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REVIEW: ‘We Aren’t Kids Anymore’ explores the emotions that comes with navigating adulthood

Article (news)

Stephanie Rose Manhit

Push Team

<p><em>We Aren’t Kids Anymore</em> (WAKA) by Broadway composer Drew Gasparini explores the messy uncertainty, the growing pains of adulting. Presented in a song cycle, there is no beginning nor end to each character’s story. A flash fiction of sorts, each song presents a slice of life, each full of raw emotion. There is no linear plot to follow — pretty much how every adult navigates their own story.</p><p>And this is what <em>WAKA</em> is, ultimately: a personal story that somehow resonates with each person watching it.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:514px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747195095862WAKA by CJ Ochoa 2.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo credit: CJ Ochoa</span></span></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:514px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747195961763WAKA by Kris Rocha 7_.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo credit: Kris Rocha</span></span></span></div><p>The play begins in a very unassuming manner, with each of the five characters nonchalantly walking around and up the stage, finding their place in a square of wooden benches. The stage design is simple, uncomplicated. It has the feel of those university pockets where you would somehow find an empty spot and find yourself in the company of other individuals. At certain points, a swing reminiscent of the simple joys of childhood would hang low, only to disappear again. In the midst of the actors, embedded halfway in the middle of the stage, are the musicians who seamlessly provide the melody to the playlist of their lives. The music rises and falls with each story, and the lights complement the mood.</p><p>Gab Pangilinan, Maronne Cruz, Gio Gahol, Luigi Quesada, and Myke Salomon owned each song. They exuded vulnerability and control, representing each person who has ever experienced the struggle of finding one’s identity and space in the world. Each action was deliberate. It was mesmerizing to watch how they allowed each character to stand out and own their story, while showing solidarity and understanding that somehow, their story also weaved into their narrative.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:514px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747196083204WAKA by Kris Rocha 2.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo credit: Kris Rocha</span></span></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:514px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747196103243WAKA by Kyle Venturillo 2.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo credit: Kyle Venturillo</span></span></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:514px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747196120104WAKA by Myra Ho 4.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo credit: Myra Ho</span></span></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:514px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747196227804Yan Caringal 1_.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo credit: Yan Caringal</span></span></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:514px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747196313785WAKA by Yan Caringal 10_.jpg" style="width:600px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo credit: Yan Caringal</span></span></span></div><p>There are 19 songs in all, with a spoken word piece towards the end of the 90-minute production. The songs themselves have varied genres, mirroring the ups and downs of life. Each song presents a significant moment in time, yet not necessarily specific to any one character. Rather than following an individual’s story, the songs seems to be everyone’s story. Instead of playing specific characters, the actors present moments and emotions.</p><p>This, perhaps, is what makes <em>WAKA</em> powerful: how it can reach out, unassumingly and quite sneakily, towards each person in the audience and strike something deep within them. Not all the songs will hit you in the same way, some maybe not at all. Yet somehow, at a moment you least expect it, there’ll be a line or two that will pinch you and trigger a memory that matters.</p><p>Catch <em>We Aren’t Kids Anymore </em>by Barefoot Theater Collaborative, playing at Power Mac Spotlight Theater until May 25, 2025 only. It is directed by Ren Zamora, with musical direction by Myke Salomon and Farley Asuncion.</p>

<p>‘We Aren’t Kids Anymore’ is adulting in all its messiness. Staged by Barefoot Theater Collaborative, it is playing at the Power Mac Spotlight Theater from May 2 to 25, 2025. </p>

‘We Aren’t Kids Anymore’ is adulting in all its messiness. Staged by Barefoot Theater Collaborative, it is playing at the Power Mac Spotlight Theater from May 2 to 25, 2025.