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MANILA -- Playwright-actor-director Rodolfo “Rody” Vera clearly remembers the first time the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) staged the sung-through musical “1896.”

“It was 1995 when PETA staged ‘1896.’ A year before pa lang nasa kalendaryo na iyan ng PETA,” Vera told ABS-CBN News.

“It was Charley dela Paz who was commissioned to write the libretto. He was head of the Playwrights Development Program of PETA then, and, under that program, he also started the Writers’ Bloc in partnership with Rene Villanueva. PETA also commissioned Lucien Letaba to compose the music,” Vera recalled.

"1896" is PETA’s landmark production about the revolt led by Andres Bonifacio against the Spanish rule. It wa top-billed by then heartthrob singer-actor Ariel Rivera, singer-actress May Bayot, folk musician Noel Cabangon, PETA regulars Vera, Cynthia Guico, Lionel Guico, Bodjie Pascua and the PETA Kalinangan Ensemble.

It is being streamed starting today, November 27, until November 29, and from December 4 to 6 via KTX, together with Magtoto and Vincent de Jesus’s “Care Divas” and De Jesus’s “Si Juan Tamad, Ang Diablo at Ang Limang Milyong Boto,” as part of PETA’s digital festival imaginatively called “K.E.-POP: Kalinangan Ensemble-Performers Overcoming a Pandemic.”

It was 1995 and the country was in full swing in preparing to celebrate major events in history -- the 1896 Revolution; the declaration of Philippine Independence from Spanish rule on June 12, 1898 led by Emilio Aguinaldo; and the controversial birth of the first Philippine Republic or the Malolos Republic on January 23, 1899.

There were literary contests, painting exhibits, rock concerts in parking lots, original ballet productions, stage plays and all kinds of performances being held in schools, public parks and other available venues.

Even the national government formed a commission to commemorate our struggles for nationhood. After three centuries of being in a convent, as how writer Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil described it, our founding fathers managed to organize themselves and unite before they were gripped with greed, envy and political ambitions that led to their own demise.

True to its mandate and visions, PETA chose to commemorate the centennial of the Philippine Revolution led by Bonifacio.

Jacinto’s point of view

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“As early as 1994, nag-uusap na 'yung dalawa (dela Paz and Letaba) kung ano ang patutunguhan ng musical. It was Charley who put forth the idea that the musical will be from Emilio Jacinto’s perspective. Na gusto rin naman ng PETA kasi magandang makita ang kuwento sa punto-de-bista ng kabataan. Emilio was the youngest among the three main characters (Aguinaldo, Jacinto and Bonifacio),” Vera said.

Pascua played Aguinaldo, Rivera played Jacinto, and Vera as Bonifacio.

Depending on who’s telling the tale, Jacinto joined the Katipunan, the secret society of revolutionaries founded by Bonifacio, when he was only 19 or 20 years old. (Historian and newspaper columnist Manuel Luis Quezon III, however, insists that Jacinto was only 18.)

Thus, in 1995 the very young matinee idol and recording artist Rivera was perfect for the role. Vera recalled vividly how Rivera fitted in and eventually embraced theater.

“Noons una siyempre pinakikiramdaman namin siya. Kasi nga big star talaga siya. And he had a lot of commitments so he couldn’t attend the rehearsals sa simula. But later he enjoyed our company na. Magkasama kami sa tatlo o apat na eksena,” Vera said.

In 1995, PETA’s home was still the open-air Raha Sulayman Theater in the ruins of Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. (It wasn't until 10 years later that they transferred to their present home in Quezon City.)

“We knew from the start that this was going to be PETA’s major production for the season. For one, hindi ito ipinalabas sa Raha Sulayman Theatre kung 'di sa UP Theater where we hoped to bring in a lot more audiences,” Vera said, adding that it had about 30 performances from August to September that year.

Like ‘Les Miserables’

“We rehearsed in a gymnasium in UP. The sets were humungous kasi nga ang peg noon ay ‘Les Miserables,’” Vera said, followed by laughter.

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“And so we had these huge set pieces on roller wheels. At saka may ramp na medyo steep. We had to get used to all that. The cast, if I remember right, was also huge. About 30-35 yata kami noon. There was Ariel Rivera. Lionel Guico alternating with Bodjie Pascua as Aguinaldo. May Bayot (de Castro na ngayon) as Oryang alternating with Cynthia Guico. And then there was Kalayaan PETA Ensemble, headed by Teresa Villasin (married name Wood). And whole ensemble for chorus.”

“It was PETA’s first and so far the only sung-through musical. Kaya ako nakasali kasi miyembro ako ng PETA. I was on my last year as artistic director of PETA,” Vera said.

“What I remember of that production was how happy we all were being together in that production. The whole ensemble bonded really well. Ariel even cried at the company call of the last show. And everyone had separation anxiety after. Apart from that, the production was a huge success.”

“1896” had several runs the following years, including a special performance at the 1998 Cultural Center of the Philippines’ International Theater Festival.

Remembering Charley dela Paz

Most theater followers nowadays may have a vague idea who Carlos “Charley" dela Paz Jr. was.

At a very young age of 30, he passed away on December 15, 1995. It was a couple of months after the first successful run of “1896”, making it Dela Paz’s swan song.

Vera recalled he died peacefully in his sleep.

“I was in Germany when Charley passed away in 1995. On the very birthday of Emilio Jacinto, in fact. All of PETA mourned kasi nga ang bata-bata pa niya,” Vera told ABS-CBN News.

In his column for Market Monitor, published December 13, 2015, editor-theater reviewer Alvin Dacanay wrote: “Dela Paz wrote and acted in a number of the company’s socially conscious plays in the 1980s and early 1990s.”

“Although he was a prize-winning dramatist, the disarmingly humble and soft-spoken Charley was not as celebrated as, say, the late Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero, Orlando Nadres, Bienvenido M. Noriega Jr. or Rene O. Villanueva,” Dacanay wrote, adding that Dela Paz’s legacy, together with Villanueva, was the founding and nourishing of The Writers’ Bloc.

Dacanay, who also attended The Writers’ Bloc, pointed out: “He was a most conscientious coordinator. He would call up or send letters to Bloc members — this was before the internet boomed, mind you — reminding them of an upcoming session and the writers scheduled to have their latest drafts read for comments; invite theater practitioners, PETA members or not, to share their experiences and insights with them; and, occasionally, organize exposure trips to get inspiration for new works.”

Vera recalled The Writers’ Bloc was formed when Dela Paz was in the PETA-Metropolitan Teen Theater League (MTTL).

“I’ve known Charley since he was in MTTL. Soft-spoken at malalim mag-isip. At a very young age, he was the only one fit to head the Playwright’s Development Program. Ang galing ng naging partnership nila ni Rene Villanueva. Rene was heading another playwright’s group then called Telon, of which Charley was also attending,” Vera said.

“Eventually Charley convinced Rene to merge the group under PETA’s Writers’ Bloc. And that was the time The Writers’ Bloc had a fantastic crop of playwrights: Jun Lana, Elmer Gatchalian, Chris Martinez, Nick Pichay, Liza Magtoto, and Charley dela Paz, of course.”

Vera joined PETA’s tour outside the Philippines with Dela Paz.

“It was the North America and European tour of PETA’s 'Panata sa Kalayaan.' For nine months we were travelling all together. Everyone in PETA loved Charley. And he had a lot of plans for Wrtiers’ Bloc then.”

Eventually, Vera took over Dela Paz’s role in The Writers Bloc. When Villanueva passed away in December, 2007, Vera has been the torchbearer and “punong-abala” rolled into one until now.

Letaba’s contribution

Of Letaba, Vera said: “Mas matagal kaming magkakilala ni Lucien -- way back late 1970s or early 1980s if I recall right. Lucien already had a good number of compositions up his sleeve. He and Louis Pascasio composed songs for PETA’s ‘Pilipinas Circa 1907’ and some sarsuwela along with Gardy Labad.”

Back then, he recalled Letaba, Pascasio, Labad along with Ronnie Quesada and a few other PETA musicians collectively composed for all of PETA’s musicals.

We asked Vera, why watch a musical like “1896,” especially for millennials?

“The musical ‘1896’ was talking of an unfinished revolution, an aborted one. Hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin ito natatapos. Importanteng manatili sa alaala ng mga tao ang mga pangyayaring ito, kasama na rin ang marami pang pangyayaring pilit pinalilimot o binabago ang naratibo ng ating kasaysayan,” Vera said.

“I think it will still resonate hanggang ngayon. Lalo na ngayon with a brief spate of historical films we’ve been having, too lately that debunk myths about our heroes and our history. More than that, the music of ‘1896’ is wonderful. I hope someday i-restage ito,” he added.