"MABINING Mandirigma: A Steampunk Musical” by Tanghalang Pilipino pays homage to women in celebration of Women's Month through the portrayal of Apolinario Mabini by a female actor.
A female lead notably plays the title role of Apolinario Mabini. This non-traditional casting choice has been a signature of the production, with several acclaimed actresses taking on the role across various runs. Shaira Opsimar (2026) joins a prestigious lineage of actors in the title role. She follows Delphine Buencamino (2015), Liesl Batucan (2016), Hazel Grace Maranan (2016), and Monique Wilson (2019).
Maranan is a descendant of Mabini; her grandfather, the late Pablo Maranan, traced his roots to Mabini’s mother, Dionisia Maranan. I was able to watch two female Mabinis: Wilson in 2019 and now Opsimar.
Nicanor Tiongson wrote the musical, while Joed Balsamo composed the music and Chris Millado directed the production. Mabining Mandirigma is a steampunk musical that follows the life of Apolinario Mabini (1864–1903), who, through his intellect and principles, called on Filipinos to rise above class, region, and self-interest to build a nation.
The musical begins in 1898, with Mabini already serving as adviser to Emilio Aguinaldo (played by Arman Ferrer and David Ezra) and Cabinet president. It traces his conflict-ridden career marked by opposition to compromisers like Felipe Buencamino and Pedro Paterno, his fall from grace and break with the naïve Aguinaldo, his exile to Guam, and his return to the country with principles intact. Mabini died of cholera at 38, just three months after he returned to his native land.
He was the legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government in 1898 and the first Prime Minister of the Philippines upon the establishment of the First Philippine Republic in 1899. Two of his works, El Verdadero Decálogo (1898) and Programa Constitucional de la República Filipina (1898), became instrumental in the drafting of the Malolos Constitution.
Despite losing the use of both legs to polio in 1896, Mabini remained active in his revolutionary and governmental roles. Casting a woman as Mabini highlights his intellectual prowess over physical strength; what Mabini lacked in physical power, he made up for in bravado and passion.
Opsimar expressed that portraying Mabini, a male historical figure, acts as a message of empowerment for women to stand up and not be belittled. Performing the role carries a message of empowerment, Opsimar said in an interview, adding "that a fire will be ignited in their hearts—and that they will act on it. Stand up. Don't be afraid to stand up."
Fernando Josef, Tanghalang Pilipino’s artistic director, said they opted for a woman to be the lead player due to technical, vocal, and musical reasons. "Mabini’s voice should be entirely different from the predominantly 'male' voices of Mabini’s antagonists. Philosophically, Mabini’s physical disability and impoverished background "other" him in society. Assigning the role to a female actor somehow implies that the woman in human society is traditionally an othered being, 'babae lang'," Josef said.
Josef added that the physically challenged, wheelchair-bound character played by a woman actor "is the strongest, bravest, most principled, most respectable, admirable heroic person of integrity in the story."
Mabining Mandirigma is part of TP’s tribute to three revolutionary heroes through a trilogy of musicals: Pingkian for Emilio Jacinto, Gregoria Lakambini for Gregoria de Jesus, and Mabining Mandirigma for Mabini. In "Pingkian: Isang Musikal," Kakki Teodoro portrayed Jose Rizal, continuing the production's tradition of non-traditional casting. All performers in Gregoria Lakambini are female, including those who portrayed Bonifacio and Nakpil.
Toym Imao, current dean of the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, has been the person behind the stage design since the musical was first shown in 2015.
"The scenic design of this year's MM pays homage to the original set design done in 2015. All the elements relate to contemporary themes, like industrialization, to today's disruptive technologies and how old systems of authoritarianism, imperialism, corruption, compromise, and shifting allegiances are represented in the visual metaphors of the production's set pieces,” Imao said.
Imao added that the humanist elements serve as the bookends of the musical: it starts with "the duyan/hammock as the womb that birthed Mabini and his journey through life, which in the finale transforms into a catafalque that brings him to his grave.”
Originally staged in 2015 and recognized with 12 Gawad Buhay Awards, the musical returns for its 10th anniversary. Shows will run at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Tanghalang Ignacio Jimenez until March 29, 2026.
(Peyups is the moniker of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarers’ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0908-8665786.)
