Eraserheads will always be one of the most beloved 90's band by Filipinos. There are a lot of songs that I like from them like Pare Ko, With A Smile, Minsan, and Spolarium. One of their most popular songs is the one entitled Ang Huling El Bimbo. It's a ballad about young love which unfortunately had a twisted dark ending. With the musical named after this song, I should have known what kind of story it would tell.

I knew nothing about the musical beforehand. I had this general idea (which didn't have a basis actually) that this is a light-hearted happy musical about friends. I thought I would be singing along as the cast performs various iconic 90s songs, mostly by the Eraserheads band. I didn't know how wrong I was.

THE STORY
The first part of the story did had a hint of nostalgia. The story followed the adventures of three guys, from different backgrounds, that met in college. The dorm scene really reminded me of the UPLB dorm because of how the bunk beds looked. Happy memories of my time in campus flashed back to me again as the lead cast talked about being an iskolar ng bayan and joining rallies, etc. Along their adventure, they met this girl named Joy. I guess the goal of the first part of the show was to make the audience fall in love with each of the characters, especially with Joy, so that the latter part of the musical will have a more poignant effect for everyone. 💔

Heartbreaking is a light word in my opinion. I was shattered and was in tears, because I really liked the girl's character. And then I started to hate that one guy's character (the boyfriend), because I really felt betrayed. I really felt for Joy.

THE ACTORS
I really have to commend the director and the actors because they all did well. They all portrayed their characters well. I really don't want to dwell much with the details of the story but I really highly recommend everyone to see the show. I really am able to appreciate musicals now. I want to see more of those in the future especially local ones because I can just see the passion these people are giving to making the musical as flawless as possible. Their singing abilities are so amazing. Joy's actor can really hit the high notes! I was really impressed. Also I really liked the little girl actor. Her emotional acting was very well executed. I didn't see any hint of stage fright. I would guess she's been acting for some time now. I also liked the aunt character. Her character is so motherly, and her voice is superb as well.

Everyone on the stage is so into their characters. Even though they were already walking towards the side of the stage to the exit, or even before the spotlight turns on, they were all always in full acting mode. You can see that they are in the process of projecting and internalizing their characters' emotions. Their eyes show the feelings that they want to portray.

THE STAGE
It's understandable that this is just a low budget production (the tickets we got were less than 2,000PHP) so I really can't expect to see a production as huge as that of an international musical. But the props are decent. I especially liked the sari-sari store and the car (complete with lights and is actually "driveable"). There's not much background props. There was just a screen wherein different photos and effects were projected.



Overall, I enjoyed watching this play. I'm very glad I obliged to my colleagues' invitations to go and see it. If not because of them, I think I won't really have thought of actually seeing it. I bet this is one show that I would think about for some time. I want to experience watching more shows like this.

Kudos to everyone involved in that play production. The show that night received standing ovation from the audience! 👏 Go and see Ang Huling El Bimbo everyone! It's all worth your time and money.