‘Bar Boys’ rerun wows audiences with its authenticity and vulnerability

Valera first watched the film Bar Boys in 2018. Being a lawyer’s son and as someone who once dreamed of being one, he found it a relatable movie that he could possibly turn into a theatrical experience.

The playwright and his fellow Barefoot Theatre Collaborative artists’ support of Leni Robredo’s presidential campaign in the 2022 elections added a fresh context to the musical version of Bar Boys. The play opens with a prologue that references the events of that period and how Robredo’s defeat discouraged Erik and his friends from entering law school—aside from the accompanying scholarly challenges—or at least feeling ecstatic about passing it. All of them except Chris, who tries to fan the flames in their heart to drive them to make an impactful change in society.

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Both the film and musical versions try to convey the message of youth idealism and how societal changes lie in today’s generation’s social awakening. But generally, they focus on themes of friendship, nostalgic memories from school, and conflicts within family dynamics when life’s colourful complications come into play. Everything culminates with the characters taking the bar exams, but Valera pushes the narrative further to an overarching plot that sees them practising everything they learnt in school and life.

By setting the play in the present time and with clear references to current events, Valera was determined to bring to light the realities of “post-election divide, snobbery, and apathy towards a world struggling to live amidst climate change, continued inequality, relentless corruption and glaring injustice,” he says.

Original songs were written for Bar Boys, with Valera as lyricist and librettist working alongside Salomon for the music and lyrics. Salomon shares that if some people find jukebox musicals easier to do, he finds writing original musicals more liberating.

“Why are we making songs about law school boys and law school life? Because it is universal... We wanted to contribute by telling their story, hopefully, give life to those who lost hope in taking/retaking the bar exams, and ignite their faith in good. We all want a better world,” says Salomon.

The play demystifies law school and the Supreme Court’s monolithic facade. Is Lady Liberty intimidatingly looking down upon her followers? Or is she ashamed of the realities that corrupt the system from within, and she cannot raise her head anymore with pride?

Josh is the first among Erik's friends to defy the system and seek a better judicial process. Uddin embodies the character’s promdi rakista [rockstar from the province] persona with a balance of comic hues painted over his feisty heart. Torran, meanwhile, acquires Erik’s side storyline from the film and takes it further. Canlas explores Torran’s masculinity through his initiation into a fraternity and falling in love with their substitute teacher. Canlas’s gradual revelation of his character gives the musical an interesting track to hold onto until the end.

Diaz and Ramos are the play’s legs. Which path should a lawyer take? Up to what extent can we sacrifice our friends and family for our dreams? Ramos and Diaz perfectly portray the characters with sincere grounding amidst all the dramas that revolve in their lives—with hope still shining in their eyes, albeit fluctuating, which adds a dramatic cadence to the story.

Although it may seem daunting to translate a contemporary film with a cult following into an original musical in a black box setting, director Mikko Angeles was determined to begin the conversation on the four central characters’ larger-than-life dreams and challenges.

“Putting it together, piece by piece... was a very exciting and nerve-wracking process... It’s about sensibilities. The negotiation of the body in building an ecosystem of movement to propel the narrative forward is a delicate dance between the text, the music and the visuals,” Angeles says.

“Bar Boys: A New Musical is beyond the pages of any law books or the walls of a courtroom. It is about friendship like no other—a friendship tested by a system, divided by privilege and opinion under the scrutinising lens of an algorithm. And so, everything begins and ends today. This is your story now. All it takes is for a single step to cross the line nobody dares to cross,” Angeles concludes.

Bar Boys runs until November 10 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater, Ayala Malls Circuit Makati

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