Ateneo Alumni present ‘Toilet’ The Musical

MANILA, Philippines – Young, upcoming writers and composers add their voice to the Philippine musical theater scene with the original musical, “Toilet.”
What do millenials have to sing and dance about?
G Töngi reports.

Alumni of Ateneo De Manilas’ Blue Repertory collaborate to produce an original musical, with a very unusual title.
Toilet the musical is the story of teenagers coming to grips with the realities of their world where sexuality, acceptance, betrayal, bullying and love all come together to elicit a frenzy of discourses through musical song and dance.
A teenage drama of struggling through high school the toilet is the only place where the characters truly reveal themselves.
Bym Buhain, co-director of Toilet says coming back to Blue Rep long after graduation is essential to his art.
He talks about the western influence that is palpable in the musical.

BYM BUHAIN, CO-DIRECTOR: Even though Blue Rep is totally different now because it’s a totally new generation, it still feels like home. And I would not chose anyone else, any other group to trust more with my first baby. Some people would think that we should only stick to our cultural roots, to Tinikling and stuff like that. I find that the western end of it is still a legitimate form of art and I think filipinos should just watch it because Filipinos made it, Filipinos are acting in it, it’s the Filipino youth which could actually be the Filipino future of theater. Not me, but these kids.

Composer and lyricist is 23 year old Ejay Yatco who also holds three silver medals and one gold from The World Championship of the Performing Arts.
He says Toilet: The Musical took years to develop.
Yatcos’ return to Blue Rep is nostalgic and says the musical is the voice of his generation.

EJAY YATCO, COMPOSER, LYRICIST & CO-DIRECTOR: I love Blue Repertory. I think it defines me as a person, this org. It’s made by an all pure Blue Rep Alumnus team, Bym, Miyo and me, its a milestone for the org itself, and the musical, most of the characters are all based on Blue Reppers. So it encapsulates Blue Rep as a whole and even I’d like to think that the sound of it is the voice of my generation. They are all young people working here. I think the oldest person to work here is 25, 23. If people want to see how the youth think right now, i think this is a show to check out.

Television writer Miyo Sta. Maria co-writes Toilet The Musical.

MIYO STA. MARIA, CO-WRITER: Filipinos will relate to this kind of musical I think because Filipinos do have a strong religious character to them and they also have a tendency to judge a lot. (laughs)
Töngi: That’s honest!
Its very important for them to see this play because you know I think maybe they can see what’s really going on behind a persons mask.

The thesis of the play?

YATCO: “There are no happy endings in this life we life..
There are no endings just beginnings, I live my life as a new beginning, I live my life with no ending.”
They are called the millennials… said to be materialistic, self-centered, technology obsessed.
But it has also been said that they are the greatest force for positive change.
G Töngi. Rappler Manila.

Toilet the Musical closes this weekend at the Ateneo de Manila University’s Gonzaga Exhibit Hall.

– Rappler.com