Nelsito Gomez collaborates with Basti Artadi.
Theater director-actor-producer Nelsito Gomez has just successfully staged In The Eyes Of The People, a two-hour play he freely adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s 19th century landmark piece, An Enemy Of The People, in the intimate 100-plus seat The Mirror Studio, for two weekends.
It’s as political as it gets. It’s about selling one’s dignity, principle, morality to power and money. it’s like selling one’s soul to the devil, like a Faustian play.
In The Eyes of the People was initially staged last January by Company of Actors in Streamlined Theater or CAST PH, the group Gomez founded with five other actors, with him as artistic director.
It was the third play in CAST PH’s Theoria Omnium or Theory of Everything, in a season of science-theme plays. CAST PH stages readings January to February every year in an intimate setup—its trademark even before the pandemic, held then at Pineapple Lab creative hub, now greatly missed, in Poblacion, Makati City.
The recent full staging at Mirror Theatre Studio was in collaboration with MAD Child Productions. “(They’re an) exciting fringe group doing brave and daring work. They’re also absolutely lovely people to work with,” Gomez told TheDiarist.ph in an exclusive interview.
We asked Gomez what made him decide to do In The Eyes of the People instead of the other science-theme plays this year. For instance, there’s Dolly de Leon’s Elegy by Nick Payne, The Effect by Lucy Prebble, and Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain.
Freud’s Last Session saw Bart Guingona returning to theater. We were told the day before the staged reading, he had to pinch hit for good friend, Jaime del Mundo, who had fallen ill. Guingona internalized the lines in so short notice; he performed as if the role of Sigmund Freud had been written for him.
Back to our question for Gomez—was the choice because of the midterm elections?
“Exactly that. I think doing it two weeks before midterms is a good opportunity to discuss the themes prevalent in my play and bring them to the greater consciousness of the audience. Especially since a lot of students who watch CAST plays are possibly first-time voters. As for the other plays in our science-theme season of staged Shakespeare readings, we’re discussing possible full-staged versions,” he told us.
Gomez adores William Shakespeare the way Catholic devotees do the Pope. He has directed Hamlet for MinTreatro and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Playbook Club. CAST PH also had a sold-out rerun of Othello the entire March.
Now comes Gomez’s musical collaboration with the enigmatic rocker/theater actor/painter Basti Artadi, also known as vocalist-composer of Wolfgang. Among the creative minds behind original rock musicals staged successfully the past decade, Artadi, one of the most influential rock musicians from the 1990s, chose Gomez to co-write the libretto and music for a musical based on Wolfgang’s discography.
The much-awaited staging of the musical using Wolfgang’s songs was announced three years ago, when everyone was trying to recover from the pandemic. The big advantage is that Artadi is a theater actor, who has done full-length English musicals. He played the titular role in Jesus Christ Superstar in 2001, staged and produced by the late, great Bobby Garcia’s Atlantis Productions. It took a long time for Artadi to act again. He played St. Jimmy in the local staging of American Idiot in 2016, co-produced by Globe and 9 Works Theatricals.
Basti Artadi with Xander Soriano in ‘Fermata’ (Photo by Totel V. De Jesus)
He returned in 2022, doing a straight play. He acted in the much-acclaimed two-hander “Fermata,” a one-act play about childhood trauma. It was written by Dustin Celestino and directed by Guelan Luarca for Virgin Labfest, the annual festival of new, original one-act plays in Filipino. “Fermata” was among the top three favorites in 2022. It was restaged in 2023 as part of the Revisited Set, though Artadi begged off from the second staging; since live entertainment was regaining its ground, he was touring the country with his eponymously named band.
This is Artadi’s return to theater
This musical based on Wolfgang’s songs could be Artadi’s return to theater.
The excerpts from our talk with Nelsito Gomez on the Wolfgang musical:
Finally it’s happening. So the title is Si Faust, After Goethe, By Wolfgang. Or is it just the working title?
Yes it is. We’re very grateful and excited. Si Faust is the title. Meaning that it will be a Filipino take on the classic Goethe story. And also a hint of whose perspective this story will be told from.
How did the project start? What year?
Well, Basti Artadi had mentioned that he was developing the Wolfgang musical before 2020. I wasn’t involved then. I was just an excited fan at that point. Then around mid-year of 2021 (the pandemic in full effect), I rang up Basti to inquire about the project. I had a lot of time on my hands, and I wanted to get involved in creating more original work.
He updated me on the progress and, very kindly, decided to include me in the development process. Then followed several months of back-and-forth emails, calls, and WhatsApp voice notes.
We tried many ideas until we landed on Faust. It came as a hunch, actually. As I was studying the entire catalogue of Wolfgang I noticed a pattern, a through line in their music: One man fighting the evils of his time, wanting to achieve so much—attain success, aid people, accomplish good—that he decides to ‘sell his soul’ or compromise his morals to gain it. Thus, becoming the very ‘demon’ or the evil he was fighting so hard against. A Faustian tale if there ever was one.
We took off from that hunch and now, four years later, we’re finally going to test it out in front of an audience.
How many revisions of the script, or is it something organic?
By my count, we’re on draft 6. But I’m very sure things will grow even more as we assemble a cast and start getting this work on its feet. We’re mainly using Part 1 of Goethe’s Faust as our spine. There is a Part 2. But very sprawling and unwieldy that we do not dare tackle that.
We’re experimenting how we can organically fuse the journey of Faust with the raw power of Wolfgang music
How many songs of Wolfgang will be used? Which albums?
I’m not at liberty to say how many songs. All I can say is it will be completely sung-through. Meaning little to no spoken word. We’re experimenting how we can organically fuse the journey of Faust with the raw power of Wolfgang music, and see if a coherent and moving story can be told without creating much dialogue to ‘bridge the gap’.
We’re trying our best to involve songs from almost all the albums but our priority is the music that can best move our narrative forward.
But fans need not worry, the hits will definitely be in the show.
How is the division of work (writing the script) between you and Basti?
Very equal. There’s never a narrative decision made without us both in agreement.
Who will produce?
Mounting any show—especially experimental work like this—is always a challenge. But the bold and courageous Areté, the creative and innovation hub of Ateneo, has decided to take on that challenge.
Areté provides the space and freedom for groups from different fields and persuasions to create, collaborate on, and share knowledge, skills, and practices.
More than just a venue, Areté is about collaboration. It brings together artists, students, and cultural groups to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
It’s all about fostering a creative environment where new ideas can grow and thrive. Areté’s vision for the future is exciting. With each new production, it’s carving out a bigger role in shaping the cultural scene in the Philippines.
Expect more innovative projects, more emerging artists getting their chance to shine, and more performances that push the limits of creativity. We couldn’t be more grateful to them.
How many shows, and is it OK to reveal who you think would be fit for major roles? When are the auditions?
Further casting information and performance dates will be announced soon. But the show will run in November at Areté.
Othello is such a big hit. I’ve read how you love Shakespeare. Could you compare Shakespeare and Goethe?
Very different writers. I was introduced to them very differently. I learned Shakespeare the conventional way; watching or hearing his plays performed. Goethe’s Faust, I discovered through my love of opera. Hector Berlioz, Arrigo Boito, and Charles Gounod (a personal favorite) have all attempted to musically adapt the story of Faust.
I have read the English translation of Faust, but I must say, when sung—accompanied in either soaring French orchestration or face melting guitar riffs—the potency of what’s at stake in this story can shake your very core.
Anything you like to add?
We hope people are excited to see it. Something very different for musical theater folk and for rock enthusiasts alike. And for the die-hard Wolfgang fans, my wish is that you keep an open mind about the music. Basti and I promise the essence of Wolfgang will remain, while reimagining the songs in completely new and exciting ways.
