‘Ibarra…Ngayon’ was staged at the GSIS Theater June 18 and 19, 2026. There are plans for a restaging in July or August.
In live theater performances abroad, it’s customary for the audience to greet the stage entrance of the star with rousing applause. Filipino audiences rarely do this.
At times, however, this theater custom could post a problem, like when a legendary star like Bette Davis was involved. In 1961, she starred in Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana on Broadway. It was reported that every evening when she made her first entrance, the ovation would be so thunderous and prolonged. The show had to pause until the applause died down. Momentum was lost, which was said to have annoyed the rest of the cast.
As a long-time theatergoer here, I’ve witnessed such welcome applause only twice. First was when Lou Veloso in 2006 starred in the musical Mapaghimalang Birhen ng Caysasay at FEU Theater. Much of the audience was composed of students, who were thrilled to see him onstage.
Second, 20 years later, this June, Derrick Monasterio was greeted with cheers as he entered the stage of the GSIS Theater. He played Crisostomo Ibarra in Ibarra…Ngayon, the musical based on Dr. Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. Looking so tall and debonair in his late19th-century suit, Derrick left the audience starstruck. He had stage presence and he sang well. He hit the high notes effortlessly.
At around this time three years ago, we watched Piolo Pascual play the same role in the same venue (it was Dr. Rizal’s birthday week, after all). It would be unfair to compare the two actors. But Piolo and Derrick, at a certain point in the show, take off their shirts. Fitness experts who’ve seen the two versions of the play will probably compare. Piolo’s ripped body was leaner, Derrick has the bulk.
I guess it’s become standard practice for Ibarra to tear off his shirt in that pivotal scene with Elias. For the actor playing him (Kevin Posadas), it makes Elias such a thankless role He’ll always be upstaged by the abs of the shirtless one. No doubt, the Ibarra ngayon is a gym rat. Three years from now, they’ll probably cast Sam Concepcion as the next shirtless Ibarra.
But as Derrick proved, he’s more than just a hunk. He doesn’t give us a new and exciting dimension to Ibarra, but the performance was serviceable. He carried the show.
This musical originated in 1979, when Jomar Fleras wrote the play Kanser. It was based on Noli, and years later it was turned into a musical with songs composed by Maestro Joed Balsamo. It was restaged in 2023 with Piolo Pascual and carried a new title, Ibarra. For this year’s production, it was again retitled.
Ibarra…Ngayon was chosen as it refers to the more youthful cast and a supposedly edgy vibe. It showed in the sets and lighting, which were minimalist in style. The dim lighting provided a darker and more menacing atmosphere. Compared to the elaborate production in 2023, this new Ibarra set looked threadbare.
The exciting cast more than made up for the barren stage. Watching them perform made you forget about the frills, or the lack of them.
The exciting cast more than made up for the barren stage. Watching them perform made you forget about the frills, or the lack of them
Sad farewell: Andrea Manuel Stevenson plays Maria Clara.
Andrea Manuela Stevenson made a resplendent Maria Clara. She has a beautiful soprano voice, and she’s a terrific actress. She stunned the audience in an intense scene in which Padre Salvi (Jay Mangui) revealed the truth about Maria Clara’s true parentage. The indignant heroine struck him in the face. The audience gasped. It went against the grain of the stereotypical Maria Clara, but it was a fascinating surprise. It’s Maria Clara…Ngayon, and we wished she had done the same to the hammy actors toiling at the other end of the GSIS complex.
Director Frannie Zamora staged several memorable scenes. The poignant ones included a show-stopping duet between Maria Clara and Sisa (Sheila Ferrer), the two women singing face-to-face with just a mirror separating them.
Basilio reuniting with his mother Sisa was heartrending as any scene with a mother and child should. The final farewell between Maria Clara and Ibarra showed the two leads in their finest hour.
In contrast, the crowd-pleasing confrontation between Doña Consolacion and Doña Victorina was a riot. It was a major highlight and the last cheerful scene before everything went haywire for the hero.
Somewhat disappointing was the way the Pasig River boat ride was staged. The blocking looked clumsy. Director Frannie Zamora did a better job with this scene in the 2023 production.
Some of the flaws stemmed back to the original musical. Maestro Joed Balsamo’s songs were lovely but sadly, none of us left the theater humming any of them. Each tune came and went, never to be heard again. What the show needed was a romantic song about Maria Clara. Any song about a Maria is bound to be popular. Think West Side Story and The Sound of Music. In Evita, Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina is played or performed several times throughout the show. The result: We end up singing it even when we get home from the theater.
It was said that Ibarra…Ngayon may have a repeat in the coming months. We hope director Zamora does a little more doctoring. He can reprise some of the songs. He can let the star-crossed lovers do a slow dance to their love theme. It could actually be anything that can effectively keep the lush music playing in our minds.
The director assembled a cast with an amazing level of talent. He can make them sing and dance all night and leave us even more enthralled by the music and the performers. Better yet, they should record a cast album. We’d love to hear them perform the songs again and again.
The cast at curtain call
Produced by Tanghalang Una Obra, Ibarra …Ngayon has the potential to be an annual tradition. With a little more tweaking, it can happen.
