Hang on tight: New musical weaves Parokya ni Edgar tracks into ‘acid trip’

Apart from the kilometric title of Full House Theater Company’s new musical now playing at Newport World Resorts, there are few hints of the craziness in store for viewers. “Buruguduystunstugudunstuy: Ang Parokya ni Edgar Musical” fits in 47 songs from the playbook of the popular Pinoy band composed of Chito Miranda, Gab Chee Kee, Darius Semana, Dindin Moreno, Vinci Montaner and Buwi Meneses.Fans of the Pinoy band who came in full force on opening night last Friday, however, were ready for a trip. After all, the band—formed in the mid-1990s when several of the members were still in high school—would go onstage and perform in dresses raided (OK, borrowed) from their mothers’ closets. I know this because I saw first-hand the shock on our mother’s face after she found out Gab was the one rooting through her clothes.

In a way, it’s only right that the leads in the new musical are all female. There’s a high school student, a matron, a scavenger and a lady guard who all share the same birthday and experience perhaps their strangest one yet.

Kyle Napuli (“A Little Princess,” “Matilda the Musical”) is Aiza, a high schooler who is bullied mercilessly; Tex Ordonez-De Leon (“Lam-Ang,” “Anak Datu”) is Norma, a middle-aged woman lamenting the end of her marriage; Marynor Madamesila (“Batangas Rizal,” “Rak of Aegis”) is Jen, a scavenger who dreams of a better life; and Natasha Cabrera (“Ang Huling El Bimbo the Musical,” “Lapu-Lapu: Ang Datu ng Mactan”) is Girlie, a mall guard unsure of what to do with hers.

Even with their differences in age and lots in life, none of them look forward to marking their birthday; it’s just another day to trudge through. That is, until they hear the beating of a drum that no one else around them can hear.

Like the Pied Piper, it leads them to an alternate universe—a Parokya-verse if you will—where each of them is given the chance to literally and figuratively transform themselves and face their demons whatever they may be.

It reminded one of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” (1900) that was made into the musical “The Wiz,” which had its Broadway debut in 1975. The original all-Black cast featured characters from the book including Dorothy who only wants to go home, the Cowardly Lion who dreams of being courageous, the Tin Man who desires a heart, and the Scarecrow who wants a brain. That musical would go on to win seven Tony awards that year, including one for best musical.

Inner adventure

Playwright Rody Vera (“Masa,” “Luna: Isang Romasang Aswang”) took a multiprong approach when he wrote “Buruguduystunstugudunstuy.” His first idea was to cast female leads and see how they would react to PnE songs. Second was how the entire production could be one long “acid” trip. Third was his idea to choose the multisyllabic title, a name the band came up with for their second album.

“Eventually, I began to understand that this fantastic and inexplicable journey was an inner adventure one just has to go through … That’s the risk I decided to take. Create a world where nothing seems to make sense, and yet, each of us begins to understand our way,” Vera wrote in the show’s notes.

This becomes pretty apparent once the female leads are drawn into the Parokya-verse—through a portalet, get it?—where the colors and patterns seem brighter, the energy more frenetic, at some point even chaotic. Without giving too much away, the musical includes scenes that take place under the sea, in an enchanted forest and even in outer space. The last was a personal favorite because of the creativity of costume designer Raven Ong, who dressed his aliens in billowing silvery frocks made of scavenged materials. Look out for the one consisting of puffed-up plastic bags attached to the dress, giving it a slight Rei Kawakubo for Commes de Garçon vibe.

Kudos as well go to video production designer GA Fallarme, video projection designer Joyce Anne Garcia, lights designer Meliton Roxas Jr. and scenic designer Lawyn Cruz and her multilevel set complete with a scaffolding, ramps and risers.

I must confess to not being familiar with the band’s entire catalog, but then one doesn’t have to be proficient to appreciate their musicality.

Power and enigma

As director Dexter Santos (“Ang Huling El Bimbo the Musical,” “A Little Princess”) writes in the show notes, “This is the power and enigma of PnE songs … We have a Parokya song when we first fell in love or had our first heartbreak. For every kilig, sentihan, tawanan or kulitan, families, lovers, barkada and even strangers at the bar would all unite as they sing PnE songs.”

Musical director and arranger Ejay Yatco had his work cut out for him when it came to choosing songs that made it into the musical. He described his task as “daunting” and that sometimes his impostor syndrome would crop up.

“My main focus in arranging the music was storytelling,” Yatco said. “I had to adapt the songs to fit certain scenes and situations. I was faced with a very fantastical storyline involving multiverses, mermaids, aliens and aswang.”

The result, he said, is a musical that mixes different genres including rock, pop, funk, rap, country, Caribbean, Spanish, opera, salsa, techno and gospel.

“Buruguduystunstugudunstuy” runs close to three hours, including intermission, and might benefit from tighter editing, but fans that evening were profuse in their praise. The cast was given a standing ovation on opening night. It might have also been because all the members of Parokya in Edgar—Chito, Gab, Darius, Dindin, Vinci and Buwi—were present.

It’s truly been quite a trip from performing in their mothers’ dresses to having a brand-new musical in a story that incorporates close to 50 of their songs. “There is a serious lesson to be learned from these gentlemen about never outgrowing that sense of youthful fun and silliness,” said Kingson Sian, president and CEO of Newport World Resorts. INQ