‘Gregoria Lakambini’: The First P-pop Musical
Tanghalang Pilipino is marking its 39th theater season with three historical musicals—two restagings (Pingkian: Isang Musikal and Mabining Mandirigma: A Steampunk Musical) and an original production debuting this November.
Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical is written by Nicanor Tiongson, who also penned the book and lyrics for Mabining Mandirigma and Aurelio Sedisyoso, the latter based on the life of playwright Aurelio Tolentino.
“Musical siya originally pero hindi P-pop,” Tiongson says of the early version. “Actually, this is supposed to be the third of the trilogy na sinulat ko on the revolution. So iyung nauna was Mabini[ng Mandirigma], which is the second phase of the revolution, then sumunod iyung Aurelio Sedisyoso, which is the third phase. Ito iyung unang phase, si Gregoria. It was originally supposed to be in the same type of musical mold ‘nung dalawa, pero I think brilliant iyung idea ni Marco na gawing P-pop.”
The idea to turn the piece into a P-pop musical came from Tanghalang Pilipino’s associate artistic director, Marco Viaña.
“Iyung naging hamon namin doon sa artistic team, paano ito naiiba sa ibang mga historical musicals ng Tanghalang Pilipino? Paano rin maiiba kung paano nailalahad ang kuwento ni Gregoria de Jesus sa iba pang mga pagtatanghal ng kuwento niya mapaanupang medium? So naisip namin, ano ba iyung pinakamakaka-connect iyung mga manonood lalo na iyung mga kabataan ngayon at parang nagsisimbolo rin ng kapangyarihan ng kababaihan.”
Viaña shares that the idea started to take shape while they were working on Balete last year.
“Sobrang naka-connect kami sa BINI, so sinubukan muna habang ginagawa namin iyung Balete, nagtatanim ako ng seeds na, ‘Anong gusto niyong warm-up music? Ahh try natin BINI!’ Tapos nag-resonate siya sa aming mga actors, kahit kay sir Nonie Buencamino, kay Delphine [Buencamino] na choreographer ‘nung time na iyun. So sabi namin, iyung boses ng BINI as a girl group ay nagt-transcend sa mga manonood. So naisip namin, what if iyung ganoong genre ng music iyung gamitin nating medium sa paglalahad ng boses ni Gregoria de Jesus?”
The Marriage of Pop and Musical Theater
Bringing the musical’s pop-powered score to life is hitmaker Nica del Rosario, together with her longtime collaborator Matthew Chang. Del Rosario, known for chart-topping anthems like Rosas, Tala, and Karera, makes her stage debut here as a musical theater composer. Chang, a singer-songwriter with experience in both pop and theater, previously served as composer, co-lyricist and musical director for the musical Dekada ‘70 and musical director for Ateneo blueREP’s Legally Blonde: The Musical.
“Ako personally, pangarap ko talaga magsulat for a stage musical, tapos sabi pa ni [Marco], ‘You’re doing it with Matti [Matthew Chang]’, my work wife, so we got super excited,” shares del Rosario. “In-invite kami ni Marco to write for the musical tapos in-explain niya na it’s a P-pop musical, tapos parang girl group, tungkol sa buhay ni Gregoria de Jesus.”
“It’s really a blessing and a one of a kind experience to have that [working relationship with Nica], so for me to have this experience with her, to be able to work with her again, tapos P-pop pa! Ang sarap ‘nung language,” says Chang.
Asked whether their different backgrounds helped the creative process, del Rosario notes:
“Actually oo kasi wala pa akong experience of writing for musicals tapos si Matti naging musical director na for many shows. So parang we blend our styles because my experience is mostly from mainstream pop talaga.”
She adds, “It’s not that different kumbaga, kasi iyun naman iyung hinihingi nila Marco, iyung it has to be P-pop sounding, tapos siguro may flavor din of theater.”
“Parang kami iyung nagba-balance with each other’s flavor,” says Chang. “Pareho kaming language when it comes to storytelling… papaano natin siya ica-cater sa entablado, at the same time, iyung language na gagamitin natin ay madaling maiintindihan at maa-absorb ng ating manonood, at the same time, ma-introduce natin sa kanila iyung ating kasaysayan.”
“We’re looking for a way to engage the audience right away, tapos paano namin mahahatid sa kanila iyung tamang messaging.”
Another key creative is choreographer Jan Matthew Almodovar, who has been working with BINI since 2019. He will choreograph the show alongside director Delphine Buencamino.
A Structure Shaped by Her Words
Tiongson explains that the structure of the show was directly inspired by Gregoria de Jesus herself.
“…parang nag-cooperate naman si Gregoria kasi binigyan niya kaagad kami ng structure para doon sa play. Diba si Mabini may 10 commandments niya. Meron din si Jacinto, meron din si Bonifacio. Alam niyo ba si Gregoria meron din? Pero hindi iyun iyung dekalogo na parang on the philosophy of the revolution, etc. Ang tawag niya dito, ay ‘Mga Aral.’
He shares that the ten lessons she wrote became the basis for the show’s ten scenes: “Ibig sabihin, merong pinanggalingan ‘nung pangyayari sa buhay niya. So dinugtong ko iyun, at totoo nga, meron—not necessarily in the order which she wrote the decalogue—but lahat ng insights na sinasabi niyang aral, merong mga key scenes sa buhay niya na maiintindihan mo kung bakit nagkaroon ng ganung aral.”
He adds that the original tone mirrored that of Mabining Mandirigma’s. “Siyempre, iyung unang language was as serious as Mabining Mandirigma, which is not P-pop. So Eljay Deldoc (his co-playwright) came in and did wonders with it. May pulso talaga siya sa contemporary audience.”
Tiongson continues, “It was difficult to create because, alam mo iyung heroism, malinaw iyun doon sa first part, kasi kasama siya ni Bonifacio. Lumaban talaga siya. Second part, she was a housewife, so nasaan iyung kabayanihan doon? Iyun iyung naging challenge, and I realized, raising a family, was required; a certain kind of heroism also. It’s a heroism that I think many women are not recognized for. Just to raise a family with the right values is true heroism, especially in her time.”
Giving the Lakambini Her Stage
Marynor Madamesila stars in the titular role, joined by members of the Tanghalang Pilipino Actors Company—Sarah Monay, Heart Puyong, Anya Evangelista, Ynna Rafa, Sofia Sacaguing, and Murline Uddin—who will also take on multiple ensemble roles, including that of Andres Bonifacio.
“Definitely may Bonifacio. Hindi mo pwede ikuwento iyung storya ni Gregoria nang walang Bonifacio,” says Tiongson. “Pero ginawa namin, kasi doon sa mga accounts, palaging Gregoria in relation to what happened to Bonifacio. So we tried to put her at center.”
He offers a concrete example:
“Halimbawa doon sa Tejeros Convention, kinukuwento iyun from her point of view, at nakikialam siya, nagco-comment siya doon sa nangyayari doon sa Tejeros.”
Also part of the creative team are Mark Lorenz as set designer, Marco Viaña as costume designer, Earvin Estioco as lighting designer, JM Jimenez as projection designer, Sabrina Basilio as dramaturg, and D Cortezano as technical director.
Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical runs Fridays to Sundays from November 14 to December 14 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez.
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