Philippine Educational Theater Association’s announcement in October 2023 that it would be turning the iconic 2007 movie One More Chance into a musical featuring the songs of today’s foremost band, Ben&Ben, created so much buzz that tickets sold out fast and show dates were added. Early buyers did the right thing as tickets are now hard to come by and the show itself is worth the anticipation.

One More Chance, The Musical gives so much life, color and dimension to the movie’s story that revolves around protagonists Popoy and Basha, how their five-year relationship came to an end and how it affected them to become better versions of themselves.

There’s still the feeling of familiarity as the story unfolds on stage, only it’s updated and expanded to explore more its themes on relationships, self-worth and mental health. But there are a lot more comedic and entertaining scenes here, especially when Popoy and Basha get together with their Thursday Barkada, composed of Krizzy, Kenneth, Anj, Chinno and JP. The real scene-stealers, though, are Popoy’s Nanay Edith and Tatay Willie.

The credit primary goes to the palpably tight and complementary works of playwright Michelle Ngu-Nario and director Maribel Legarda, as well as to the incisive musical direction by Myke Solomon. How Solomon matched Ben&Ben’s songs to the scenes was truly commendable. Some of his song choices were expected, given their similarity to the scenes’ mood and tone, but many others came off totally surprising. Just the same, the outcome inspires humming or even singing along to the band’s hits, like “Kathang Isip,” “Pagtingin,” “Maybe The Night” and “Araw-Araw.”

Powerhouse cast

PETA has gathered some of the best musical actors for One More Chance, The Musical supporting the two main leads (Sam Concepcion and Anna Luna as Popoy and Basha on Press Night, held a day ahead of the 12 April opening). Raul Montesa and especially Neomi Gonzales brought the house down as Popoy’s Tatay Willie and Nanay Edith, who, after staying in Korea, come home to follow up on the construction of their dream home with Basha as the architect and Popoy as the engineer.

Then there’s the always delightful Via Antonio playing Anj and setting the pace for the rest of the Thursday Barkada — Poppert Bernadas as Kenneth, the blind husband of Krizzy (played by Rica Laguardia), Jon Abella as the secretly romantic JP and Johnnie Moran as the sensitive Chinno.

Sheena Belarmino plays Tricia, Popoy’s girlfriend post-Basha, with coolness that matches well with her strong vocals and soulful singing. Chez Cuenca’s characterization of Basha’s newfound friend Mark, who happens to be quite buff and hunky, doesn’t stray much from Derek Ramsay’s portrayal in the original movie. But he succeeds in bringing in more comedy to the role and his scenes.

Concepcion and Luna hold their own, particularly in their pivotal solos, though they tend to be overshadowed by their co-stars. They can work this out, perhaps even give more kilig to the audience, as the show continues its run until 30 June. The same goes for the execution of the set design as some of the props come off wobbly, unsightly and distracting. It’s interesting then to catch another performance with the other set of actors just to see the difference or maybe have a different experience.