MANILA -- When Eraserheads performed at the auditorium of University of the Philippines (UP) in Baguio City in the mid-'90s, Theater Arts student Dexter Martinez Santos was among the wide-eyed fans singing the-now immortal lyrics, “Magkahawak ang ating kamay, at walang kamalay-malay, na tinuruan mo ang puso ko, na umibig na tunay.”

It’s the chorus from “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” one of the biggest hits of Eraserheads that has become a modern classic in local pop music history. At the time, the band was promoting its third studio album, “Cutterpillow,” where “Ang Huling El Bimbo” was included.

Composed of vocalist-rhythm guitarist-main songwriter Ely Buendia, drummer Raimund Marasigan, bassist Buddy Zabala and lead guitarist Marcus Adoro, Eraserheads remain one of the most influential Filipino rock bands in OPM history.

The song talks about a man’s love for his childhood sweetheart who taught him how to dance. She is a classic beauty, like Paraluman, a Filipina movie star in the age of black and white, but as they grew up, they lose contact. Years later, he finds out she got pregnant but lives without a husband. Working as dishwasher, she meets her tragic death in the dark alleys of Ermita.

“Ang Huling El Bimbo” is a vintage Buendia composition. It has a story to tell, not just words of affection splattered mindlessly in stanzas to fit the music. Being a Film student at the time, incidentally in UP Diliman, Buendia’s lyrics are like story concepts for a screenplay. This is also evident in the bubbly “Ligaya,” the coming-of-age witticism in “Pare Ko” and his two controversial masterpieces, “Alapaap” and the haunting “Spoliarium.”

All these songs and more Santos knows by heart.

“Ely, Buddy, Raimund, and Marcus have created theme songs for every special moment in our lives. From the very first time we fell in love to the very first time we had our hearts broken; from crazy drunk nights with your ‘barkada’ to sober ‘emo’ conversations with your best friend; from learning how to dream to learning from mistakes,” Santos mused.

“The songs from this iconic ‘90s band served as the original soundtrack of our lives. That is why it is only fitting that we create a new original Filipino musical that would encapsulate the beautiful stories of love, friendship, and even social concerns that are immortalized in these songs,” he said.

On that night during the Pinoy Fab Four’s concert at UP Baguio, Santos couldn’t recall if he was holding hands with someone special. But he’s sure that never in his wildest dreams, around 23 years later, did he ambition to become the director and choreographer of a musical that uses the songs of Eraserheads.

The pressure is so immense that Santos has been sleeping less in recent weeks as "Ang Huling El Bimbo," the latest production of Full House Theater Company, finally opens on Friday, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila in Pasay City, where it will run weekends until September 2.

• WATCH: 'Ang Huling El Bimbo,' a musical featuring the Eraserheads' songs

Using around 40 Eraserheads songs, "Ang Huling El Bimbo," with book by playwright Dingdong Novenario, totally veers away from the song’s basic narrative. The description from Ticketworld website has this summary: “'Ang Huling El Bimbo' tells the story of friends who get back together after 20 years apart. Personal challenges in each other’s lives force them to look back on how their friendship was formed and what brought them apart. Now they have to set these aside to give them one last chance to join hands and make things right.”

“It is such a tall order to stage an original Filipino musical, especially if the songs have already made a mark in people’s lives. The work includes endless meetings, countless revisions, never-ending online correspondences, regular improvisations and incessant scene work so that every nook and cranny of the production is given appropriate attention,” Santos shared.

Lifelong dream

“I don’t want to say that I am pressured to direct it. Maybe, more of excited. Who wouldn’t be? It was a lifelong dream to direct a musical featuring the songs of the iconic Filipino '90s band,” he added.

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Santos first thought of doing a musical in 2005. At the time, Eraserheads had been disbanded for three years and wouldn’t regroup until August 2008 for its first reunion concert.

Coming up with a tribute musical for a band that was born and honed in UP was a brilliant idea for Santos. But it was a humongous task even back then. The band members were not even on speaking terms.

“First year ng teaching ko sa UP in 2005. I assigned a final production for my movement class -- a one-hour movement piece based on the music of Eraserheads. Pangarap lang siya nun. Alam ko namang wala akong powers to do it,” Santos recalled.

He wasn’t even directing for Dulaang UP. His first was in 2008 for “Orosman at Zafira.”

He revealed that as early as then, during brainstorming sessions with his assistant directors at Dulaang UP, the idea of coming up with Pinoy rock musicals based on the songs of Sugarfree and the late Francis Magalona was brought up. This was before Future Shock Productions’ “Sa Wakas” in 2013 and the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s “Three Stars and A Sun” in 2016.

“With Sugarfree, we thought of it around 2009 while we were doing ‘Orosman at Zafira.’ With Francis M’s music, around 2011, when we were doing ‘Rizal X.’ In both, we encountered problems getting the copyrights to the songs. So parang naging pangarap na lang talaga. They were just ideas na alam ko namang ‘di matutuloy,” Santos said. “For DUP sana.”

At the time, because of a contract Eraserheads signed for its “Final Set” reunion concert on March 7, 2009 -- or what Ely Buendia called “final closure” -- the band was limited to doing concerts outside the Philippines. The four members cannot be seen performing together in one stage in their own country.

If fans want to hear their songs live, it’s via each member’s own bands. Buendia has Pupil. Marasigan has Sandwich and Pedicab. Adoro has Markus Highway. Zabala was with The Dawn. And they seldom play songs from Eraserheads.

With these hurdles, no wonder Santos refers to “Ang Huling El Bimbo The Musical” as a dream come true.

Humungous expectations

But with the realization of that dream comes the pressure. In one of his photos during rehearsals, Santos captioned it with the lines, “P’wede ba’ng itigil muna, ang pag-ikot ng mundo,” from “Spoliarium.”

“I think ‘yung pressure is the same as it is an original work -- finding and saturating ways to make it work. Tedious process kasi ang new material. But I have been blessed with a critical and discerning artistic team and a hardworking cast who decided to jump off the cliff with me. It’s a learning process. Masarap makipag-collaborate sa team that I have for ‘El Bimbo,’” he said.

Besides Novenario, he has Myke Salomon as musical director and arranger. Full House Theater Company’s co-artistic directors Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Michael Stuart Williams are also on board for the necessary feedback. Lauchengco-Yulo also plays a major character named Joy.

“People have been asking me, ‘Paano ‘pag hindi nagustuhan ng mga fans?’ or ‘Paano 'pag hindi nagustuhan ng members ng banda?’ I think, the important thing is, more than to satisfy anybody, we need to satisfy the story, the narrative first,” Santos said.

“That is my job as a director, to translate the material on stage. The primary concern is: What does the material want to say? That has always been my practice. Ano ba gusto sabihin ng text? And what do we need to do in order to breathe life to the message and deliver it to the audience? That is my responsibility,” Santos added.

Closer to home

Santos is younger by about half-a-decade than the members of Eraserheads. He spent his first two years in college in UP Baguio but finished his Theater Arts degree in UP Diliman, where he also took his Master’s and later on, served as an assistant professor at the Department of Speech and Theater Arts. Though all members of the band stayed at the campus longer than their course requirement, all those years Santos never had a chance to bump into any of them.

“Third-year high school pa lang po ako noong sumikat sila noong ‘90s,” he said, laughing at the memory. He remembered listening to the band's first commercially released album, “Ultraelectromagneticpop” in 1993, on cassette. This was followed by “Circus” in 1994 and later as freshman at UP Baguio, “Cutterpillow,” which was released in December 1995.

Santos transferred to UP Diliman on his third year in 1997, the same year Eraserheads released its fifth studio album, “Sticker Happy,” which includes “Spoliarium,” a psychedelic song named after Juan Luna’s masterpiece but whose subject remains mysterious until now.

Like any UP Diliman student, Santos knows how it feels when the boys were singing “Minsan sa may Kalayaan, tayo’y nagkatagpuan” from the opening lines of the hit “Minsan,” or “Magka-holding hands papunta sa CASAA” in the chorus of “Shirley.” “Kalayaan” is not the street in Makati but the UP-run residential hall inside the campus, and "CASAA" is the acronym of College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Association.

As a fan of the group, Santos has his top three favorite songs. “‘Ligaya’ since I got to know the band because of the song. ‘Alapaap’ because of its cathartic melody and I have always connected it with independence and freedom. Of course, “Ang Huling El Bimbo.’ I have always loved the narrative in the lyrics and the instrumental in the extended version. It would make me do movement improvisations,” he said.

“But now, working with this musical. Every song has been my favorite. You got to flesh out the essence of the songs in the musical,” he added.

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Quintosian move

Santos was offered the job as early as November last year. He was watching the preview of Repertory Philippines’ “Hair” when Lauchengco-Yulo saw him during intermission.

“She said that she had a project for me. Right after that brief encounter, I saw Michael Williams at the other side of Onstage Greenbelt and told me the exact same thing. The following morning, I got the message from Full House Theater Company's artistic directors inviting me to direct it. Of course, I said ‘yes!’”

Santos discovered later on that it was legendary playwright Floy Quintos, a dear friend and long-time collaborator, who recommended him.

Prior to “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” Santos directed University of the Philippines Playwrights Theatre’s “The Kundiman Party” in Dulaang UP, where he has been artistic director since 2015.

“The Kundiman Party” was Quintos's last play before taking a long hiatus.

Like Quintos, Santos surprised everyone when he made an announcement after its third and final weekend run that “The Kundiman Party” was also going to be his swan song as DUP artistic director.

For Santos, it’s all about being thankful for the experience. “Most of the things that I know about the theater I learned from Dulaang UP,” he said.

“As artistic director, I learned that I had to be able to balance the artistic and the managerial side of heading a theater company. As a non-profit university-based group, income was never our priority. But foresight was necessary and long-term planning included the sustainability of the production. We still did not sacrifice the production value of our productions from set, costumes, lights and video design. But together with the DUP core team—managing director, marketing manager, production and publicity manager—we also had to think about the finances in order to keep the company alive for our students and audiences,” he added.

Santos clarified that he’s not leaving DUP. He only relinquished his post as artistic director but will continue working with them if they need him.

He's proud to say that two of his students and former DUP actors, Stephen Viñas and Friz Esase, are part “Ang Huling El Bimbo” as associate choreographers. Viñas is also part of the ensemble.

“I think I have been blessed as an artist and as a director. Looking back at all the productions that I have done, I have realized that I am very fortunate because I got the chance to work with different artists,” Santos said, enumerating names that make up a veritable who’s who in Philippine theater.

From Constancio de Guzman to Paraluman

There are jokes among his friends that Santos's journey this year as director and choreographer can be summarized into “kundiman to el bimbo” or “Constancio de Guzman to Paraluman.”

Before plunging into “Ang Huling El Bimbo,” Santos went to the US for his yearly vacation, to depressurize and get away from it all. There he watched musicals like “Jagged Little Pill,” “Once On This Island,” “Carousel,” and “The Band’s Visit” as well as landmark straight plays like “Angels in America,” “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part 1.”

Subconsciously, he absorbed some techniques from these Broadway shows before going back in time for rehearsals. He has become more excited than nervous.

“If there is one thing in common with all of my productions, lahat sila ipinagdasal ko. I am no saint. I have my own shortcomings and wrong decisions. But if there is something that I’ll say is the magic ingredient – it’s prayer. There were times in the past when I just didn’t know what to do anymore. So I just pray. In times of uncertainty, I visit the Virgen de La Naval de Manila in Sto. Domingo Church. So far, I think it has been very effective. And I never fail to go back to give thanks to the Virgin,” he said.

Giving credit where it is due, Santos said, “I am indebted to everyone, like super everyone, in this production for their love, sacrifice and dedication in making sure that the world premiere of ‘Ang Huling El Bimbo’ becomes truly special. ‘Ang Huling El Bimbo’ the musical is a product of many artists and technicians.”

Unknown to him, his brilliance is felt by these people.

Atadero, one of the actors in "Rizal X," is happy to be reunited with Santos.

“Dexter Santos is the most meticulous director/choreographer I’ve ever worked with. It’s part of his brilliance. He’s very particular about certain things and when you see the results, you sometimes wonder why you only paid attention to those details now. He sees things we don’t normally see. He has a gift for motivating his actors to dig deeper and that makes us better. His process allows us to take our characters from its rawest to its most elegant, three-dimensional form,” he told ABS-CBN News.

Lauchengco-Yulo added: “I am truly amazed and in awe of Dexter as a director. He comes prepared and has great vision when he directs. His choreography is spectacular. He reminds of great choreographer directors like Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse and Susan Stroman. He is one of a kind.”

As for the thousands of Eraserheads fans who will surely troop to Newport Performing Arts Theater to experience the songs of their idols woven into a musical, Santos is prepared for the mixed reactions.

“We have to remember that the theater is a public domain. Once it is out there, once it has opened, anybody has the right to like it or hate it. Anybody has the right to express what he or she feels about it. And as an artist, we should not prioritize that in the process of creation. I always tell my students and actors that in everything you do, you just have to make sure that you give your all. That you put your best in the work... and nobody can take that away from you,” he said.

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But what if he bumped into Buendia, Marasigan, Adoro and Zabala during one of the runs? Would he be starstruck?

“‘Di naman siguro starstruck. Respeto. They have created music that served as the original soundtrack of our lives. I just hope that when they get to experience this musical they would see the power of their songs and how it has been used to create a new narrative and how it is translated into a different medium—the theater. An art form we breathe and all love,” he said.