Gag show marks its 22nd year with musical special
TWENTY-TWO years ago, Bubble Gang first aired on GMA Network — a sketch gag show inspired by Tropang Trumpo airing on what was then ABC-5, from which Michael V (Beethoven del Valle Bunagan in real life) and former Bubble Gang member Ogie Alcasid came. The show is now widely considered as the longest running gag show in Philippine TV history.
While the cast members have changed through the years and segments have come and gone, Mr. Bunagan (who now serves as the show’s creative director) said the secret to the show’s longevity was “dedication to work” and being in touch with the changes in society.
“Society benefits from our jokes and we benefit from society. It’s a good relationship,” Mr. Bunagan said during a press conference on Nov. 13, adding their jokes are taken from what’s happening in society.
As Bubble Gang celebrates its anniversary, it will do so by doing something they have never done before: a musical.
“First of all, we didn’t know what to do. We thought about [ doing a musical] because we haven’t done it yet,” he said in the vernacular before saying that the idea came to him after seeing one of his children join a musical production in Ateneo.
“And then the success of Rak of Aegis also inspired me to come up with something like this. I thought we can use this for Bubble Gang and I hoped it might work,” he explained.
While PETA’s musical Rak of Aegis used songs of the rock band Aegis to tell a comic story about a perpetually flooded community, the Bubble Gang special, titled Parokya Bente Dos: A Laugh Story, will use the music of yet another popular Filipino rock band, Parokya ni Edgar.
The two- part special, which will air on Nov. 17 and 24, will tell the story of Buloy ( Michael V), a die-hard fan who has build his dreams around an actress Birdie Aguila (Kim Domingo), and the countless adventures he has to go through in order to become Ms. Aguila’s leading man on and off the screen.
The special will be helmed by stage director and actor Rem Zamora. Also working on the special are music director and playwright Vince de Jesus, musical arranger Myke Salomon, and choreographer Dan Cabrera.
Because they have never done anything like this before, Mr. Bunagan said: “melding the two — gag show and a musical” was part of the challenge but he assured that the audience will be “delightfully surprised.”
“It took us three months of rehearsals to prepare for this,” he said.
Though he did not name which songs will be featured in the musical, 10 songs from the band were chosen including “Buloy” which is the name of Mr. Bunagan’s character.
“The rehearsals taught us discipline so we felt we really were theater artists and we enjoy every rehearsal. I can’t speak for them ( the showrunners) but we saw how it tested their patience because we’re a rowdy bunch, and it’s something you’ll see in the show,” said cast member Valeen Montenegro.
Parokya Bente Dos: A Laugh Story will air on Nov. 17 and 24 after My Korean Jagiya on GMA Telebabad. —