tuviera was so abstract, beginning with bodies on the floor covered with newspapers, and ending with an explosive shower of waste paper and skulls making a big mess on the stage.  There were ropes crisscrossing from ceiling to floor in all directions, giving the illusion of shattered glass. The projection designs of Joyce Garcia on the floor or the live shots of the actors onstage on the backdrop heightened the mood of tension. 

The whole play felt like a madhouse when it reached that crazy climax when the whole cast was on different parts of the stage, simultaneous doing their own things, while some random characters were running around like headless chickens, I did not know where to look at or whom to listen to. Director Charles Yee wanted to show writer Guelan Luarca's idea of a society descending into anarchy, and that bleak dystopia was exactly what we saw and felt. 

*****

"Nekropolis" runs only for six shows at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenex in one weekend from April 20-23, 2023. 

Upstart: Review of BREAKUPS & BREAKDOWNS: Mercurial Millennial Mindsets

April 15, 2023

One Friday night, playboy commercial model Derek (Nelsito Gomez) was getting prepared for spending a night in a bar to meet up with a new girl. He was trying to convince his roommate and long-single best friend Mark to go out with him so he could meet girls. However, Mark (Reb Atadero) was still struggling to begin writing his new play about finding the perfect girl, so he won't budge from his computer. 

Mark's ex-girlfriend graphic artist Nina (Tanya Manalang), with her boss Felicia (Sarah Facuri), was dealing with difficult clients Howard (Joel Trinidad) and Morgan (Rachel Coates) at work. Sandy (Nicky Trivino) who was seeking advice from her friends Richard (Trinidad) and Pamela (Facuri) on how best to get on Derek's good side. She was leaving for Singapore in a few weeks and wanted to get serious with Derek before that.  

The libretto of the original musical "Breakups and Breakdowns" was Joel Trinidad's first work for theater back in 2005. Its music was composed by Rony Fortich back then and even now as new songs were added to beef up the show. This present edition of the play had been reworked extensively by Trinidad, together with his creative partner and dramaturg Nicky Trivino, along with additional script  suggestions by the cast members themselves. 

Reb Atadero and Tanya Manalang are powerful belters, and, as the lead couple of the show, they both get to sing the best songs in the show. The most vocally- and emotionally-challenging song is "Tired of Goodbyes" sung by Mark and Nina, the most traditional showtune in the list. Both also get show-stopping solo numbers -- "Only Words" for Mark, "Outside the Lines" for Nina -- to highlight their vocal range.

Those who only knew Nelsito Gomez for his iconic roles in "Angry Christ" or "Asher Lev" will be pleasantly shocked with his all-out transformation of persona, as much as they will be shocked by the electric colors of his shirts. The energy of the show tends to sag when his Derek was not onstage. The most attention-getting songs were those naughty ones by Derek, especially "Be Prepared," sung with a small square packet in his hand. 

Rachel Coates, Sarah Facuri and Trinidad himself got to play multiple distinct characters, and their side stories were sometimes wittier than the main love story. I liked the "Clients from Hell" side story best of all. The wishy-washy boss Howard was Trinidad's best character for me. The wig he wore made him look like a totally different person. Coates was so good playing annoying suck-up Morgan, practically echoing everything Howard said. 

The current version of the show now runs for about 2-1/2 hours, with a 15-minute interval between acts. Admittedly, because of the slimness of the plot, I felt the length of this running time, particularly when the momentum and the wit faltered in the second half of both acts. Surely, this pacing issue can still tightened for the regular shows. Anyhow, the vibrant talent and personalities of the actors still kept the show afloat and engaging to the end. 

*****

Upstart's "Breakups & Breakdowns" runs from April 15 (3 p.m.), April 16 (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.), April 22 (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and April 23 (3 p.m.) at the Creative Arts Centre, The British School Manila, 38th Street, BGC, Taguig. For ticket inquiries, call or text Upstart at 0917-8116156 or e-mail upstartproductionsinc@gmail.com.  Ticket prices are P2300, 2100, 1800, 800 and 500. 

For those who will be driving their own cars, the nearest parking areas would be in the two malls near the venue -- Market! Market! and Uptown Mall. However, the distance between each mall to the venue will take about a 10-minute walk in each direction. Walking back to the car alone at 10:30 pm after an evening show may not feel safe for nervous types.