Photo / Barefoot Theatre Collaborative
Bar Boys: A New Musical started with an email.
In Pat Valera’s director’s notes during the musical’s first run this May, he said, “‘Di ko kilala si Kip [Oebanda, the director of the film the musical is based on], pero nagtapang akong i-message siya. Kalauna’y nagkita kami. At parang first time na haharap sa tatay ng nobyo, I stated my intentions: ‘I want to turn Bar Boys into a musical. Hindi ko alam kung paano pero paghuhusayan ko dahil mahal ko ang materyal na ‘to.'”
Bar Boys follows a group of friends who try their luck in law school. The film was an entry at the 2017 Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino and received rave reviews. Director Erik Matti called it a movie that “does not get made anymore in this day and age.”
Valera said, “With Bar Boys, sinasabi nila, ‘Nako, pang lawyer lang ‘to.’ That’s not true. Pinagdadaanan natin lahat ‘yon, magaaral tayo para maging marangal, mabait na tao, makatulong. And then you’re confronted with a system and a reality that doesn’t really reflect your ideals.”
He and his co-director, Mikko Angeles, have built a body of work with important social themes.
Photo / May Celeste from the May 2024 run of Bar Boys: A New Musical
Valera has directed a musical adaptation of Lualhati Bautista’s novel Dekada ’70, which portrays the lives of the Bartolome family during martial law. Meanwhile, Angeles was the assistant director of Grace, a play exploring power, obedience, faith, and misogyny in the Catholic church. Both have directed Mula sa Buwan (Valera also serves as the playwright), a musical about love and defiance in 1940s Manila.
“Ito ‘yong nasa buto’t balat namin. For us, theatre is about life. It’s about living and hindi namin matanggal ‘yong mga naisabuhay namin to reflect it and let it breathe on that stage. We choose this method of storytelling because it’s needed,” Valera said.
Angeles added, “Ito ‘yong pinakaalam naming paraan para baguhin ‘yong takbo ng mundo. Kasi kung magsi-stick ka sa status quo, bakit ka pa magkukwento? It’s not about telling it for entertainment purposes but rather, papaano natin maihahatid ang kuwento para doon sa mga kuwentong hindi naririnig at sa mga hindi nakakarinig?”
Bar Boys: from movie to stage
“Makapal mukha ko, kahit hindi ko kilala, ime-message ko,” joked Valera. He also revealed that that’s how the musical adaptation of Dekada ‘70 came to be. He sent Bautista an email.
“When I asked Kip for the rights, ang hiningi ko ay full creative liberty. But at the same time, nandoon pa rin siya to check and give advice.”
Bar Boys: A New Musical began with the text, followed by musical direction from Myke Salomon. Valera wrote the lyrics, and Salomon edited them.
Bar Boys marks Salomon’s first original work, following a career-high marked by musical direction and arrangement of jukebox musicals like Rak of Aegis, Ang Huling El Bimbo, and One More Chance.
For him, working on an original is easier than a jukebox musical, which features the songs of a popular music group or genre. Salomon said, “‘Pag jukebox, you get boxed in with rules. Marami siyang limitations. Ang maganda sa original, you get to do your own cartography. You get to explore that vast, unexplored desert.”
When asked about his songwriting process, Salomon joked, “May sifter ako. Nilagay ko lahat ng lyrics. Tapos nire-refine namin kung ano ‘yong essentials.”
Photo / Jaypee Maristaza from the May 2024 run of Bar Boys: A New Musical
Then comes the police, as Angeles joked. He said, “Bago magkaroon ng katawan, may pulis muna. May sinulat, may sinala, guluhin natin. Exciting ang original work kasi ang daming posibilidad. Kung ano ang sinulat ni Pat at nilapatan ng music ni Myke, paano kung iba? Not just for the sake of doing it but rather kung ano ‘yong purpose ng kuwento. Paano ito ita-translate sa stage?”
As the show’s movement designer, Jomelle Era plays a vital role in translating the story to the stage. She has previously worked on beloved musicals such as Dekada ’70 and Pingkian.
“Ang nag-matter dito ay kung ano ‘yong binibigay ng actors sa akin. From there, ‘yon ‘yong shine-shape ko. Para siyang pottery, sila ‘yong clay.”
In describing her directing process, Era said, “Mahilig ako sa maliliit na galaw. Lagi ko ngang sinasabi sa actors, ‘Pati ‘yong mata, sumasayaw ‘yan. Pati ‘yong likod ng tainga, gumagalaw ‘yan.’ Ultimo step, pagpikit, pagdilat.”
Photo / Barefoot Theatre Collaborative
Creating a new, original musical may sound tedious to an outsider, but it looks fun when you watch the creative team’s chemistry. Even after a long day of rehearsals, Valera, Angeles, Salomon, and Era were generous with their time, answers, and even jokes. Make no mistake, making Bar Boys was challenging.
Valera said their primary hurdle was time, especially during their debut run in May. However, he mentioned that this allowed them to be humble and purposeful, like doing a small run before envisioning bigger possibilities.
“It’s challenging but fruitful. Kahit na we don’t often see each other eye to eye noong proseso. Ang sarap na nag-negotiate, nag-converse, nagtagpo, at ito siya. Now, we have the opportunity to rediscover, relearn, and do it all over again,” Angeles said.
Bar Boys: A New Musical runs for a limited five weeks, from October 4 to November 3, 2024, at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater, Circuit Makati.
Tickets to all show dates are now available on Ticket2Me at bit.ly/barboystickets.
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