Rak of Aegis: Reasons Why I Highly Suggest That You Watch It

I've been gushing about Rak of Aegis in the past week and I think it deserves a blog post so that I can put all my fangirling and love for it into words and immortalize it in the interwebs. So behold, here's my attempt on convincing you to catch this wonderful musical until it closes on August.

Here are my five reasons why...

1. It's AEGIS.

C'mon, you can't be serious if you haven't heard at least one Aegis song in your life.

Kim Molina as Aileen

Coming from a family of notorious videoke lovers, Aegis is very familiar to me so when I heard about Rak of Aegis a year ago, I was really excited to see it for myself -- and heck, I was not disappointed. In fact, it is now one of my favorite Pinoy musicals (tell me about it, I've seen it twice this season already).

It's just apt to send my thanks to Aegis for your songs, to Liza Magtoto for writing this nothing short of magnificent play, Maribel Legarda for the directing it, Myke Solomon for your brilliant musical direction and arrangement and to all the cast -- you've made me a very happy theater camper. In fact, it got me so elated that I want to take up a theater workshop at PETA in the near future (I have a secret desire to be part of a musical. Blame Grease and Hairspray.)

PS. Rak of Aegis album, please? Because my Rak of Aegis Hangover playlist on Spotify is not good enough anymore.

2. Light-hearted take on relevant social issues.

Welcome to Villa Venezia -- an all singing, all dancing community submerged in flood waters.

One of the best prod set-ups I've seen. Also, san ka pa may baha talaga sa PETA!

Minus the singing and the dancing, this is a familiar scenery to the Filipinos when the rainy season kicks in. Ika nga, basang-basa sa baha.

Rak of Aegis tackled issues brought by the flood, its causes and consequences to the community. The story revolved on dreams and struggles, resilience, and optimism amidst the floods.

Renz Verano (Tatay Kiel), Sweet Plantado (Kapitana Mary Jane) and Kakai Bautista (Mercy)

3. The cast is exceptional.

Hands down to the entire cast. I have my favorites but all of them were nothing short of amazing.  All my love, RoA cast! ❤

Fangirling commences here. You've been warned. Haha! 

Renz Verano - whom I absolutely adore and love as Tatay Kiel. Quoting a friend, "tatay na tatay sya eh". And his voice is really good and fits his character perfectly.

I can't forget the line, "yang tatay mo limang taon ng paos..." Hagalpak yung tawa ko eh. :))

We loved Renz and Kakai as Aileen's parents. #relationshipGoals haha!

Jewel is 100% fabulous! And the Baha Jos segment was golden! HAHAHAHA!! You have to watch it to find out why.

Kim Molina as Aileen and Myke Salomon as Kenny = ❤️

Kim Molina and Myke Salomon

It was my first time to catch Jerald Napoles as my ever favorite character Tolits, and boy, was he good! He's the funny and charming "hunk" Tolits for me. "Isang malaking daga!"

Jerald Napoles as Tolits

Pepe Herrera is my ultimate favorite bangkero sa baha. The first time I saw RoA, Tolits was the most memorable character and yep, he was played by Pepe Herrera. A year later, he still nails the jologs pero adorable Tolits that I am so smitten about. (shoutout to Pepe Herrera in case he sees this, I'm such a big fan!) #TeamTolits all the way! 

Being able to catch it twice this season already, I've noticed something uniquely new added or modified, like the time "Dora" was there! I also commend the cast's flawless ability to add spontaneous ad libs to make their dialogues funnier. :D

I might see the show again so hopefully I get to catch the other actors' performance too. :)

4. It's an award-winning production.

Rak of Aegis garnered numerous citations at the Philstage Gawad Buhay awards night. Awards included are Outstanding Original Musical, Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Musical, Stage Direction for a Musical, Original Libretto, Musical Direction, to name a few.

If these creds are not enough to make you watch the show, I don't know what else will (maybe my constant gushing about it will do). :P

5. You will leave the theater in amazement (with a mad dash of kilig).

Rak of Aegis is definitely a treasure of the Philippine Theater scene and it's re-run this year only shows how awesome of a show it is. Brilliant music arrangement, impressive set, and a stellar cast with mad talents -- what more can you ask for?

The show has that irresistable charm that you can't help but fall in love with it. As they say, malakas ang connection at chemistry.

I do hope that by now I have already convinced you into seeing RoA for yourself. :D If you go see it and didn't break into a laugh, got kilig and/or find it great, let me know and I promise I'll buy you a coffee. But if it did, do spread the word to your friends! ;)

And with that, Mahal na Mahal Kita Dito Sa Aking Puso Rak of Aegis! ❤️

That's it, KAILANGAN KO NG TOLITS SA BUHAY. ❤️

Rak of Aegis runs until August 16 with shows on on Tuesdays to Thursdays (8pm) and Saturday to Sunday (3pm and 8pm) at PETA Theater Center, No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC. Tickets are available via www.ticketworld.com.ph, 891-9999. For more information contact PETA at 725-6244 or 0917-5765400, petatheater@gmail.com or visit http://petatheater.com/rak-of-aegis/ for Showbuyer's contact info.

You can also check out the cast schedule here.