Interview: Robbie Guevara Reveals Success Formula Behind AMERICAN IDIOT

Manila, Philippines--Two original Filipino musicals "Sa Wakas," which features the songs of the alternative rock band Sugarfree, and "Rak of Aegis," which highlights the songs popularized by the rock band "Aegis," have succeeded and won the hearts of many nonregular theatergoers, especially the Pinoy rock music fans. 9 Works Theatrical and Globe Live's rock opera AMERICAN IDIOT by Green Day follows the same winning formula. Since the show opened two weeks ago--staying true to the producers' intended goal--it has been attracting audiences, including nonregular theatergoers, to its open-air venue at the Globe Iconic Store in Bonifacio Global City.

Robbie Guevara, the show's director, reveals some key points why their show has the blockbuster potential.

Diverse Cast

Robbie admits he has conditioned himself that besides casting seasoned theater performers, he also needed real-life rock stars in the show.

"In choosing the lead actors, mahirap i-narrow down kase maraming magagaling," he said.

"Aside from the four rock stars in the cast [Jason Fernandez, Miggy Chavez, Norby David, and Basti Artadi], there were two other rock stars the casting team was considering. It was actually just a question of balancing it."

Though they had chosen former Rivermaya band's lead vocalist Jason Fernandez and Chicosi band's Miggy Chavez to play the roles of Johnny and Will, respectively, they had to bring in Nel Gomez, a young musical theater actor, to play the role of Tunny.

"We needed a good mix. We needed Nel. He's very involved in the theater and is shaping up to be a dependable actor. We needed someone to set an example. The rock stars in the cast are learning technical skills from him while he is learning on a personal level from them.

"Nel taught the rock stars how to pace things while he learned from them how to expel the same amount of energy in every rehearsal without getting really exhausted."

Good Mix of Voices

"Onyl Torres, our musical director for vocals, wanted a diverse sound. Of course, we had to fill up the slots of the alto, tenor, soprano voices and all that," Robbie gleefully decribed that part of the casting process.

In the cast, there are only around six or seven that previously worked with 9 Works Theatrical. The rest are either relatively new in the theater or have no professional theater experience at all.

He added, "Having to audition rock stars for the show, it was an eye opener for us to hear how an actual rock star sing the score because that's supposed to be the way the songs should be sung."

But another interesting casting choice that the audiences have to watch for, as bragged about by Robbie, is the inclusion of two "Miss Saigon" London revival alums Ariel Reonal and Ela Lisondra.

Having Ariel and Ela in the cast, Robbie was hoping they could share what they have learned, their experiences abroad. To him, it's the same way what he did when he came home from the UK tour of "Miss Saigon."

"Andami kong nai-share as an actor. One of the things that I shared was what's happening backstage: the professionalism of the stage management, the system. Anlaki talaga ng difference. More than the acting, more than the process of building the characters, the chorus and all that was the flow backstage. That's what I have implemented in 9 Works Productions."

Great Collaboration with Globe Live, Artists

The entire team knows what carries the show are the popular songs of Green Day such as "American Idiot," "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Holiday," "Wake Me Up When September Ends," "Jesus of Suburbia," and more. Also, one of the things that made Globe Live and 9 Works Theatrical decide to stage the show was the captive market.

Robbie told BroadwayWorld.com, "Whether our existing market [regular audiences] is included or not, it's just going to be a bonus if they come and watch."

Since it's their first time to stage a theatrical production outdoors, bringing out the emotions is the next challenge. It is where the stage movements come in. "It's not just dancing, but movements. When PJ Rebullida (choreographer) asks the cast to raise their arms, it should have a meaning. We don't want to dictate the meanings of each movement; we want to create the meanings based on every character's 'history.'

"Also, we hope that those who accidentally pass by the venue and love rock music would say, 'let's buy tickets'."

Globe Live has given 9 Works Theatrical the ample space to stage the show and the way they want to do it.

A restriction they had to face though was editing the "f" words in the show.

"We had to substitute; we had to settle with 'freakin' or 'shit'...we also can't show someone using drugs on stage," Robbie revealed.

All in all, what makes this production remarkable to him and the rest of the team is the relationship they have nurtured together.

"I think it's the 'give-and-take' that makes us all closer together."

AMERICAN IDIOT ends its limited engagement on Sunday, July 10. For tickets (starting at P2,090), visit TicketWorld.com.ph or Globe.com.ph/American-Idiot.

Photos: Erickson Dela Cruz, Paolo Ruiz

To post a comment, you must register and login.