Hundreds of students catch the second day of the Bicolano epic “Ibalong Z: A New Bicol Musical” at Ibalong Centrum for Recreation in Legazpi City, Albay on Friday (Aug. 14, 2026). The theater play is part of the 35th Ibalong Festival. (Photo courtesy of Councilor Alan Rañola)
LEGAZPI CITY – A new musical adaptation of the Bicolano epic “Ibalong” is bringing the legendary story closer to younger audiences while putting Bicolano artists at the center of its production.
In an interview Friday after the show, Alan Rañola, chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Tourism, Culture and Arts, said the city government partnered with Tanghalang Pilipino and Sining Banwa to bring the epic back to the stage through “Ibalong Z: A New Bicol Musical.”
Rañola said Manila-based Tanghalang Pilipino also helped stage “Ibalong: The Musical” in Legazpi City in 2013.
The new production made the epic more accessible to the younger generation, particularly Gen Z audiences (born between 1997 and 2012) and Gen Alpha (born starting 2010), and “let them know what the Ibalong epic is really about,” Rañola said.
The epic tells the story of the heroic acts of the three warriors, Baltog, Handyong and Baltong, in fighting against beasts and monsters, and giving glory to Ibalong, the ancient name of the Bicol Region.
“We keep on celebrating our Ibalong Festival, but the new generation right now does not really know what the story of the Ibalong epic is. Through this show, at least they will have an idea of what the Ibalong epic is really about,” Rañola said.
The musical, one of the highlights of the 35th Ibalong Festival, will end its three-day run Saturday at Ibalong Centrum for Recreation here.
“It is more than a musical. It is a reminder that art and our origins shape our future. When our own stories are told, our entire future rises with them,” Ranola said during his speech.
Playwright Jobert Grey Landeza said the new adaptation was also prompted by concerns over young people’s declining interest in reading, particularly literature, folktales and folk epics.
“Hopefully, through this play, we can awaken the curiosity of young people to read more about our literature, our culture and our way of life here in the Bicol Region,” Landeza said.
He said the production uses contemporary language and musical theater to help younger audiences connect with the epic without feeling alienated from the material.
The project also marks a significant difference from the earlier staging as the new version was written, directed, composed and performed by Bicolanos.
“This is 100 percent our story,” Landeza said, emphasizing the local ownership of the production.
The approach has resonated with young viewers.
Bicol University semior Leah Claire Inocencio said many of her fellow audience members were students like her, showing the potential of the musical to capture the interest of the younger generation.
She said the production gave young people an opportunity to strengthen their connection with Legazpi’s history while reminding them of their responsibility to pass the story and cultural heritage to succeeding generations.
“They will be the ones responsible for passing this on from this generation forward,” Inocencio said.
Fellow Bicol University student Oliver Caluna said presenting the epic through music could help revive and preserve Ibalong among Gen Z audiences.
He said the creative adaptation made the story more relatable to young people and encouraged them to appreciate their own culture amid the dominance of technology.
Meanwhile, Landeza called on local government units across Bicol to provide sustained support and spaces for theater and other forms of art, saying local artists need safe and dignified venues where they can create and perform.
He said continued investment in the arts would provide opportunities for Bicolano artists while ensuring that local stories, literature and cultural traditions continue to reach future generations.