‘Silver Lining’ addresses generational issues and gaps once again

Silver Lining Redux follows three high school friends who transition from an all-boys school to state university life. Navigating the turbulent era of cultural and sexual revolution prior to the enactment of Martial Law, we see Leo (Albert Silos), Anton (Drei Sugay), and Raul (Jay Cortez) experience their teenage years during the Seventies—from romances to rumbles and onwards to the revolution of the people.

The musical offers a meta-narrative eye, in which the older versions of Leo (Ricky Davao/Jamie Wilson), Raul (Raul Montesa), and Anton (Jake Macapagal), together with his wife Josie (Gina Respall), open the story by reuniting to conceptualise a musical based on the songs they wrote in their younger years and to honour the memory of their good friend Chito (Moi Gealogo), who acted as their older brother and influential mentor. They organise a casting call to look for young actors to portray them and tap Rico (Anton and Josie’s son, portrayed by Don Anthony), Dalai (Leo’s daughter, portrayed by Dippy Arceo), and Mart (Leo’s nephew, portrayed by Johnnie Moran) to be the creative team behind the play.

Moreover, we see the ensemble cast alternating various characters throughout the play-in-the-making and find the versatility and creativity in each cast member. Some scenes implore physical theatre, providing an avant-garde way of depicting scenes in place of spectacular set designs and props.

Through this treatment, Silver Lining Redux offers audiences an alienating experience in most parts. In this way, the audience understands that it is a play within a play, suspending disbelief, particularly in scenes tackling Martial Law. This is consistent with the positionality of the characters, who come from privileged backgrounds and live post-era with affluent lifestyles.

We tend to focus on their internal conflict and how the events wedged their friendships rather than the wider and generational impact of the era. This also includes shedding light on the language of the Seventies, the pop culture and lifestyle references, and the joyful ‘silver linings’ that streak the skies of the Seventies.

The approaches mentioned above that make Silver Lining distinctive from other theatrical works drawn upon the said era were already present in its original version. However, this year’s run tends to highlight these with more consistency and purpose, which makes the end of Act One—the declaration of Martial Law—more pivotal for the characters.

With some of the actors growing up with the show in a matter of a year, from its initial stages and scriptwriting to its reworking, we see more maturity and understanding of the story. This is reflected in the reworked blocking of Sa Baybayin, the love song duet between the younger versions of Leo and Julia (Krystal Brimner), and ultimately in how Julia’s story is resolved at the end of the show.

The strength of Silver Lining Redux lies in resetting the present era to more current references—particularly the civilian-led initiative ‘Peace and Solidarity’ regatta to the West Philippine Sea and more—to problematise the differences in perspectives between the past and present generations toward social unrest. Plus, the reuse of the original version’s effective juxtaposition of syntactical and semantic differences between the two generations was relishing to watch.

Similarly, the varying genres of music styles throughout the play effectively highlighted the artistry of its creators. Teotico’s original balladic songs, which served as the foundation of the musical, gave audiences nostalgic cues. At the same time, the additional music and lyrics from librettist Joshua Lim So and co-writer Liza Magtoto added flair to the material. Ultimately, Vince Lim’s musical direction and arrangements of the songs provided cohesion to the production.

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But the core of Silver Lining and its messaging lies in the exponential consequences of our life choices that affect us in the present. Ultimately, the musical is a personal retelling of the lifestyle and philosophy of a sector in society often overlooked in depicting the Martial Law years and today’s generation under the rule of the late President’s son. It dives deep instead into mental health, generational trauma, and familial issues that resonate with its target audiences, who also lived the same life as that of the characters. Silver Lining speaks for its niche audience while echoing the universal themes of friendship, naïvete, and redemption.

Some audiences who lean more toward the original depiction of Julia having her case unclosed—because that was what forced disappearances truly were—might be agog to find out that in the redux version, she lived. However, I think it ties well, again, with the positionality of the characters and the narrative’s themes of redemption. It leaves Silver Lining on a hopeful note, which I believe is more potent amidst the darkness of the times the play is set. As mentioned in one of the scenes, it’s a chiaroscuro treatment where light shines more when put side by side with darkness.

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