In preparation for a highly anticipated third run, Barefoot Theatre Collaborative’s award-winning Bar Boys: The Musical underwent yet another introduction at their Orientation Day in UP Town Center (UPTC) last October 4, 2025.

The show is a live adaptation of Kip Oebanda’s 2017 film of the same name, bearing a familiar story about chasing law school dreams in a tangle of intersecting social backgrounds. Following four boys—Chris (Alex Diaz), Erik (Benedix Ramos), Torran (Jerom Canlas), and Josh (Omar Uddin)—who each come from vastly different families and circumstances, Bar Boys aims to open a dialogue about the pursuit of not only individual ambitions but also inclusive justice. 

Coming to Hyundai Hall in Areté later this month, this run of Bar Boys: The Musical is the first time that Barefoot Theatre Collaborative is staging one of its most popular productions to date  in the Ateneo campus.

A law school welcoming event

In line with its Orientation Day, which doubled as a press conference and a sneak peek of the performances, Barefoot’s Bar Boys introduced its newest run with a colorful coordination of games and prizes from sponsors.

The event began with performances of “May Singil ang Pangarap” and “Read the Law,” two of the show’s ensemble numbers. Fully choreographed for the entire cast, the songs provided an explosive experience that drew guests into the fast-paced, busy world of law school.

With performers sprawled across the small space within UPTC’s Activity Center, the production gives audiences a glimpse of what Barefoot Theatre hopes to achieve in their Hyundai Hall shows. The aspirations brought out by the musical are not only limited to the characters’ journeys, but also the circumstances of its staging. 

Higher and higher hopes

After its runs in March and October of 2024, the cast of Bar Boys took home the award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Musical at the 15th Gawad Buhay Awards—inviting further anticipation for the upcoming run. The show’s cast and creative team are faced with external pressure to both sustain such momentum and outdo already established expectations.  

“Nakakapressure in a good way—talagang nilalaban [namin],” Curp Adriano, one of the newest members of the musical’s ensemble, explained in the talkback session.

(It’s very pressuring in a good way—we really try to fight for it.)

With big shoes to fill, this new musical iteration of Bar Boys aims to crowd Hyundai Hall, its largest venue for the show by far. The new theatre’s 800-person seating capacity makes the production charged with an explosive vigor, calling for delivery, blocking, choreography, and even set configurations that deviate from the intimacy of previous runs.  Juliene Mendoza, who plays Erik’s father, Paping, mentioned that the venue transfer from the Power Mac Center Spotlight Black Box in Makati prompted the team to change course from what they already knew. 

“Malaki yung stage, kailangan mas malaki yung energy, kailangang umabot sa dulong-dulo,” Mendoza said.

(The stage is big, and it needs more energy; it needs to reach the farthest end.)

These increasing expectations for production standards and storytelling, accompanied by a drastic expansion in venue size and grandiosity, are in line with the show’s themes of dreaming and hoping for a better future. Beyond maintaining and enhancing technical quality, Barefoot Theatre also hopes to underscore the story’s message of justice, bringing light to current issues.

Justice that moves

From its roots as a 2017 movie, Bar Boys has continued to cement its presence in the local media scene, with two successful musical adaptation runs in 2024 and an upcoming film sequel. Every iteration aims to establish its central theme of justice through the evolution of the show and the inclusion of technical and dramaturgical adjustments that reflect contemporary contexts.

"Jurisprudence is a living thing—it’s moving, changing, [and] as a nation, we are moving, [we] keep changing, keep fighting for that change," stated Nor Domingo, who plays Chris' father, Atty. Maurice Carlson.

These changes not only highlight the growing presence of Bar Boys in the theatre scene but also the stronger need for discourse on the condition of justice in the nation. While Barefoot Theatre implores its audiences to define justice both as a concept and as a tool that helps shape society, the show could be challenged with the risk of simplifying justice in the name of artistry. Still, the show’s intention, as vocalized by its cast and creative team, is clear: to present the idea that we all have a voice and a role to play in the landscape of national justice, which can only be achieved through social involvement and dialogue.

“If you’re an audience na marami ka nang judgement, it will be hard for you to empathize not just with the story, but what it really wants to say about the Filipino experience—so buksan natin yung mga puso natin pag manonood tayo ng Bar Boys,” creator Pat Valera asserted. This openness to new perspectives necessitates active listening, extending Bar Boys’ scope of expectations from merely the show’s own performance quality but the participation of their audience as well.

(If you’re an audience with a lot of judgment, it will be hard for you to empathize not just with the story, but with what it really wants to say about the Filipino experience—so let us open our hearts when we watch Bar Boys.)

"Let’s have a conversation," choreographer Jomelle Era stressed, encouraging audiences to confront the story of "Bar Boys" and its sociopolitical implications head-on. The team behind Bar Boys does not shy away from harsh realities in the legal world in its attempt to champion the importance of dialogue in the pursuit of justice. 

This conversation also extends to individuals who find themselves in positions of power and privilege. With heightened public scrutiny towards the so-called "nepo babies" associated with the flood control issue, Alex Diaz, reprising his role as Chris, one of the four titular Bar Boys that comes from a privileged background as the son of a prominent lawyer, emphasized the need for inclusivity in the conversation, especially for a more open and welcoming approach to engaging in discourse rather than alienation. 

In line with such topics, the conference also featured a performance of “A Place to Land” by Diaz, which reminded guests of the musical’s intention to represent young struggles and aspirations, accompanied by feelings of being lost. 

The event finally closed with "Tunay Na Tao," a number performed by Sheila Francisco, who plays Justice Hernandez, and the ensemble piece “Cross the Line,” which left viewers with a call to action to participate in the pursuit of real-world justice in their own way. The choice to end with these two performances solidifies the production's theme of intersecting personal ambition and social responsibility, echoing the broader sentiment of change brought about by the search for justice, which is not limited to a certain demographic, but welcomes—and needs—the strength of a unified voice.

The musical’s goal is to show audiences the voices that are present in everyone, and how these voices are being used to fight. “Sa mga taong mandadaya diyan, [...] we’re here to fight,” ensemble member Sheena Belarmino stated.

(To all the deceivers there, [...] we’re here to fight.)

“We ourselves are artists depicting the stories of lawyers, but in the fight for justice, in this country especially, we want all of our audiences to pick up that we ourselves are a diverse cast of characters as well from different places all over the Philippines, [...] there’s always a way for you, you individually and you specifically, to fight this fight,” added Elian Dominguez, fellow ensemble member and understudy for the character of Josh.

To conclude its Orientation Day, Barefoot Theatre Collaborative prepares for another run of Bar Boys that echoes the push for inclusivity and fairness through the intersection of art and law. Bar Boys: The Musical will run from October 24 to November 23, 2025, at the Hyundai Hall in Areté, Ateneo de Manila University.

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Adrienne Rozal is a first year AB Diplomacy and International Relations student who lives for the hope of it all. She writes to make sense of the world and show them—and herself—what her words are worth. With fidgety hands and and slightly misaligned posture, she makes it a point to see beyond the spheres she's always known through the bits and pieces that remind her of how much of the world is left to discover and love.

Astrud E. Ulili is an Environmental Science major with Minors in Economics and Sustainability. Beyond writing about art and culture, Astrud has a background in production design, corporate social responsibility, and science communication. Previously, Astrud has written for the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability and The GUIDON. Astrud likes word games, oat milk lattes, and design thinking.