Featured image courtesy of Newport World Resorts.
MANILA, Philippines — It’s official! The Class of ‘85 has now bid their farewell on stage. On March 22, “Bagets: The Musical” delivered its closing performances at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, concluding what can easily be described a roller-coaster ride of a 36-show run.
The musical’s finale saw the barkada of Adie, Tonton, Gilbert, Arnel, and Topee, gather one last time as the theater erupted into a nostalgic ’80s party.
The cast of during matinee closing show curtain call. Image courtesy of NWR Musicals.
On curtain call, Newport World Resorts President and CEO Nilo Rodriguez championed the partners and production team behind the production, including Viva Communications, The Philippine STAR, and PETA Plus. He also highlighted director Maribel Legarda, the creative team, cast, musicians, and crew, and thanked audiences who supported the production throughout its run.
“Thank you for celebrating with us as we close the curtain on this 80s party onstage. ‘Bagets The Musical’ is the latest chapter in what we have been building here: a stronger platform for live theater, powered by Filipino talent,” Rodriguez said to a filled theater of close to a thousand fans, families, and friends of the original material.
He added, “Over the past year, this theater has welcomed different stories and different audiences, with one clear outcome: live performance grows when people choose to build it together.”
Newport World Resorts President and CEO Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez. Image courtesy of NWR Musicals.
Following the remarks, the finale brought the story of the production to a close. The show’s ’80s setting shifted to the disco nightlife of the ’70s, as the stage transformed into a Coco Banana–inspired party, recalling Manila’s iconic nightclub scene of the popular era.
The cast launched into an upbeat mashup of “Bongga Ka Day” and “Manila,” two hits associated with the pioneering OPM band Hotdog, whose music helped define the Manila Sound that dominated and shaped culture in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
From there, the performance transitioned into “Annie Batungbakal,” another Hotdog classic about a hardworking dispatcher from Frisco (San Francisco del Monte) who then becomes a glamorous “disco queen” at the famed Coco Banana.
Serving as the surprise reveal, the performance ultimately announced “Bongga Ka, ‘Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical” as the next major production coming to the Newport Performing Arts Theater stage.
With its final curtain call, “Bagets The Musical” concludes its run, while passing the spotlight to the next chapter in Newport World Resorts’ lineup of all-Filipino stage productions.
Newport World Resorts teases the upcoming jukebox musical, “Bongga Ka ‘Day: The Annie Batungbakal Musical”. Image courtesy of NWR Musicals.
More details on “Bongga Ka, ‘Day!: The Annie Batungbakal Musical” have yet to be revealed. Set to open at the Newport Performing Arts Theater this September 2026, the musical features the aural history of the Filipino iconic band, Hotdog, that shaped what is known as the quintessential Manila Sound.
It can be remembered that it was also in March 2020 when the cast of the musical has been announced for a June 2020 run, including a powerhouse roster of theater favorites like Gab Pangilinan, Anna Luna, and Nicole Omilio, alternating for the title role. They were then announced to be joined by male cast members of Markki Stroem and CJ Navato, among others.
The production was unfortunately put to an indefinite stop with the global halt brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this announcement, details have been shared to a minimum on the cast and creative team to be joining onboard this new nostalgia piece, that then included Liz Magtoto for its book, Myke Salomon as musical director, and Maribel Legarda as director, hot off the heels of her directorial work for NWR Musicals’ “Bagets The Musical”.
Sign up for the waitlist and be the first in line to get tickets at https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph/shows/show.aspx?sh=phwaitl6.
For more information on Newport World Resorts, visit www.newportworldresorts.com and follow @newportworldresorts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Join Newport World Resorts Viber Community at https://newportwr.com/nwrvibercommunity for exclusive updates. Every visit is made more rewarding with an Epic Rewards membership, download the Epic Rewards Mobile App for free at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
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