What to expect from Cebu songwriter Jude Gitamondoc’s new ‘heartbreak’ musical 

CEBU, Philippines – Kilig? Heartbreak? If you’re a big fan of romance and songs to cry to, Cebuano songwriter and musical producer Jude Gitamondoc has a new musical for lovebirds and “yearners” alike — Hopeless Romantics, Inc.

The play’s preview was at the University of the Philippines Cebu (UPC) Performing Arts Hall on on January 25.

At the heart of Hopeless Romantics, Inc. is the story of three friends whose lives are stitched together through poetry, youth, romance and unrequited feelings.

Gitamondoc, a well-known songwriter and multi-awarded musical director, takes memories from his past and breakthroughs from heartbreak into an original piece filled with never-before-heard songs and interesting takes on the discourse of love.

“Prepare to fall in love for the very first time all over again,” the musical director said at the preview night.

Since starting a career in music in 2001, the songwriter has composed, produced, and directed musicals like Monsters The Musical, Gugmang Giatay The Musical, You’ve Been Facebooked! The Musical, and more. 

Gitamondoc also made the English musical Siddhartha: A Musical Journey to Enlightenment, which was also staged abroad.

In 2009, he became a founding member of the Visayan Pop Songwriting Campaign (Vispop) which gathered talents from different parts of the region to compete for the best songs, lyrics, and impact in the local musical arena.

From the heart

Without giving away too much of the plot, the story is centered on the journey of main character Justin as he takes a trip down memory lane, remembering his moments with friends Mark and Andi.

Through reflection over words left unsaid to “the-one-that-got-away” and his progression towards the act of moving on, Justin attempts to discover what it means to “write one’s own story.”

“The musical’s inspiration is from my own experiences but the story eventually became its own thing. It retained very few of the things I experienced but I was going for encapsulating that feeling of being unrequited,” Gitamondoc told Rappler.

The director shared that the original title of the musical was supposed to be “Unrequited” but after making a poll on social media, it was decided that the musical would be “Hopeless Romantics, Inc.”

Gitamondoc started work on the musical in 2010 as “a way to process his own feelings of heartbreak.” 

Gitamondoc shared that the cast of Hopeless Romantics, Inc. features new actors and seasoned performers.

Thespians Kent Talisaysay and Derek Bryan Salazar will be alternating in the role of Justin, while Rienzi Jay Chan and Van Duke Gacayan will be alternating as Mark. Theatre actress Yesha Suralta plays Andi, and actor Shim Dagatan as Joey.

Gitamondoc told Rappler that he has worked with some of the young actors in previous plays like Siddhartha while meeting the others who have made debut performances in Cebu’s stages.

To fall in love…again

“I like that it’s different from everything that I’ve done,” the musical director told Rappler.

Gitamondoc explained that they wished to tell the “other side” of the usual romantic narratives of boy-meets-girl stories.

“Everyone has an experience with falling in love for the very first time and the first time is always memorable but we wanted the play to be that experience of that first love, having that first feeling but experiencing it all over again,” Gitamondoc said.

For the musical director, the first instance of falling in love can be described as something that is “very intense” and idealistic — something, he shared, they wished to capture by also framing the world through an “imaginative lens” from the main character’s perspective.

“You can only experience your first time once but we want everyone to experience it twice or more through this play so that was the feeling that we wanted to capture,” he said.

Gitamondoc told Rappler that the musical will taek center stage at the UP Cebu Performing Arts Hall on February 21 to 23.