'Bagets the Musical': Growing up still
Watching Bagets the Musical is like finding an old friend returning to the fold again after a long, long while. The encounter is warmed by nostalgia. The memory lanes are lit up—in bright colors, many times in blazing neon hues. The musical is filled with happiness—and finding that happiness is a gift that keeps on giving.
You were still in your teens when you and your friend last met. You grew up but the feelings never got old. Memories, after all, don’t age. So does joy—the element of life that piggybacks on the more than two-hour vibrant musical at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Newport World Resorts in Pasay City.
Bagets the Musical, which will run until March, follows the individual but interconnected stories of five high school friends Adie, Topee, Tonton, Albert, and Gilbert. Their friendship is a witness to a class divide but their loyalty to each other mends the gap. Together they stand and prove to all and sundry that a tight friendship is already a treasure they own while they ascertain the uncertainties of their youth.
It follows the lives of five high school friends Tonton, Topee, Arnel, Gilbert and Adie.
The tenets of Bagets the Musical, even if it retains the ‘80s vibe and culture, are not an alien concept to today’s youth. The production is a beautiful Post-It note for the young ones to hope and not be encumbered by challenges. It’s a glowing reminder that dreams are valid and they matter even when life is imperfect. After all, the musical is about the tenderness of youth as well as their volatile nature.
But the musical is not only for the young ones. The “young once” have a lot to learn from the musical, too. No. 1 takeaway is that growing up is a continuous process. No one really grows up because no matter how accomplished one person is, one still has hopes and dreams, no matter how Lilliputian. Or Herculean.
You would think Aga Muhlach was already content with his stature as an established actor, having tucked in his belt a number of films and awards. Add to that the fact that he was an OG Bagets cast member as Adie. But if you saw him biting his lips as he watched his son Andres Muhlach on the opening night of the musical—yes, what are the chances that more than 40 years after, Andres will reprise the role that catapulted the career of his father—you would see that Aga was transported back to the days of his youth. He bit his lips, clasped his hands, sighed many a sigh of relief every time his son hit the note. He went up the stage during curtain call and shared tears of joy with Andres and the cast. Aga was Adie again, without stealing the thunder from Andres.
No one can steal the thunder from Andres Muhlach. The young man can sing, act, and dance. He may not be the best singer in the musical but you have to give it to Andres when the lyrics he sings on stage go in synch with his emotion. The joy of youth is clearly written on his handsome face. The pain that goes with it registers in his tone, on his face, in his soul. You empathize with him because he clearly essays the role. The apple does not fall far from the tree; he’s got his father’s acting genes. The boy has magic and his stage presence is the wand that casts spell in the theater. In him, without reservation, a star is truly born. And with that comes the responsibility that he will deliver the goods. His chops displayed on stage is already receipt that Andres will not shortchange the audience in the acting department.
Mico Hendrix Chua, Andres’ alternate on the second day of the musical, breathes a different life to Adie. His decade of experience in local theater is evident in his soulful voice. You feel his heartache and make it your own. What a solid performance!
Star Magic talent KD Estrada as Arnel is another actor to watch out for. He makes it appear easy to play the part of a rich kid with his own worries, fears, and issues. Ahh, that angst of youth—and how KD’s Arnel carry that with aplomb. A part of me is saying he can also do the role of Adie. Bagay rin sa kaniya. And what beauty in theater it would have been if KD and Andres also alternate in the role.
Alternating with KD is Ethan David, a Filipino-American performer and content creator. Ethan grooves to the beat and his sincere performance is felt on stage.
Singer-actor Sam Shoaf made some audience leave tears at the gallery when his Topee sang “Silent Night.” The vacuum of longing is felt in his voice, on his face, in his eyes that expressed that he would hunt for happiness. He found it. And how.
Jeff Moses is simply a poster boy for good storytelling. His Topee is dynamic, energetic, lost, found. A dynamo.
The recklessness of youth and the reward of restitution are both written clearly on Migo Valid’s and Milo Cruz’s faces who alternately play Tonton. Both members of the P-Pop group Xerenade, Migo, and Milo have made their theater debut in Bagets the Musical. Their depth is immeasurable. Their voices have almost precise pitch control. Their effortless and sustained notes are a breath of fresh air.
There’s something about Noel Comia Jr.’s raw rendition of Gilbert’s character. He’s a powerhouse when it comes to acting. His Cinemalaya best actor award for Kiko Boksingero comes in handy in tackling with aplomb the rich character of Gilbert.
Ditto with P-Pop group Alamat member Tomas Rodriguez (as Gilbert) whose comedic timing is spot on. His humor is on the dot that he will leave you in stitches in his circumcision scene. He has a voice so distinct—and in his melodious voice resides many emotions, including the joys and pains of growing up.
In the growing up phases of Adie, Arnel, Topee, Tonton and Gilbert are their parents. Kudos to Bagets the Musical playwright J-mee Katanyag and director Maribel Legarda for trailing the spotlight also on the characters of Ana, Delia, Virgie, Luz, and Ditas. They are mothers of the bagets, partly the cause of their existential angst but in totality the reason why they are whole.
Bagets the Musical, with its superb production design, proves that growing up is not a box where the concept is confined. It’s a circle, infinite. No ending. Or the ending is also the beginning of another adventure and discovery.
Bagets the Musical is actually finding an old friend in you. You meet yourself again in the characters of the five boys and you realize that you’re growing up still.
