Get Facebooked!

CEBU, Philippines - It used to be paper – journal pages of leather-bound notebooks that held our most sacred thoughts and sentiments. It never occurred to us to share them with the rest of the world. Well, perhaps posthumously.
But all that is history. Today, we might write down the same things – this time electronically. Same old mix, but on a different medium. Social media are our new journal pages. Twitter. Tumblr. And, for the moment at least, the king of the hill: Facebook.
This, among many others, is the premise of a new musical in Cebu: “You’ve Been Facebooked!” It features original songs by Jude Gitamondoc, who has written for Gary Valenciano, Jed Madela, Erik Santos, Nina and Raki Vega, and winner of the TFC Choice Award in the recent Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs competition.
Edison “Jingle” Saynes is the creative director, Vincent Paul Gaton, choreographer/dance director; and Pami Therese Estanilla, wardrobe. The group came together to create original material for theater. With that, Offbeats Concepts Production Haus was born. The cast is proudly Cebuano.
Ann (played alternately by Bea Samson and Therese Marie Villarante) declares on Facebook that she is ‘In a Relationship’ with Matt (Mark Jude Tenedoro and Marlon Tansengco). News quickly spread online, baiting comments and reactions from everyone, including Mitch (Laurie Grace Tul-id and Jacqueline Chang), Matt’s bestfriend, who is also secretly in love with him. In her desperation to destroy Matt and Ann’s relationship, Mitch creates Eve, a fake Facebook account designed to divert Matt’s attention. However, things go awry when Eve posts a devious rumor online that breaks Ann’s naïve heart and destroys Matt’s good-boy reputation. In the meantime, a mysterious character only known as the Man Without A Facebook Account is brewing a plot of his own: he is out to destroy Facebook altogether.
“You’ve Been Facebooked!” is a musical comedy that pokes (no pun intended) fun at all things Facebook-related, i.e., like, poke, relationship status, timeline, etc. It highlights serious and relevant issues like cyberbullying and the responsible use of social media and encourages young people to think before they click. It also discusses the disparity between reality and virtuality and how these lines are blurred in this day and age of the Internet revolution.
Catch this musical on these schedules: Sept.28, 6-7 p.m. dinner and 7:30-9:30 p.m. show at LAKWATSA Resto Lounge, 5/F Engy Tech Bldg., Hernan Cortes St., Banilad Mandaue City; Oct 5 and 6, 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Saint Theresa’s College Auditorium. For more information, check their official Facebook page: FBed the Musical. (FREEMAN)