I’m still not quite sure what to call the recent “Ely Buendia: A Night at the Theater” concert—er, musical. Or… show.
Precisely because it’s all that: a concert, but also a musical, all rolled into one. It’s definitely Ely Buendia rocking it out on stage, singing his hit songs. But then it turns into a musical as Ely is suddenly joined by the cast of the jukebox musical “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” which featured the Eraserheads’ music.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say this show may just be the first of its kind, at least here.
As the curtains rise, the audience is greeted by the sight of a dapper Ely on stage, clad in a gray suit, flooded by lights front and center. He starts with “Harana,” a song they first released as part of an EP more than 20 years ago, before launching into a string of other lesser known songs (at least to the casual Eheads listener, but definitely not for a majority of the audience who’s had the band’s words and Buendia’s vocals serve as the backing track to many life points).
There’s a good mix of chart-topping hits sprinkled in between the rest of the Eraserheads’ discography. But what ultimately serves as high points throughout Buendia’s roughly two-hour show are the scenes featuring the cast of El Bimbo.
The repeat concert last Feb. 20 makes the insertion of the characters more clearer than the December show, in that the LED screen that serves as the stage’s backdrop changes from Ely’s band emblem to that of a clock, counting down backwards from 2020 all the way back to 1990.
And then, three young men appear onstage instead of the rock icon: Hector Samala, Emman Azarcon, and Anthony Cruz Jr. (played by Reb Atadero, Vic Robinson, and Lance Reblando respectively). The three, arms raised, recite their promise to see through their dreams (“I solemnly promise to be the master of my fate, my heart, and my life…”)—only to be interrupted by Ely, now lying on a dorm bed (signifying he is, actually, their roommate!).
The scene is both funny and heartwarming—and ultimately interesting—because… it’s Ely Buendia. Acting. In a scene in “Ang Huling El Bimbo.” He’s there, as himself, as a friend and roommate of these characters. It’s funny because the trio ask him to write a song about their friendship, to which Ely responds with the (real life) song, “Minsan,” that the four of them “collaborate” on to complete.
For fans of the musical, the concert is definitely a treat because you get to see the man behind the music become part of the adapted material. Ely even (sort of) joins in the iconic “Pare Ko” CMT drills, using a guitar as a rifle instead. Ely is also friends with, and serves as an older brother figure to Joy (Tanya Manalang), and is a regular at Toyang’s, the canteen she helps run with her Tiya Dely (Sheila Francisco).
The scenes jump between past and present, but even the present-day concert gets “interrupted” by kooky figures. El Bimbo ensemble member Stephen Viñas, for example, plays a very persistent (almost annoying) fan-slash-heckler, whose antics such as rallying the audience to chant “Ely! Ely! Ely!” with him, and constant requests for the song “Ang Huling El Bimbo” to be played, elicit laughs throughout.
Aside from the Eraserheads songs used in the musical, Buendia and his band also perform fresher but at the same time still familiar takes on other hits. “With A Smile,” one of the crowd favorites that got the entire theater raising their (smartphone) flashlights in the air, got a jazzy treatment with the addition of a saxophone interlude.
Of course, featuring “Ang Huling El Bimbo” can’t go without its most memorable scenes: the medley that opens the play, for one, which features the older versions of the play’s main characters (played by Gian Magdangal, Chino Veguillas, and Jon Santos), and of course, the iconic Alapaap sequence—which Ely joins, once again.
Eventually, the clock breaks, and time and space is disrupted, and just like the musical, at some point, the two timelines converge and both young and old characters meet, culminating in the much-awaited performance of “Ang Huling El Bimbo” with Ely at the center of it all.
It’s much more heartwarming this time around, because not only does Ely join the two sets of casts, but also because it gives a satisfying closure to the story. It is what many call the alternate ending, or the “ending we deserve”—a happier one. One where Joy doesn’t die and her friendship with the three boys doesn’t end as bitterly as it did in the original musical.
And perhaps in the same way the musical left many in awe (of either the magic of musical theater, or the brilliance of the Eraserheads), “Ely Buendia: A Night at the Theater” left its show-goers with the same phenomenal feeling.
Photos courtesy of Pepay Samson and Geo Yu/Resorts World Manila
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