MANILA — Just weeks after PETA’s original Filipino musical “Rak of Aegis” concluded its phenomenal fifth run, two new jukebox musicals have opened, hoping to become the next stage hit.

In the case of “Ako Si Josephine,” which opened at the PETA Center on Thursday, the original troika credited for the success of “Rak of Aegis” — director Maribel Legarda, playwright Liza Magtoto and musical director Myke Salomon — reunited to create another musical, this time inspired by the songs of young singer-composer Yeng Constantino.

In terms of story, “Ako Si Josephine” hews closer to PETA’s futuristic “3 Stars and a Sun” — and the Queen musical “We Will Rock You” — compared to the more topical concerns of “Rak.” Josephine works as a composer in the musical empire of Allegro, where only electronic dance music is allowed by the despotic Monotomia. Rebels are sent to the island of the Sintunados, including Josephine’s parents who raised her with kundiman music and love songs.

Josephine yearns to be able to make music that touches the heart and she finds inspiration from her immediate supervisor Chinito who, it turns out, also grew up in a similar household and whose parents were also exiled.

Together with some friends and co-workers, they set out to free the people from the mind-numbing rhythms of EDM through the power of love songs.

It’s a complicated plot, especially considering the light pop flavor of Constantino’s music. While the setup in Act 1, with the requisite kilig moments between the two lead characters, was well paced and entertaining, especially with the musical’s overall graphic novel design flavor and music video imagery, the revelation in Act 2 came abruptly and the conflict was messily resolved.

That said, “Ako Si Josephine” is primarily a celebration of Constantino’s 10 years in the entertainment business and in this aspect, it delivers. Even those who do not follow Constantino’s career closely will be taken by the melodic hooks of her simple pop songs and the relatable lyrics.

Salomon has the gift of reworking pop songs and making them sound like they were written for theater. It also says a lot that three of Constantino’s biggest hits — “Hawak Kamay,” “Salamat” and “Ikaw” — were not the musical’s showstoppers, although the three, particularly “Ikaw,” were crucial in the plot.

Instead, Salomon picked tunes like “Pag-ibig,” which he magically turned into a retro number as the characters recall their parents’ love stories, or “Sandata,” which was transformed into a dramatic number.

Then there is Via Antonio’s star-making performance in the title role. She not only captures the old-fashioned optimism of her character. Look and listen closely and you will see how she managed to imbue Constatino’s quirky qualities into her performance.

“Ako Si Josephine” may have been conceptualized as a tribute for Constantino but what emerged is a full-bodied original musical that should find an audience far beyond its core target of Yengsters.

DIRTY OLD MUSICAL

The other jukebox musical currently playing is “Dirty Old Musical” over at the Music Museum, which even features the same voiceover talent used in the funny house rules reminders of “Rak of Aegis,” including a similar warning about singing along.

The book by award-winning prolific playwright Rody Vera actually has a lot of promise: the members of a one-hit-wonder boy band in the ‘80s reunite more than 30 years later for a concert to raise funds for an ailing member. As with most plays and movies that deal with reunions, expect old tensions to be dug up. For the Bench Boys, that “unfinished business” dealt with the wife of one member who had an affair with another, which led the group to disband.

“Dirty Old Musical” also boasts of a star-studded cast with John Arcilla, Nonie Buencamino, Robert Seña, Michael Williams and Bo Cerrudo as the Bench Boys, with support from Ima Castro, Fred Lo and comedienne Kitkat.

It also got Salomon as musical director, and this time he had just about the entire OPM catalogue of that era to choose from.

And this is probably why “Dirty Old Musical” often feels like a theatrical version of the long-running “OPM Hitmakers” concert series, a night of music nostalgia for men and women of a certain age who probably have never heard of Yeng Constantino. How else do you explain the inclusion of a Hagibis medley?

The idea of one-hit wonders holds much promise and during promotional appearances, the cast would perform one such song: Wadab’s “Pag Tumatagal Lalong Tumitibay.”

But apart from that, the songs were pretty obvious and offer no real surprise. When they talk about their dreams in life, they launch into Basil Valdez’s “Nais Ko.” In the middle of a heated argument, someone sings Florante’s “Sana.” A discussion of health issues for men over 50 segues into Yoyoy Villame’s “Mag-exercise Tayo Tuwing Umaga.” Near the end, they become wistful and sing Raymond Lauchengco’s “Farewell.”

The appeal of “Rak of Aegis” lies in hearing familiar songs in an entirely different context. And this is what’s sorely missing in “Dirty Old Musical.”

“Ako Si Josephine” runs until October 9 at PETA Center, Quezon City, while “Dirty Old Musical” runs until September 10 at Music Museum, Greenhills.