Kids

Jepoy and the Magic Circle Debuts in Repertory Philippines’ New Home at Eastwood Theatre

by Paulyne Fermin
October 21, 2024

Should we and the kids watch Jepoy and the Magic Circle? Here’s what we know!

Repertory Philippines (REP) has found a new home in Eastwood Theatre at Eastwood City Walk in Quezon City. For its maiden production in the venue, REP chose Jepoy and the Magic Circle. Directed by theatre icon Joy Virata, the interactive fantasy musical is based on the Palanca award-wining short story by literary legend Gilda Cordero Fernando. Playwright and director Rody Rivera takes credit for the English adaptation of the story while Ejay Yatco shows his forte as the musical director and lyricist of the play.

Jepoy and the Magic Circle is a story of a young boy (Yhuan Gatbonton) who lives at the edge of a vast forest with his laundry woman mother Aling Barang (Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante) and their dog Galis (Francis Gatmaytan/Cara Barredo). Mother and son would visit the neighboring town every Monday to deliver clean clothes. For much of his growing years, Jepoy found himself the butt of jokes and ridicule of the folks. Whispers that he is the son of a “kapre” and an “aswang’ (which made him a “weirdo”) became louder as time went on.

One fateful day, Galis snatches a dress from Aling Barang’s batya (metal basin) and runs into the woods. As Jepoy follows, he stumbles into a magical realm filled with mythical Filipino creatures who are all fighting for the preservation of their home. While there, the boy finds a community, commonality with the creatures, and finally, his own identity.

A Delightfully Interactive Production

It has been a while since I watched a local musical. Paqui is my favorite character. (Stephen Viñas plays the forest Spanish-speaking “dwende”). He opens the show with a musical guessing game where he asks the audience to identify different forest animals. It’s definitely a tough job as the scene would have been a total failure had the people not participated. Due to Paqui’s charisma and the awesome lit-up creatures held by the actors, the opening scene was a success and set the tone for the rest of the performance.

There are so many things to love about this production, really. The lyrics are brilliant and the lyrics are spirited. The moving sets of Mio Infante are awesome! There were times when multiple changes in sets were done in rapid succession which was so fun to watch.

And Raven Ong’s costumes—WOW! Meanwhile, a lot of puppetry (puppet design by Kayla Teodoro, projection design by GA Fallarme, and lighting design by John Batalla) was involved in the production and I must commend the actors for seamlessly blending their puppet movements with their individual performances. The best one would have to be the giant tree “kapre” in the end. That costume must be so heavy but the actor was able to move the creature’s mouth in total unison with his singing. Incredible!

Captivating Cast Performance

It takes a village, as they say, and this is so true with the cast of Jepoy and the Magic Circle. Every character contributed to the impressive outcome. Memorable performances go to Jepoy Aling Barang, Paqui, Doña Etang (Abi Sulit), Tres Marias (Barbara Jance, Paula Paguio, Jay Barrameda), and Kapre (Hans Eckstein).

REP President and CEO Mindy Perez-Rubio says, “We’re proud to celebrate a new dawn for REP with a production that puts our Filipino culture and heritage front and center as we look forward to enriching more lives through the power and magic of theatre.”

Truly, Jepoy and the Magic Circle is one production that is sure to capture a new generation of theatre enthusiasts Not only will young kids and kids at heart appreciate the rich production value, but the universal messages it champions: preservation of nature, love for family, and inclusivity.

Jepoy and the Magic Circle runs until February 2025.

For show-buying and ticket inquiries, call REP at 0966-905-4013 or 0962-691-8540