Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical

Patrick Libao as Jose Rizal

I’m still at awe at how the Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF) and its roster of actors could keep up with such a grueling performance schedule of sometimes having five performances a day. After doing just that for many months during their previous production of Cory ng EDSA, a Filipino Musicale all over the country, the company gears for another monumental run with their newest offering, Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical. And I was once again very fortunate to see this musical production during their press preview performance at the St. Cecilia’s Hall at St. Scholastica’s College.

This musical, written and directed by PSF artistic director Atty. Vince Tañada tackles the story of national hero Jose Rizal and explores his human and vulnerable side rarely touched upon by textbooks. Again, Tañada juxtaposed Rizal, played by Patrick Libao with various characters from the current period acting as foils the life of the Philippines’ national hero. The characters in the present day are Vince Tañada as the playwright Joecas, Cindy Liper as the researcher Joanne, Jordan Ladra as the music director Hunter, Kierwin Larena as choreographer Bimbo, Adelle Ibarrientos as the costume designer Julia and Chin Ortega as the set designer Ambo. These characters were high school friends who met up once again after many years to create  a new musical about Jose Rizal upon Joecas and Joanne’s invitation. In the process of brainstorming, researching and conceptualizing for the musical, friendships are tested, unresolved issues resurface and old love rekindled. These scenes were presented alongside scenes of Rizal at the time when his romance with Josephine Bracken and the fate of the Philippines as well were at a major turning point.

The production of the musical in the story encounters a major hurdle when Joecas strives for artistic freedom and expression much to the chagrin of Joanne who is all for historical accuracy. This in turn made for the pivotal message of the entire play on what one is willing to give up in exchange for a higher ideal or principle. During the production of the musical, several points were raised about who Jose Rizal and Josephine Bracken really are. Questions further came to fore on what was really known about these two, about their actual relationship, about what they did and also in what they did not do. The conflict between Joecas and Joanne in the present time somehow paralleled the dilemma faced by Rizal and Josephine as Rizal had to choose between his love for country and his love for his woman.

One thing that Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical succeeded on was sparking interest in Rizal. Normally, people only know of him through what had been taught to them in school. But this knowledge is severely limited depending only on the textbook that was supplied and the teacher in charge of the subject. This production raised a lot of questions and possibly even courted some controversies especially on the depiction of Josephine Bracken.

On the other hand, there were some things in the production that left me cringing in my seat. I do understand that the core audience of PSF’s productions are students in their teens so there are scenes that were catered to them and their sensibilities. The jokes especially the ones laced with sexual innuendos felt juvenile for me. There were also some scenes that were placed to elicit laughter that I felt didn’t serve to move the plot or provide characterization. But these scenes proved to be a hit among the predominantly high school student audience during the performance that I viewed. So I guess that it's a case of me being too old for their sense of humor.

The cast of Joe: A Filipino Rock'sical

The writing process of Joe: A Filipino Rock’sical was also a major eye opener for me. It was only during the press conference after the show that I learned that the songs (lyrics by Tañada, music by Pipo Cifra) making up the production numbers were the first to be written even before the final script was made. I initially thought that this was just another exception in the company's creative process but I was mistaken since the previous production Cory ng EDSA also went through the same thing. With such a demanding performance schedule, coupled with an unconventional way of writing  musicals and still garnering numerous Awit Awards in the end, it’s truly no wonder that I am still at awe with the Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF), truly a David among the Goliaths in the Philippine theater scene.