|
‘I LIKE
the play a lot, although there are some scenes that I
still find hard to watch. They bring back very sensitive
memories from my past,” the fortysomething Gideon Javier
told this writer after the second Friday staging of
Tanghalang Pilipino’s season-ender, the rock musical
EJ (Ang Pinagdaanang Buhay nina Evelio Javier at
Edgar Jopson), at the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Little Theater.
Gideon
happens to be the eldest son of the slain former
governor of Antique, Evelio Javier. “My mother has been
living in the
US
for more than 20 years. She has no intention of coming
back here. I came back, but I never touched politics and
never will,” Gideon added, who’s now a successful
contractor in the construction business.
Gideon
was not even a teenager when his father was gunned down
by members of “the lost command of the Philippine
Constabulary,” believed to be taking orders from the
local supporters of dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It was at
the height of the circus-like Snap Presidential Election
in 1986. Evelio, then already an ordinary citizen, was a
supporter of presidential candidate Cory Aquino, who won
in Antique, but was cheated of victory.
Evelio’s
violent death—27 bullets—ended a life that best
exemplified the essence of being an Atenean, that of
being “a man for others.”
A law
professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, the
28-year-old Evelio entered public service with the
purest intention to uplift the lives of the common folks
when he ran for and won as governor of Antique in 1971.
He served until 1980.
Edgar
Jopson, or Edjop, also an Atenean, tread a more radical
path. He was a brilliant student leader, fearless labor
organizer, hard-core activist and, eventually, a
high-ranking official of the National Democratic Front.
In 1982 he was murdered by government soldiers during a
raid in a Davao safehouse.
During
the earlier week’s gala staging, members of Edgar
Jopson’s family, including his wife Joy, were also
present.
Though
Edjop and Evelio never met in real life, playwright Ed
Maranan (Palanca Hall of Fame awardee) came up with a
brilliant, moving, never-didactic story that has the two
heroes interacting like souls watching and evaluating
their own lives, their loved ones, all they left behind
and the now.
Alternating in the role of Evelio are the magnificent
Ricky Davao and much-awarded playwright-actor Rody Vera.
For Edjop, there’s the equally credible Jett Pangan,
frontman of The Dawn, a rock band coincidentally formed
almost at the same time of Evelio’s death. Julienne
Mendoza plays alternate to Pangan.
Further
unifying the seemingly parallel lives of the two EJs,
Maranan came up with an omnipresent executioner (played
by Tanghalang Pilipino’s major asset Bong Cabrera), who
is as consistently annoying as the idea of still having
billions of foreign debt.
There
are songs with Maranan’s lyrics that The Dawn put music
into. The rock musical uses a few of the many hit songs
by The Dawn, whose members are playing live in a
creatively backlit makeshift stage, separated by barb
wires behind the actual performance area.
“Abot
Kamay,” a noncheesy ballad about longing for someone,
suddenly acquires a revolutionary undertone, like a
prayer for sociopolitical change. The lyrics of a later
hit, “Harapin ang Liwanag,” rightfully reflects the
stern conviction of the two protagonists.
“Salimpusa” was written by lead guitarist Francis Reyes
for the usual whiners and posers that plagued The Dawn
but in EJ, it perfectly expresses the collective anger
of Filipinos against Marcos. “Iisang Bangka Tayo,” a
signature song about camaraderie and unity, once used
for a beer TV commercial, is performed like a duet by
the two EJs.
There’s
the earlier radio-friendly, undeniably U2-inspired love
song “Can You Tell,” which director Chris Millado
judiciously chose for the wedding scene.
Then
there’s “Salamat,” one of the last hits composed by
founding member Teddy Diaz, who was stabbed to death in
front of his girlfriend’s house in 1988 by two deranged
bystanders. Nothing political there but there’s
something cryptically coincidental when we found out
that, just like his father (legandary kontrabida actor
Vic) and grandfather Pompeyo (a widely respected judge),
Teddy’s alma mater was also Ateneo.
And
while we’re still on it, faces of fellow Atenean
activists who also suffered Marcosian deaths are
recurrently flashed onstage via video projector—images
of Eman Lacaba, Ferdie Arceo, Jun Celestial, Sonny Hizon,
Dan Perez and Nick Solana, among others. Except for the
young hippie poet Lacaba, the others maybe less known
than the two EJs but they deserve equal honor.
Then
again, this play is not by, for and about Atenean
activists. It’s only pure coincidence. Pangan and Reyes,
for one, are La Sallites.
Going
back, “Salamat” is performed in the final scene, when
Evelio and Edjop, both dead, are fictionally reunited
with their respective wives, companions, constituents
and cadres.
For a
fan, experiencing this musical is a must. There’s more
to The Dawn than singing “Salamat” and “Enveloped Ideas”
with endless beer and sisig.
In the
same breath, for those who’ve seen only the version with
Pangan, Davao and The Dawn, it is strongly suggested to
watch it again with Vera, Mendoza and the alternate band
intriguingly named Sisig. It’s a different trip.
As with
thousands of Filipinos from all walks of life who stood
up against the dictator and were either murdered in
broad daylight or made to vanish forever without a
trace, the real masterminds behind Evelio and Edjop’s
murder were never punished. Most of these old, greedy
assholes are back, holding government positions,
recovering once-sequestered properties, attending social
gatherings covered by glossy magazines and society pages
as their designer-drugged grandchildren hang out in
places like Embassy.
Perhaps
some of them even watched a ballet or a Philippine
Philharmonic Orchestra performance at the CCP Main
Theater while downstairs, there was the ongoing EJ,
which is having its last weekend run until March 9.
■ For ticket inquiries: 832-3661 or 832-1125, local
1620. For The Dawn schedule: www.thedawn.ph. |
