At first nostalgic and fan-serving, Tabing Ilog then carved a new path, owning the classic youth-oriented television series with its fresh vision of today's generation. But was it a hit or miss?
The 1990s and early 2000s was marked by the rise of youth-oriented shows in the Philippines, either imported from international productions or produced by the country's biggest media networks. During its heyday, ABS-CBN's Tabing Ilog (1999 to 2003) succeeded its network's previous hit show GIMIK and arguably became the more popular youth-oriented show. It catapulted the careers of its teen-led cast who turned out to be some of the most successful film and television actors of their generation. Tabing Ilog did not hesitate to tackle teen-related issues that continue to be relevant to this day: namely, failing school, the consequences of unsafe sex, substance abuse, peer pressure, and problems arising from dysfunctional families. It was a simpler time then: without much gadgets, mobile phones, and social media. And it was set in a less urbanised province than today with the bucolic tambayan by the riverbank as its centre stage.
Teatro Kapamilya, ABS-CBN's up and coming theatre company serving as a new platform for its numerous artists and talents to showcase their craft, debuts with a remake and made-for-theatre version of the said classic TV show this March 2020. Helmed by acclaimed theatre and independent film actor Topper Fabregas as its director, Tabing Ilog The Musical breathed new life to the much-loved series with music by the award-winning thespian Vincent De Jesus, choreography by JM Cabling, and book by screenwriter-director Jade Castro.
The musical opens with George (Miah Canton) and with Jerry (Krystal Kane) in a picturesque storytelling of what their tambayan by the riverbank looks like and how excited she is to come home to the Philippines after immigrating to the United States as a child. For those of us who grew up with the series or at least watched it recently (when ABS-CBN finally uploaded it on the streaming app iWantTV), we knew that this would start strong by retelling the defunct series' pilot run. But seeing the antagonist character Jerry from the series early on and reimagined (infused with another character from the pilot episode as well), we had to prepare for a different Tabing-Ilog.