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Theater review: 'Ang Huling El Bimbo' still packs 'em in

Article (news)

Leah C. Salterio

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=": A scene from " Ang="" Huling="" El="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/05/05/aheb-1.jpg"/><figcaption>:A scene from &#x27;Ang Huling El Bimbo.&#x27; Handout </figcaption></figure></div>The Eraserheads has been embraced by generations of OPM fans, and their music, from the time they were introduced to the public three decades ago, remains marketable.In 2018, when the band&#x27;s songs were turned into the well-received musical “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” a new generation of music fans got to know and love the group’s songs.And thanks to Full House Theater Company, the musical is being restaged until July this year.Prior to this new run, “Ang Huling El Bimbo” has played to 151,377 viewers to date, with 115 successful shows onstage. During the pandemic in 2020, the musical was streamed to viewers worldwide and raised P12 million in donations for the ABS-CBN Foundation.From the start, the audience was given a trigger warning that the musical had sensitive themes and strong language. Set in the early &#x27;90s, the time the Eraserheads rose into prominence, the musical weaves a touching story with the familiar hits of the Eraserheads taking the viewers on a three-hour nostalgia trip.The stage, designed by Gino Gonzales, showed fractured sheets of yellow pad onstage that form places with vivid memories of 1990s, while a series of broken frames on the upper part of the stage allude to “splintered relationships and shattered lives.” Told in a series of flashback, “Ang Huling El Bimbo” tells the story of three male friends – Emman, Anthony and Hector (played respectively by Paw Castillo, Topper Fabregas and Anthony Rosaldo) – who started bonding when they became dorm-mates at the State University.Audiences who graduated from UP can easily and happily relate to “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” with many references made to the Iskolar ng Bayan, from the rallies to the class cards to familiar tambayan places, like the shopping center.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" A scene from " Ang="" Huling="" El="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/05/05/aheb-2.jpg"/><figcaption>A scene from &#x27;Ang Huling El Bimbo.&#x27; Handout </figcaption></figure></div>The friends’ hangout is Toyang’s, an eatery owned by Tiya Dely (played by Sheila Francisco), where they meet and become friends with Joy (Gab Pangilinan).The adult counterparts of the three friends were OJ Mariano (Bullet Dumas in other performances), Niño Alejandro and Gian Magdangal, while the adult Joy was played Katrine Sunga.Alejandro was a new addition to the cast, replacing Jon Santos, who acted pre-pandemic.In the first act alone, musical director Myke Salomon beautifully weaved familiar hits like “Alapaap,” “Toyang,” “Tindahan ni Aling Nena,” “Ligaya,” “Pare Ko,” “Shirley” and “Overdrive” into the narrative.“Pare Ko” was sung in a drill, with the boys taking orders from their sergeant Arturo Banlaoi (Jamie Wilson), who later becomes a corrupt councilor.The car used by the four friends in a joy ride to Antipolo has become an iconic image of the musical. The four friends standing on top of the car’s roof graced the back cover of the souvenir program.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A scene from " Ang="" Huling="" El="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/05/05/aheb-3.jpg"/><figcaption>A scene from &#x27;Ang Huling El Bimbo.&#x27; Handout </figcaption></figure></div>The Lancer box-type sedan was displayed at the second floor of Newport World Resorts and people were lining up just to have their shots taken.Many audience members who trekked to the theater were perhaps repeat viewers of “Ang Huling El Bimbo.” People came flocking and filled the theater to the brim anew. No wonder, restaurants at Newport World Resorts were understandably packed and had a long waiting list, especially on a Sunday after the matinee performance.“El Bimbo is killing us, but in a good way,” smilingly lamented Morisco Gaitano, the Italian manager of Parmigiano Ristorante Pizzeria.“Ang Huling El Bimbo” was admirably written by playwright Dingdong Novenario, with Dexter Martinez Santos at the helm.When Hector (Magdangal) crooned the familiar line, “Kamukha mo si Paraluman…” as an ode to Joy, the audience was heartbroken.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" A scene from " Ang="" Huling="" El="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/05/05/aheb-4.jpg"/><figcaption>A scene from &#x27;Ang Huling El Bimbo.&#x27; Handout </figcaption></figure></div>The Eraserheads&#x27; songs amazingly gave life to this musical that will be remembered this time by generations of theater fans.

In 2018, when the Eraserheads' songs were turned into the well-received musical “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” a new generation of music fans got to know and love the group’s songs.