Edrick Alcontado

PINGKIAN: ISANG MUSIKAL is a full-length stage musical about the life of Emilio Jacinto during the tail end of the Philippine revolution up to the start of the Philippine-American war. Witness the trials and triumphs of a nation on the edge of revolution as Jacinto navigates the complexities of war with an unwavering commitment to the cause of freedom. Jacinto sustains serious wounds in an encounter with the Cazadores at Majayjay, Laguna. As he fights for his life, he is visited by the ghosts of Andres Bonifacio, his closest friend and the revered Supremo of the Katipunan, and Dr. Jose Rizal, his role model for citizenship and civic values. Together, they delve into Jacinto's haunting nightmares and aspirations for a heroic death— an introspective exploration that serves as a poignant examination of the Katipunan's conscience and his definition of Freedom.

Tomas, the old venerable mayor of the remote town of Kawalan, learns that the invading Japanese will set up a garrison there. He organizes willing members in his community to set up a hidden settlement in the middle of the forest, where they can live unaffected by the horrors of war. As a young revolutionary during the 1896 fight against Spain and then as a soldier fighting against the Americans, Tomas had witnessed the effects of violence on people and become a pacifist. Now, he must see if inhabitants of the hidden settlement can escape the sufferings wrought by the war.

Hilarion Zabala has a mysterious, recurring olfactory problem. A counselor/psychiatrist suspects a lingering case of phantosmia, a phantom smell, and possibly caused by a deep psychological fracture. One recommended radical cure is that Hilarion must go back and deal with the darkest currents of his past life in the military service. Reassigned in the very remote Pulo Penal Colony, he must also confront the horrific realities of his present situation.