Why Liwanag sa Dilim Took Seven Years to Make

"[Theater] takes time. And if you don't devote that time, half-baked lang 'yung mabibigay sa audience, and they deserve more," Robbie Guevara, writer and director of upcoming Filipino musical Liwanag sa Dilim, said when asked how long it ideally takes to mount a production.

And Liwanag sa Dilim, which features the songs of Rico Blanco, is a show that took its time. It has undergone numerous revisions, endured a pandemic-induced hiatus, and evolved with the changing world. The musical finally opens on March 7 at the RCBC Theater, Makati, around seven years since it was envisioned to be onstage.

How Liwanag sa Dilim Started Out Through a Chance Encounter

The seeds for Liwanag sa Dilim were planted in 2018 when Guevara met Blanco at a family gathering. At the time, Guevara was deep in rehearsals for Eto Na! Musikal nAPO!, a musical built around the music of the APO Hiking Society. Blanco, having heard about the production from Jim Paredes, expressed interest in the creative process. That was all the opening he needed.

"He was the one who sat beside me and asked me about Musikal nAPO! Because he heard from Jim Paredes that we were doing a musical based on their songs. And I just outrightly asked him, 'Let's do a show with your songs.' And he goes, 'Let's do it.' So, it was that simple," he recalled during Esquire Philippines' press visit to the rehearsals of Liwanag sa Dilim.

Guevara wasted no time. He immediately informed his team and set the wheels in motion. Soon after, Blanco attended a performance of Musikal nAPO!

"It was also very timely that Jim was there because he kind of reassured Rico, saying, 'Your songs are in good hands, don't worry.' So, he's been game ever since.

9 Works Theatrical, with Guevara leading the production, started working on it that year, with a target showing in 2020. In fact, the theater company teased this new show in October 2019 when they posted a visual rendering of Rico Blanco under the pouring rain with the caption, "Prepping up for next year! Isang panibagong musikal!" They never confirmed nor denied that a Rivermaya musical was coming soon. But they already had auditions and workshopped the script.

The Pandemic Pause

The COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt. Live theater across the world shut down, and the project was put on indefinite pause. Guevara, like many in the industry, had to put his creative plans on hold.

However, the break wasn’t entirely unproductive. Towards the end of the pandemic, Viva expressed interest in producing a musical movie, prompting Guevara to rework the script for a cinematic format.

"I rewrote the script for a musical movie. And that [was also] set aside."

When the team revisited the script in 2023 for the stage production, they found themselves making adjustments to align with the shifting cultural landscape. Guevara revealed that he just did a few tweaks on version 29, which will likely go through more revisions as he works on it with the cast.

"But just to be clear, we didn't change the main story. We didn't change the main story. It's still the same. It's the same concept since we started [in 2018]," Santi Santamaria, Managing Director and Executive Producer of 9 Works Theatrical, clarified.

Guevara explained that a few characters were added; and minor, but very important, edits were made to "make the story fuller and more relatable."

Updating the Story for a New Generation

"When I started writing in 2018, I had a millennial consultant," the director said when asked about the changes from the early versions of the script. Now, there's a GenZ in the artistic team, who is also able to provide a "female perspective because [the creative team is] all testosterone," referring to Elize Gabrido, the assistant to the director.

One key realization was that courtship and romance have evolved. "Medyo mas mababaw sila. So kaunting holding hands, okay na. Whereas in our time, dapat may passion," Guevara explained.

The jokes and circumstances of the characters were also affected by the changing times. "There's a huge difference situationally here in 2020 versus 2025."

Guevara is a keen believer in writing for the current audience, which is now the GenZ, and even updating existing material to match their taste.

"It's actually a number one concern now. Because we are not just catering to new audiences, we're actually shaping them. I like to think that whatever we produce, whether it's serious or super comedy, I'd like to think we're educating and infusing education to our audiences," he explained.

GenZ, he added, is very used to entertainment provided by their mobile devices, which are "shallow, fleeting, they're there to entertain you for seconds." And, ultimately, decreases their attention span.

"We're asking for two hours, two and a half hours from people. And they're not used to that. They're used to getting entertained. If you don't capture their attention in the first 10 seconds of your video, they will scroll you off. And we don't want that in our shows. We don't want them scrolling us off. So, we want them to say,'Wow, pwede palang gano'n.'," Guevara said.

Another critical shift was ensuring that the production wasn’t just for long-time Rico Blanco fans. The show was conceptualized to appeal to both nostalgic Millennials and GenZ audiences. As scenographer Mio Infante put it, "It’s a fresh take on Rico Blanco’s music. We reimagined it for the zillennial. It's basically conceptualized to make it palatable to the audiences. Not only to the GenZ market, but also to the modern market. The people who are Rico Blanco fans are '90s kids. And, hopefully, we get the Baby Boomers and the Gen X. We had to re-imagine it to cater to a whole set of [new audience].

Infante added that, in terms of aesthetics, Liwanag sa Dilim is "a little bit of everything. And it's very now."

The Essence of Liwanag sa Dilim

9 Works Theatrical was very hush-hush about the musical's plot, revealing only a synopsis to the press: Follow Elesi, an orphan, on his quest to uncover the secrets of his past. Together with Cris, his trusted ally, they fight for justice — while an undeniable connection sparks between them and the people who challenge their hearts. This ignites a revolution that redefines their worlds.

But the creative team explained that it's all in the title. "It's actually text-based," Infante said. One can't help but think about the 2022 presidential campaign of Leni Robredo, whose camp used Rico Blanco's song "Liwanag sa Dilim."

While Guevara was happy that it was the Pink campaign that used the song as anthem, he clarified that the musical’s themes were conceived independently.

"Leni and her camp wanted to present her as the light at the end of the tunnel [and] the darkness that Filipinos go through, administration after administration. At siya 'yung liwanag. Ako, I firmly believe she would have been a great liwanag. In the same context, we have a liwanag in the cast. We have characters who are liwanags from whatever kadiliman they go through, to be broad about it. Only because that's really the context of the lyrics, and that actually shaped the main storyline and the sub-stories of the various characters," the director said.

The concept of light in the darkness is embedded in the musical’s core, and the big question that they had to answer was: "Sino ang liwanag?" The answer changes depending on the character and their journey.

And we all have to wait until Liwanag sa Dilim opens to see how Elesi becomes the light in the darkness.

The cast of Liwanag Sa Dilim will be headlined by Khalil Ramos, Anthony Rosaldo, CJ Navato, Vien King, Alexa Ilacad, and Nicole Omillo.

Liwanag Sa Dilim’s story is by Robbie Guevara, Jonjon Martin, and Mio Infante, and the musical arrangements and orchestration are by Orlando Dela Cruz.

Joining the artistic team are Daniel Bartolome as musical director; Jonjon Martin as dramaturg; Lorenz Martinez, as assistant director; Elize Gabrido as assistant to the director; Mio Infante as scenographer; PJ Rebullida as choreographer; Shakira Villa-Symes as lighting designer; Aji Manalo as sound engineer/designer; GA Fallarme as video designer; Dong Calingacion as technical director; and JV Rabano as photographer.

Liwanag sa Dilim opens on March 7, 2025 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati. Tickets, with prices ranging from P2,200 to P3,900, are available through Ticket2Me.