Review: ‘'Bagets, the Musical’'

Bagets was a movie about five boys — Tonton (William Martinez), Topee (JC Bonnin), Gilbert (Herbert Bautista), Arnel (Raymond Lauchengco) and Adie (Aga Muhlach) — who came from lower and middle-class families and backgrounds. They were a barkadahan of teenagers who experienced rude awakenings and life lessons when they transferred to a public school.

The Jake Tordesillas-written and Maryo J. de los Reyes-directed film was a mammoth box-office hit in 1984. It launched the careers of these young actors, especially Muhlach, Lauchengco and Bautista. After its cinema run, teen fashion staples and wearables were heavily inspired by Bagets.

Proof of its immense popularity, it spawned an immediate sequel (also in 1984), reached iconic stature with a television remake (2011–2012), celebrated its 25th anniversary, and earned acknowledgment as the standard by which coming-of-age, teen brotherhood films are measured.

When news broke of Bagets having a musical theater adaptation, I wondered if they could truly bring the feels, magic and nostalgia of the movie to the stage — and if it could really flesh out the illusions and realities of Generation X.

Promising

Bankrolled by Newport World Resorts with Viva Communications, staged by PETA Plus and directed by Maribel Legarda, the production featured Vince Lim (musical director), Hershee Tantiado (costume designer), Ohm David (production designer), JM Cabling (choreographer) and a script by J-mee Katanyag.

If you are familiar with the film (it is available on YouTube), the musical followed the original storyline faithfully. From the exclusive school expulsion and transfer to a new school for the protagonists’ senior year, the joyrides and trip to Baguio, the naughtiness and hormone-triggered “boys being boys,” to the Ilocano-speaking family of Tonton and the Hiligaynon-speaking family of Topee — all were left intact. A nice touch was that some of the movie’s catchy lines made it to the musical.

What was given more weight were the relationships of the boys with their mahjong-playing mothers: Delia (Kakai Bautista), Tonton’s mother; film actress Ana (Neomi Gonzalez), Topee’s mother; Luz (Ring Antonio), Gilbert’s housewife mother with a buy-and-sell sideline; socialite Ditas (Mayen Cadd), Arnel’s mother; and Virgie (Carla Guevara-Laforteza), the forever deadline-chasing writer and Adie’s mother. As expected, these ladies slayed their respective parts with glorious voices fit and perfect for musical theater.

Interesting was how musical director Vince Lim made use of hits from the original film soundtrack and 1980s anthems such as Sheena Easton’s “Telefone,” JoBoxers’ “Just Got Lucky,” A-ha’s “Take On Me,” Madness’ “Our House” and Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.” These were tweaked with Filipino lines, giving them a Taglish flair. Praiseworthy as well were Ohm David’s sets, which moved around seamlessly, handled with precision by hardworking stage crew members. Each moving set was an attraction in itself, transforming into rooms, homes, a disco and even a massage parlor.

The leads during the 29 January evening performance were Milo Cruz as Tonton, Jeff Moses as Topee, Tomas Rodriguez as Gilbert, KD Estrada as Arnel and Andres Muhlach as Adie.

Most impressive were Moses and Estrada, who were already locked into their characters, with clear singing voices, crystal diction and strong stage presence. These two young gentlemen are ready for more lead roles in musical theater. As for Muhlach, he gave Adie an earnest take, and his singing-with-attitude suited the role well.

What made me wonder

The big production numbers in Act 1 happened furiously — spectacular in every way, yet exhausting and energy-depleting. They did not allow the audience to breathe. Why they did not receive electric, instantaneous applause from the gala night viewers is something I cannot answer. These numbers must be scaled down, if not scrapped altogether. Frankly, they did not contribute to highlighting nostalgia or delivering the much-needed feels.

Highlighting the mother-and-son relationship was commendable. However, the creative decision to present the fathers (all portrayed by one actor) as cold, detached and uncaring — with one father overly submissive — was not my cup of tea. I am all for maternal and women empowerment, but not at the expense of men.

The decision to strike out the Christine character (played by Chanda Romero in the film) was one of the writer’s biggest sins. Christine was integral to the emotional development and maturity of Jeff Moses’ Topee. Without her, Moses’ role became underwritten and underwhelming.

The actress who played Baby Delgado’s Ivy escapes me now, but she was totally miscast. The rest of the actresses playing the love interests of Tonton, Arnel and Gilbert also lacked onstage chemistry with Milo, KD and Tomas.

For a musical theater production, it made me wonder why no new songs were created. The production had the means and resources to spend on sets, props, costumes, technical aspects and to pay licenses and royalties to rehash 1980s anthems, yet scrimped on composing original songs — songs audiences could remember, bring home, sing and forever associate with Bagets: The Musical. What a wasted opportunity. A successful musical usually has at least a couple of songs remembered and sung by its adoring public.

Also, “Loving You,” the romantic song composed by Gerry Paraiso and interpreted by Ric Segreto (†), was a cringe-worthy choice to depict the “all is well that ends well” resolution of the mothers-and-sons drama.

For its focus on mother-and-son relationships, the legacy casting of Andres Muhlach, and its commitment to presenting the best years of Generation X on stage, Bagets: The Musical and its creative and production team deserve a “there, there” tap on the back — worth people’s time and hard-earned money. Hey, you did good, but it can be better.