Vlad Bunoan

Vic Robinson leads the cast of Tanghalang Pilipino's 'Pingkian.'

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Jeeves De Veyra

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758195728936DSC04013.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Vic Robinson (center) leads the cast of Tanghalang Pilipino&#x27;s &#x27;Pingkian.&#x27; Justin Santiago</div>Tanghalang Pilipino opened its 39th season with the restaging of ”Pingkian: Isang Musikal,” a stirring tribute to revolutionary hero Emilio Jacinto that resonates more powerfully when experienced live onstage.The first time I encountered “Pingkian” was through a free stream back in May 2024. It was just okay — I liked the music, but I didn’t quite connect with it or fully understand <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/2024/3/7/theater-review-pingkian-is-a-shoo-in-for-awards-next-year-1704">the raves it was getting from the local theaterati.</a>But now that I’ve seen it live, I get it.&quot;Pingkian: Isang Musikal&quot; is meant to be experienced up close and personal and seen with a wider angle. This is history told through electric guitar and rap. There will be the expected comparisons to “Hamilton,” but I daresay that “Pingkian” is its own thing.“Pingkian” is the nom de guerre of Emilio Jacinto. As the “Brains of the Katipunan,” it was an apt nickname as his incendiary writing was the flint that sparked the fight for Philippine independence.  Going into the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, one is presented with a bare stage with seeming scraps of burlap adorning the walls. “Pingkian” is executed as a theater-in-the-round performance where the audience is seated around the stage. I’d advise to come early as there are no reserved seats. <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758195933477DSC04028.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Vic Robinson (left) leads the cast of Tanghalang Pilipino&#x27;s &#x27;Pingkian.&#x27; Justin SantiagoProps to director Jenny Jamora for ensuring that the action on stage can be appreciated from any angle and keeping the play moving with snappy scene transitions peppering the musical’s serious tone with bits of humor, romance, and even flights of fantasy.</div>The moment the electric guitar turns the sound system up to 11, there is a defiantly hopeful spirit that permeates throughout the theater. The musical proper starts with the young General Jacinto at the Battle of Maimpis. The “Do You Hear the People Sing” moment is right up in the beginning. From the side, the staging felt even more powerful than when viewed head-on — especially during the rallying cry that the fight isn’t finished until nothing is left to give, until no breath remains to spare.”Jacinto is seriously wounded and captured by the Spanish. Our hero drifts between lucidity trying to outwit his Spanish captors, and delirium, where his past, present and future intertwine through dreams and flashbacks.Seeing the whole stage populated with people scurrying about with those burlap scraps turned projector screens helpfully indicating where we were in the story was the big difference with seeing this on a smaller screen. Lighting was a major component whether it’s a busy stage with the whole cast doing their thing or a single spot shrinking the stage to focus on two people having their moment.Even in an intimate setting, I appreciated the use of microphones making Juan Ekis’ approachable Filipino clearly heard and understood, even when the words were coming in explosively fast.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758195998059DSC03993.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Vic Robinson as Emilio Jacinto in Tanghalang Pilipino&#x27;s &#x27;Pingkian.&#x27; Justin SantiagoVic Robinson makes for a dapper leading man. This IS Vic Robinson after all, so hitting all those notes with power is to be expected. He imbues his Pingkian with guile and the necessary eloquence fitting of the intellectual giant he’s portraying. Playing his foil are two different Gab Pangilinans — as the traitor Florencio Reyes with all that venom dripping off her, and with much love and warmth as Catalina de Jesus, Jacinto’s wife.</div>Playing opposite Robinson is Paw Castillo’s Andres Bonifacio. There is a kinship between the two where they push the other to greater heights and cover each other’s backs. Isyo, played by Joshua Cadeliña, is a wide-eyed mentee who is instrumental in Jacinto&#x27;s rescue. He closes the play with a poignant recap of Jacinto&#x27;s legacy.Having Kakki Teodoro play Jose Rizal was a curious choice. The balagtasan/rap battle during Jacinto’s fictional chess game was an apt display of the two heroes’ prowess with words and intellect. But then, in the following conversation, Teodoro gives her Rizal a tenderness that I thought might not have landed the same way if it was a male actor. Teodoro is a haunting figure as she stays in the tunnels with just a lantern keeping watch over Jacinto after their scene.Personally, I’d say “Pingkian: Isang Musikal” is the best Filipino historical work of theater set to music. Everything  just comes together — Juan Ekis’ eloquent yet accessible prose, Ejay Yatco’s contemporary score, Jenny Jamora’s assured direction, inventive staging, and the sheer talent filling the stage. I&#x27;m hoping they shoot an enhanced version for streaming that does justice to the staging. “Pingkian” deserves to be seen and savored by a lot more people, particularly in these times.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758196060937DSC04076.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>The cast of Tanghalang Pilipino&#x27;s &#x27;Pingkian.&#x27; Justin SantiagoMuch can be said about the messy process of nation-building that Jacinto and Bonifacio endured, including the lack of transparency in handling the revolution’s funds.”</div>After leaving the theater, it certainly has inspired me to look for the Kartilya and Jacinto’s other literary works. At least, the cast recording is available on Spotify to relive the fiery moments.“Pingkian: Isang Musikal” has long been on Tanghalang Pilipino’s calendar, but given current events, its timing feels almost uncanny — a spark cutting through the murky web of government spending.Democracy dies in darkness. And just as &quot;Pingkian: Isang Musikal” shines brightest when the stage is bathed in light, its recurring theme — that the fight must go on as long as one has something left to give, as long as one can still breathe — serves as a call to seek our own spark, a light powerful enough to pierce the darkness.<div> </div><div>“Pingkian: Isang Musikal” runs until October 12 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez, CCP Complex, Pasay City.</div>

Set to a contemporary score and staged with inventive flair, Tanghalang Pilipino’s ‘Pingkian: Isang Musikal’ captures both the brilliance and the struggles of the Katipunan, reminding audiences that the fight for light amid darkness is never over.

Set to a contemporary score and staged with inventive flair, Tanghalang Pilipino’s ‘Pingkian: Isang Musikal’ captures both the brilliance and the struggles of the Katipunan, reminding audiences that the fight for light amid darkness is never over.

Theater review: Spark of revolution still flickers in ‘Pingkian: Isang Musikal’

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Theater review: Spark of revolution still flickers in ‘Pingkian: Isang Musikal’

Jeeves De Veyra

Published Sep 19, 2025 02:22 PM PHT

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theater review

Tanghalang Pilipino

Pingkian

Vic Robinson

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