Ang Huling El Bimbo

SOME MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD.

Eraserheads is one of the most influential bands in Philippine culture so it's not hard to imagine that a musical will be produced a la Sugarfree's Sa Wakas or Aegis' Rak of Aegis. The instant I heard about them I instantly booked us seats.

The musical starts with a dead body of a girl and 3 aged men who "might" have something to do with the death. We get flashbacks of what I could only assume to be set on the 90s (has to be) when all four were still young and were friends. 

Almost all of the most iconic songs of Eraserheads were featured especially on moments where it's lively and more than a dozen of backups are on stage. I was seriously having a good time that I forgot that this wasn't a feel good musical. The last arc before the intermission set the tone that would disturb me until the end. I know I shouldn't be surprised on the direction they made, yet it still shocked me to my core. I got so terrified that even today as I'm writing this I've been pushing that scene out of my head. I do not know if kids are allowed to watch but personally if it was me watching when I was younger I would have felt traumatized. I could not say if it's the same case for every audience though. I mean my bf didn't look like it bothered him at all.

Newport doesn't have excellent surround sound that at times the actors sounded like they're screaming. That and the space could be a deal breaker for some audiences. We've already been inside the Newport Theatre way back (Sound of Music) and already know they have a large stage. But I still felt sad for other patrons who do not know this and would have been shocked that they are going to watch the entire play on a TV. Maybe they were still able to see some but I doubt it any better than what we did. Even we had to see some scenes from the TV due to their blockings. 

Some would say that the story was predictable (we had one immediate reviewer as we're going out of the theatre) but I still urge everyone to watch. I know I would not repeat a viewing because of how uncomfortable I felt, but don't let that discourage you. It's kind of depressing but you know, that's life. Not everyone gets their happy ending. Not for most in this musical at least.