Betong Sumaya steals show in Bubble Gang’s first live musical

CEBU, Philippines — For the past 23 years, “Bubble Gang” has time and again provided a good laugh towards the end of our week.

Last Feb. 15, the crew went the extra mile – leaping from TV screens and taking their set to the Pacific Grand Ballroom of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino as they brought together comedy and music in their very first live musical, “Parokya Nato’: A Laugh Story.”

Led by the show’s creative director, Michael V, the spectacle told a story of dreams with a good serving of laughter, set to the tunes of Parokya Ni Edgar. The musical circled in on an average Joe named Buloy (Michael V), a die-hard fan who dreams to become actress Birdie Aguila’s (the glowing Kim Domingo) leading man on screen and in real life. To achieve this, he finds himself facing an adventure or two.

The opening routine showed an idealistic bunch lining up for a shot at stardom, capturing the reality of auditions from the long queues to the devastating cut-offs. Despite being ridiculed for his dreams, Buloy marches on. He eventually gets his shot, but not in the way he imagined it. All the while circumstances bigger than him unfold for all of the characters, perhaps for their own good, as characters lose their trophies, some earn their redemption, and heroines find the courage to stand up for themselves.

While the plot is not sophisticated, perhaps that’s where its redeeming qualities lie. It does not take much for one to be able to follow “Parokya Nato’: A Laugh Story,” with the songs easing into the tale and taking it from one scene to the next.

Its brand of comedy is rooted on the experiences we have day to day, and we laugh because we’ve somehow found ourselves in these similar situations, whether you’ve pined for a celebrity, drank your sorrows away or gossiped at the nearby carenderia.

While Michael V’s trademark impersonations and gender-bending roles never fail to amuse, standouts like Betong Sumaya, who portrayed Buloy’s gentle mom, give the show it’s firepower. It doesn’t hurt that the actors inhabit their characters well like Valeen Montenegro’s sultry, scheming executive, Paolo Contis’ wild child role, among others.

Most remarkable of all is how writers and actors took it upon themselves to inject the Cebuano dialect in the lines, making sure not to leave out the Cebuanos who will be watching the tale unfold. That did not go unnoticed by the audience, who were able to easily laugh with the show and the ways it tried to speak to their audience. While they might stage the show many times, that evening’s crowd might only be seeing this once, so it’s always a good idea to leave a sparkling impression.

In the end, one can only make up so many skits. Some jokes get tired even before we say the punchline when the novelty wears off. Apart from the humor, the secret to Bubble Gang’s over two decades on television is the way they listen to their audiences and their keen eye when it comes to identifying what makes them laugh.

The way they continually evolve and reach out to people they want to see smile is perhaps, the reason why audiences haven’t decided to spit them out in search for another brand of comedy. That connection did not fall short that evening as the stars stayed on stage to say hello and take pictures with their swarming fans.