Coming of Age—For Adults: ‘We Aren’t Kids Anymore’ Confronts the Highs and Lows of Growing Up
Growing up never really stops. This is the core of We Aren’t Kids Anymore, a song cycle musical by Drew Gasparini that Barefoot Theatre Collaborative is bringing to Manila audiences. Featuring Gab Pangilinan, Maronne Cruz, Gio Gahol, Luigi Quesada, and Myke Salomon, with covers Katrine Sunga and Angelo Lantaco, the production takes an honest look at adulthood and the transitions we make along the way.
Movement director Jomelle Era sums it up best: “We all grow up. It’s inevitable. So everybody who’s going through different stages of life will really relate to this material.”
At its heart, We Aren’t Kids Anymore follows five characters—each representing a different facet of Gasparini himself—as they navigate the highs and lows of adulthood. “It’s one person, but the five of us represent different parts of the same person,” explains Pangilinan. “But at the same time, because it’s so specific to adulthood, we could be representing anyone, and everyone, and ourselves.”
Crafting a Story from a Song Cycle
Unlike a traditional book musical, We Aren’t Kids Anymore is a song cycle, meaning the songs drive the narrative rather than a linear plot. This posed an exciting challenge for the creative team. Director Rem Zamora recalls, “The challenge was, how do you make sense? How do you thread? But I knew right away that no, this is not a concert. It needs to move, it needs to breathe. We need to thread the beginning and end of it, and you can’t do that by just standing and singing.”
For Musical Director Farley Asuncion, transforming Gasparini’s music into a cohesive theatrical experience was key. “If you listen to the cast album, it’s very radio-friendly. But how we treated this material and turned it into a theatrical piece—it’s not just embellished and pretty. We focus more on the text and the storytelling. So what you hear on the cast album is going to be so different from how this is going to be presented as a theatrical piece.”
Pangilinan adds, “It’s kind of autobiographical because he wrote those songs about different stages of his life. Song cycle siya, so that’s why it feels like, baka walang narrative. But it’s really about one person going through life.”
The Emotional Weight of Growing Up
For the actors and creative team, this production demands a level of emotional vulnerability unlike any other. “It’s very raw,” says Zamora. “We hope it hits you in a very raw place because that’s kind of where it’s hitting us.”
Cruz, who recently starred in Othello alongside Pangilinan, finds this show even more emotionally demanding. “You know what? Just coming from a personal level, I come out of this more emotionally exhausted than Othello because it’s so personal.”
View this post on Instagram
Pangilinan agrees: “I’ve never been as emotionally exhausted as in any other show because in other shows, we’re putting on characters. In this one, we don’t have a choice but to be ourselves with the character.”
Salomon, who starred in The Last Five Years and Mula sa Buwan with Pangilinan, echoes her sentiment: “Sabi ko nga kay Gab, ito iyung pinakamahirap na gagawin naming musical. Harder than The Last Five Years, because it’s just us. We’re not hiding under the name of whatever character. Wala tayong mask dito. It’s just us. Bare. Exposed.”
When asked who the show will resonate with, Pangilinan says, “Anybody going through a transition phase. It was written by somebody in his late 30s, but it would speak to people in their 20s, 30s, and really just anybody who feels like things are changing because it’s about life.”
Sunga shares, “Simply, it’s about growth, so I’m sure that everyone will relate to it in that sense. We were kids once, and now we’re here. Whether or not we’re in a good place, we have to go on.”
“Or iyung nagt-transition ka, not even about coming of age eh, but a certain phase in your life that you’re going through change,” Lantaco adds. “It’s either there’s growth, or you regress. Lahat tayo may ganoon.”
The Universality of Change
While the musical is told from an artist’s perspective, its themes resonate beyond the creative world. “It’s just from the perspective of an artist, but the themes are definitely universal,” says Cruz. She cites the group number What the Hell Am I Doing with My Life?, adding, “I think everyone asks themselves that constantly.”
Salomon, who also serves as co-musical director and co-producer, was the first to discover Gasparini’s music when the studio cast recording came out in 2020. He recalls his instant emotional connection: “I saw a Drew Gasparini post on IG, and then I just searched it on Spotify. I thought the first song was a bop. Bop, bop, bop. And then I skipped to Danny & Andrew—first line pa lang, umiiyak na ako.”
“I thought, ‘Who the F is this?!’ And then from there, rabbit hole na kay Drew Gasparini,” Salomon continues. “It’s so refreshing to hear those words. Sobrang open ‘nung songs. Sobrang specific na very vivid siya. When you hear it, you see the staging, you see the scene, the scenario. Ang sarap lang. It was a dream, na sana magawa namin ito. Tapos ayun, nandito na kami in 2025.”
Quesada notes that coming-of-age stories often focus on teens becoming adults, but this show offers something different. “I think we’re so used to media and theater that when we watch a coming-of-age film or show, it’s always from teens to adulthood. But never about the age bracket We Aren’t Kids Anymore goes through.”
Introducing New Work to Barefoot’s Audience
Gahol, who is usually involved in creating original Filipino work, makes his English musical debut with this production. “This is similar in a way because it’s never been staged,” he says. “I like building things from the ground up, so ang saya nito for me.”
Pangilinan, who is also a co-producer, shares that the team is passionate about introducing new work. “The usual trend, when an international musical is brought in, it’s usually the known ones because those are easier to sell technically. But I think there’s so much value in introducing new work. Kahit na hindi siya Filipino, but it will still speak to an audience the same way.”
“Nakakilig din to kind of create with the creator, to start something new with the creator and to see how it evolves pa through the years.”
The full creative team includes Rem Zamora (Director), Myke Salomon and Farley Asuncion (Musical Directors), Jomelle Era (Movement Director), Joey Mendoza (Production Designer), Hershee Tantiado (Associate Costume Designer), and D Cortezano (Lighting Designer and Technical Director).
We Aren’t Kids Anymore will run from May 2 to 25, 2025, at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Circuit Makati.
Comments