Arguably the most popular Filipino musical among today's generation of theatre folks, 'Mula sa Buwan' returns this 2022 in a new space, cast, production design, and more. Creators Pat Valera and William Elvin Manzano look back on their journey, which spanned more than a decade, carrying a timeless "story of love and defiance".

Mula sa Buwan (which translates to "From the Moon") returns onstage this August 26 after almost four years of hiatus since it was last seen at the Hyundai Hall of Areté in Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). With award-winning thespian and musical director Myke Salomon taking over the role of Cyrano, seasoned theatre actress Gab Pangilinan reprising the role of Roxane, and acclaimed theatre, radio, and television personality Markki Stroem as Christian, the 2022 production shifts into full gear in preparation for its restaging at Samsung Performing Arts Theatre in Circuit Makati. Barefoot Theatre Collaborative (formerly Black Box Productions) has launched open auditions earlier this year. It promises a fresh cast of talents who are excited to join the family that Mula sa Buwan nurtured through the years.

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Pat Valera (Dekada '70, Still), partner and co-founder of Barefoot Theatre Collaborative, together with William Elvin Manzano, esteemed singer and songwriter from O/C Records who is currently based in Hong Kong, share with Tatler the incredible journey that their collaborative work has taken:

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Above The 2016 production of "Mula sa Buwan" at Henry Lee Irwin Theatre in Ateneo de Manila University

The First Song

University of the Philippines (UP), Diliman Campus, 2009. After finishing a two-year certificate program, Valera, pursuing a bachelor's degree in theatre arts, was months away from presenting his thesis play, Cyrano: Isang Sarswela, for the following year. On one pivotal morning, he called Manzano—his friend and batchmate at the theatre arts program, who served as co-lyricist and musical composer for the project—demanding at least one complete song that he could finally listen to.

A year before, Valera joined the Sarswela Festival hosted by the said university, where the traditional Filipino theatre form sarswela was revisited and reimagined for the current performing arts scene in the country. For his thesis, he revisited his beloved assigned reading from his high school years in ADMU—Soc Rodrigo's Filipino translation of Edmond Rostand's 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac—thinking that it might be a good material for a sarswela.

Related: Are we Filipinos Because We Love Music, or Do We Love Music Because We are Filipinos?

Manzano, who had admittedly been pushing the task of writing the songs further and further, hasn't got one yet. Until Valera called him up, and they had to meet. Armed with innumerable reading notes of the material, lyric ideas, and other clue cards here and there, Manzano met with Valera. At the steps of the third landing of Wilfrido Maria Guerrero Theatre, Manzano charged into his creative zone, plucked the first intro notes, and sang the lyrics like nobody else existed there except them two: Ikaw ay isang rosas / na humahalimuyak / at wala ng katulad / sa hardin ng mga bulaklak (You are like a rose / which sweet fragrance / is incomparable / amid the garden of flowers).

Valera up to this day, could recall vividly in his mind that moment. How the song felt. How the words and music touched him that day. Since then, the song "Ikaw" ("You") would remain unchanged and iconic for fans of Mula sa Buwan.

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The Journey of Cyrano to the Moon

"When we wrote this in 2009, I said to William, 'I have this crazy idea for the Cyrano story. Let's break it apart, put rock songs to it'," Valera recalls. As fans of The Beatles, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and the like, the two agreed to make the Rostand classic a rock-sarswela, following suit the beautiful Filipino adaptation written by the late statesman and wordsmith Soc Rodrigo. They moved the time and place into the Philippines in the 1940s and made the Cyrano character a teenage boy with an ideal outlook on life and love.

"I cannot claim that the song 'Ikaw' came to me 30 minutes or so before Pat and I met," says Manzano. "I have been reading the materials from Pat over and over again before that but when I sang it the first time, it just flowed, and we felt that there was something in there. All of the magic I think we felt on that day led us to where we are today."

With a stripped-down set design made of apple boxes, five lapels to be shared by 18 actors, and the best costumes they could have come up with at the time, Valera and Manzano staged the musical Cyrano: Isang Sarswela at the University of Asia & Pacific (UA&P) in 2010 by Dulaang Rock Opera Company and Talinhaga Theatre Collaborative. It was well-received by the audience, with Valera and Manzano recalling a male student bawling for 20 minutes after the curtain call because he has found himself in the character of Cyrano.

Read also: Meet the New National Artists: Nora Aunor, Ricky Lee, Gemino Abad, and More

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Above "Cyrano: Isang Sarswela", the early version of "Mula sa Buwan" that was staged at the University of Asia & Pacific in 2010

"We dreamt big for the project and felt that it shouldn't just be staged in UP," Valera reminisces. "We felt we were like Cyrano with all his idealism and bravery while we were doing it," he quips.

It was seen again in 2011 by Dulaang Laboratoryo at the GSIS Theatre in Pasay City for Valera's final thesis output, with a budget almost amounting to PHP 600,000. "For a theatre arts student back then, it was humongous and ridiculous," Valera continues with his story.

To give his half of the bargain, Valera pawned his late mother's watch with the hopes that he would be able to retrieve it because they were foreseeing a good return in profit. Unfortunately, Valera and his team were not allowed to sell tickets, and potential producers from the audience were not very much keen on backing the project for a professional run. In the end, Valera wasn't able to retrieve his late mother's watch, and since then, he wears a simple string band to remind him of it.

"At first I would think that my mum would scold me in Heaven because I lost her watch, but now I realise, maybe she's happy that in exchange for that watch is a musical that has touched a lot of people and changed our [the creators'] lives," Valera shares.

Read also: Congressman and Director Toff De Venecia Speaks About Philippine Arts and Culture

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Above "Cyrano: Isang Sarswela" at GSIS Theatre in 2011
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Above The 2016 production of "Mula sa Buwan" at Henry Lee Irwin Theatre in Ateneo de Manila University

After almost five years of reworking the book and music, they restaged it in December 2016 and in February 2017 with a new and more ambiguous title, Mula sa Buwan, at Henry Lee Irwin Theatre in ADMU. It was Valera's advertising company Black Box Collab Inc's first foray into theatre production. Aside from giving birth to Black Box Productions, the hit musical soon grew into popularity, which paved the way for its grander 2018 production in the newly built arts centre of ADMU. This also allowed them to rework Christian's character, making him more endearing and relatable.

"For this run, we have a fresh intent (who do we want to focus on), a fresh sound, a bigger cast, and we are also changing our sets and costumes because we're using a new space which is the Samsung Performing Arts Theatre in Circuit Makati, a new theatre that just begs greatness," Valera says, listing down what to expect in the 2022 production.

After the 2018 run, the creators initially planned a 10th anniversary run supposedly in 2020. But the pandemic hampered the theatre industry. However, this gave them the chance to refocus the character of Roxane, which fans should watch out for at the 2022 production.

"I hope this is the final version," says Valera. "I really wanted to take a look at how we lens Roxane. The Cyrano story has been written and reimagined by countless others as an anti-hero story. But now, we wanted to make Roxane more relevant in this time of heartbreak and disinformation—a character that speaks not only of imagination but also of truth," he adds.

Read also: Actor-Director Marco Viaña on Philippine Theatre's Transformational Power

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Above Myke Salomon as Cyrano
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Above Markki Stroem as Christian
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Above Gab Pangilinan as Roxane
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Another thing fans should watch out for is Salomon's masterful take on Manzano's songs as the latest production's musical director. Known for his stellar work in the hit jukebox musicals Ang Huling El Bimbo and Rak of Aegis, to name a few, Salomon raised the bar of Manzano's compositions and Valera's lyrics, according to the creators.

"I was almost in tears," says Manzano recalling the night he and Valera listened to Salomon's renderings. "For me, what's special is how the melodies and words are married. And to have another perspective like Myke's and other collaborators adding into that 'box' we prepared is very stimulating and exciting for me," he explains.

The recently held open auditions also allowed the creators and their artistic team and production company fellows to widen their nets in catching fresh talents. Aside from actors with impeccable voices, Valera also shares that the choreographer JM Cabling personally requested to have more cast members who have had experiences with esteemed dance troupes in the country. The 2022 production now has a roster of 27 talents, including Phi Palmos as Rosana, MC Dela Cruz as Maximo, Jon Abella as Tato, and Jillian Ita-as as Gabriel.

"It's really exciting," says Valera. "It's a fresh new set of talents, which perhaps 60 per cent, I haven't worked with before. . .So [there are] a lot of new things to expect but hopefully this becomes the final version as we have checked the boxes creatively, artistically, and how it can speak to audiences right now."

Read also: Lea Salonga on the State of Philippine Arts and Culture

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Above Gab Pangilinan as Roxane in the 2018 production of "Mula sa Buwan", staged at Hyundai Hall, Areté, ADMU

The Filipino Youth's Sensibilities, KundimanSarswela, and Rock Music

According to Valera, Rodrigo's translation of Rostand's was already beautiful as it is. However, it opens possibilities of further resetting the story because of its timelessly relevant themes.

"One of the reasons I committed to this project was the challenge of merging the old and the new. I was telling William how can we make it fresh and not too anachronistic. . .honestly, it was a weird concept to pitch," says Valera.

Turning French soldier Cyrano de Bergerac in his 40s during the Thirty Years' War (so-called the Siege of Arras) into a young Filipino cadet at the onset of the Second World War was wholly Valera's. He felt that staging the original would make it feel distant for the audience, so he channelled his massive interest in history to shape his ingenious concept.

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Valera shares that the guerrilla forces during the Second World War were aged 16 to 24. "After the Bataan Death March in 1942, younger men in the reserved corps were asked to fight as guerrillas," he says. Although it wasn't in the original material, it was a historical narrative forgotten by many. Moreover, Valera explains that the character of Rosanna is a composite of characters from the source material. Even in the popular English translation by Brian Hooker, he didn't have the lines of Rosanna that were heard in her signature song, "Manifesto". The cadets were also just in the background of the story, Valera adds.

"Aside from the beautiful language of the text, what makes the adaptation distinctly Filipino is William's convention of traditional musical genres kundiman (sad ballad) and harana (love songs for courtship)," says Valera.

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Songs like "Tinig sa Dilim" ("Voice in the Dark"), the opening of Act Two, and "Awit ng mga Naiwang Dilag" ("Ballad of the Women Left Behind") were patterned after kundiman, Manzano and Valera reveal. Structurally, Mula sa Buwan was patterned after the sarswela, a traditional form of Filipino theatre similar to musicals today, but depicts romantic love among idealised Filipino characters and wrapped in a story that speaks of contemporary social, and political, economic, or cultural issues. The concept of making the Cyrano story into a modern rock-sarswela may have been the fruit of Valera's dramaturg work for Ang Kiri and Manzano's acting stint in Atang Dela Rama: The Musical before working on this adaptation. Nevertheless, Valera and Manzano were not blatant about it because they wanted it to appeal to today's generation and be relevant to the times.

"The idealism of the Filipinos then especially pre-war, who are about to face a beautiful nation and a period that promises hope and love, and then suddenly pfft," he explains. "After he [Cyrano] promises the Moon, everything was trampled by war, the reality, death, lies. . ." he continues. "So simply changing the age makes it feel less grand, and you find these characters dangerously naive, but they have every right to feel that way."

Read also: The Glory Days of Philippine Society Before World War II

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Above The 2018 production of "Mula sa Buwan", staged at Hyundai Hall, Areté, ADMU

"Pat and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to musical influences. So with the text that he gave me, the lyrics we came up with. . .they really point towards that direction: brash but sincere, flowery then becomes bitter, it is angry then it goes back to the ideal," Manzano adds. "I was able to gather up the influences that we've been listening to, and the songs really sounded different before. It's exactly how we envisioned it to be and more, and that seldom happens. I think we were at the right age at the right time, at the right place with the right people," he recalls.

Manzano further shares that Roxane's signature song, "Ang Sabi Nila" ("They Say"), was a very old song that he wrote in his teenage years that since he has been in alternative rock for most of his professional career, he didn't know what to do with it.

"He was shy about it," Valera remembers. "William wouldn't dare to let me listen to him when we were looking for an aria for Roxane about her not letting go."

"We were in my old Nissan Sentra, and I played an old demo of this song on just a simple piano score. I said that this is not my usual genre, and I don't write songs of this kind much often," Manzano shares.

With much prodding from Valera, Manzano agreed to use the song he did not originally write for the Cyrano story and eventually, it added beautiful complexity to its sequence.

Read also: Shiela Valderrama-Martinez Shares Her Colourful Journey in the Theatre Industry

Another interesting story about Mula sa Buwan's music is that Christian's "Matatapos Din" ("This Too Shall Pass") had several versions before they both agreed to the final form we hear today.

"I felt that the earlier versions were too smart; I just wanted him to say that the war will end soon," Valera says.

"The challenge of it was staying true to Christian's character, but the scene evokes Bob Dylan influences where one sings an inspiring song in a cafe amid the revolution in the air," Manzano shares.

It took a lot of bearing down to polish the said song, which now has five unreleased alternative versions that the creators would like to keep to themselves.

Read also: Do You Know Why We Remember 'Araw ng Kagitingan'?

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Above "Cyrano: Isang Sarswela", the early version of "Mula sa Buwan" that was staged at the University of Asia & Pacific in 2010

Manzano explains that it truly is a hodgepodge of musical influences ranging from kundiman songs like "Pakiusap" ("Please") and "Madaling Araw" ("Dawn") to those of the rock bands they were both into. Mula sa Buwan is a balance of genres that pay homage to the Filipino theatre yet is a risky undertaking indeed. Valera further adds that the youth shouting unabashedly at the opening dance number only started during their first show and, since then became a tradition. It was to show courage and pride for this new musical, says Valera.

Amid the popularity of Mula sa Buwan, Valera clarifies that they do not rest on their laurels and tweak the material to the point that it becomes too pretentious. "We know its capacity, but we do not let fame get into our heads and lose the heart of Mula sa Buwan," Valera says.

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Above The 2011 production of "Cyrano: Isang Sarswela", the opening of Act Two

Tackling Themes of Theatre Life, Romance, and Patriotism

Before all these, Manzano was studying at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Santo Tomas while Valera was close to finishing a business degree from UA&P., but they both felt unhappy. They then decided to pivot to theatre arts to pursue their true passions.

In a way, Mula sa Buwan became their homage to the magic of theatre and the performing arts. As the material also explores the life of stage work and how it affects one's understanding of the world, Manzano found it resonating in his personal life when he first heard of Valera's concept.

Of course, they were not free from discouragements and criticisms during the early stages of Cyrano: Isang Sarswela. Valera admits that after his thesis in 2011, the piece didn't fly off as he had expected. He focused on working in advertising while Manzano moved to Hong Kong. "It lit a fire in our hearts, and that has also become the spirit of Cyrano," shares Manzano. 

With the performing arts industry, particularly theatre, slowly recovering from the pandemic, the creators are looking forward to the future with great hope. "My hope for the industry [is that] when we return, we really need to take a look at what we need to change in our own community," Valera says. "There are many 'sins of the past' that maybe we can slowly or quickly change—how we treat our actors, provide contracts, and secure the theatre as a safe space for people. In Barefoot Theatre Collaborative, we are trying our best to do that. . .Everyone in the industry needs to meet professional standards so that everyone will be better at it. Also, we ask the audience to continue supporting the theatre companies as we try our best to provide for the actors, staff, and everyone else apart from giving a great show."

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William Elvin Manzano
Above William Elvin Manzano
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Pat Valera
Above Pat Valera

Aside from Mula sa Buwan being a story of love and defiance, Valera says another angle of it depicts "love ideals and the heartbreaks in-between". Through the eyes of the characters, a rising nation with a hopeful future could be seen and felt, but fate had other plans, which tested their idea of love. The same goes with their romantic relationships, most especially in the triad of Cyrano, Roxane, and Christian.

"It is really evident that when you're young, you have this ideal notion of what love should be," says Valera. "In Mula sa Buwan, you see this in flawed characters, and that's the beauty of it. You find Cyrano, with all his wit and courage, is afraid to profess his love to Roxane. And this is not stated in the text but just felt: Cyrano's idea of what love should be, not only for Roxane but also for him, is that it should be perfect—not only in words but also with a glorious face. Meanwhile, with Roxane, it is the opposite. Love is not only found in beauty but also in words. Moreover, there is a mismatch in their actions. And lastly, for Christian, he shows this kind heart that balances the two."

Valera explains that these are human realities that reflect today's youth, and conflict happens because of these characters' expectations that are not met. "I am not saying that the young are not learned or don't have the wisdom, but it really does take the pain, heartbreak, and healing to have that more gentle type of love," Valera says.

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Above William Elvin with the cast of the 2011 production of "Cyrano: Isang Sarswela"
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Above Pat Valera with the cast of the 2010 production of "Cyrano: Isang Sarswela"

Their mastery of words and music that they showcased in Mula sa Buwan, the creators explained, is a product of their personal "hugot" (sentiments)—Valera would write best in his happiest while Manzano would muster all his unrequited feelings to write the most beautiful songs in the musical. 

Having mentioned romance, the creators share which of the characters most likely resembles them.

"When I was younger, I identified myself as a Cyrano, and so I dated many Cyranos before," Valera shares. "But as I grew older, I realised that I don't need flowery words but just a true heart that can be there with me. Now, I am in an eight-year relationship with a person very much like Christian. Hence when I re-lensed Mula sa Buwan from 2016 to 2017, it has become Christian-leaning."

"For me, musically and lyrically, the most spot-on would be Christian," Manzano answers. "What Cyrano could say with all his highfalutin and most poetic words, Christian would simply say: Ang mahalaga hindi natin malimot na marunong pa rin tayong magmahal (What's important is we don't forget that we still know how to love)" Manzano explains.

See also: 6 Traditional Filipino Musical Instruments You Should Know About

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Above The 2016 production of "Mula sa Buwan" at Henry Lee Irwin Theatre in Ateneo de Manila University

But aside from shedding light on the situation and philosophies of the youth, the blossoming of romances and the heartbreaks that come with them, and the magic of theatre life, another element explored by Mula sa Buwan is the depiction of the atrocities of the war.

"It starts with a tap dance, then Tato comes in, and it is his first time to kill, making it the first time for blood to be shed in the story. He's frightened, as you observe. But as soon as he kills, bang! The stage is red and sparse, all of the magic is gone, and the moon is bloodshot," Valera describes. "Then you see the other characters form a circle, and each shows different sides of the war," he adds. "I'm always very delicate when it comes to depicting war, death, and abuse because, for me, it doesn't need to be too graphic. It doesn't finish the equation in the minds of the audience. Otherwise, they will contest the authenticity of the scene. Furthermore, the magic of theatre allows you to show realities in signs and symbols, in an economical manner, to make it limitless in possibilities," Valera explains further.

Precisely measured, the scenes that follow in Act Two remain focused on the cadets and their friends and lovers. There aren't any Japanese or American characters to play as antagonists. "We deliberately took it out because we wanted the audience to focus on what happened to our countrymen. Instead, you would hear the characters saying 'gomen nasai, gomen nasai' as they plead for their lives. And when they die, they just hold their breaths, stand up, freeze for a moment, and then go back into the circle," Valera continues. He acknowledges for this direction the teachings of his mentors like Anton Juan and other learnings he has had before.

Eventually, Manzano has written music to counter this particular scene. "I was telling William that my grandmother in Abra was forced to play a kundiman song on the piano during the war. So we thought of ways to incorporate that in this scene," Valera shares.

"You know, it's really the unseen forces that break apart the lives of the young that affect Mula sa Buwan's political undertone. Here, you don't see the parents of the kids, the people behind the war, or even the government officials. And yet the war is not the fault of Cyrano and his friends. It is because of greed, of tyrants and dictators, that is all unseen," Valera explains.

Seeing in retrospect the works of Valera, which include the stage adaptation of Lualhati Bautista's Dekada '70 and the 2020 pandemic-set musical series on Viu titled Still, one would find his style where the production seems to be about a love story or family story on the surface yet being set against the backdrop of significant events in our nation's history, which makes it more thought-provoking, subtly political and timely relevant, but most importantly, inspiring.

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Above Curtain call of the 2018 production of "Mula sa Buwan" in Hyundai Hall, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University

"We always think or say that the 'youth is the hope of the nation', as Dr Jose Rizal once said, and yet we belittle the kids' idealism so much," Valera says. "When an adult watches Mula sa Buwan, he or she might say that the characters were foolish. But what's foolish about love, fighting for our country, and being courageous? In Dekada '70, we see the brothers and their outlooks on life and how they were belittled by their own family and their circles. In Still, we see how a generation has been forgotten, feeling they are about to lose the future they were about to enter. In recent events, we saw how the campaigns were pushed by the young—how they wanted to change it and have a future for themselves. And yet here we are again in Act Two of Mula sa Buwan, Act Two of Dekada '70, and episode 7 of Still. After all of the efforts of the youth, nothing has happened or changed. But there is still hope," Valera further says.

Looking back, Valera relayed that during the onset of the pandemic, a medical frontliner posted on social media a photo of herself and her new tattoo: the logo of Mula sa Buwan and the title of the song "Matatapos Din". The song "Ikaw" was also used for a wedding. "Ang Sabi Nila" was sang in O Bar. A teenage boy used "Tinig sa Dilim" to harana his special someone. And "Manifesto" is being sung at the Metro Manila Pride March. Valera asked Manzano, "We did something right, right?". Their songs transcend the consciousness of many people because of their relevance and impact, and this, for Valera, makes every bit of their journey worthwhile.

"In a book I was reading a couple of months ago, it says that you can never enter the theatre without hope. Even the absurdists included, we all write plays to show misery in life so that you can reflect, put it into action, and therefore generate hope," Valera says.

Manzano and Valera cited the earlier mentioned story of a student having a cathartic moment at the end of the curtain call of Cyrano: Isang Sarswela at UA&P in 2010—a testament that Mula sa Buwan up to today does not only inspire people but probably saves lives.

"I always believe that if you can affect one person that way, you are already a successful artist," Manzano says. "You have people seeing themselves in 1940s characters—that speaks volumes of what you're able to crack and continuously discover," adds Valera.

Mula sa Buwan opens on August 26 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theatre in Circuit Makati and will run until September 11. 

Please wait for more information if there will be an extended run this 2022. Tickets are available at ticketworld.com.ph or mulasabuwan.com/tickets

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