AGELESS PASSION pictures the life and works of Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban in a vibrant bio-musicale that captures meaningful moments and important milestones from his childhood to his professional life, capping in a spirited ensemble portraying his visionary chief justiceship and enduring passion to serve the country. Staging a lively and talented cast including family members and theater figures, as well as featuring the Manila Symphony Orchestra and original music by the “maestro” Ryan Cayabyab and libretto by Kristian Jeff Agustin, the musicale celebrates the vision and works a man who selflessly strived for his family as a young newsboy, his fellow students as a student leader in college, the legal profession as a lawyer and academician, and the country as chief magistrate of the judiciary.
The musicale offers an emphatic message encapsulated in the songs “The Newsboy” and “Ageless Passion”, where themes of optimism and faith amidst difficulties and turning points in life are emphasized to inspire the youth and the younger generation of lawyers and professionals.
From the poor newsboy in the backstreets of Sampaloc to the presidency of the most widely circulated newspaper in our country; from a modest Catholic to an adviser to the Holy Father in the Vatican; from a frustrated applicant for graduate studies to father of five wonderful children who each achieved his impossible dream of graduating in a pedigreed US university; from a shoeshine boy to the board rooms of the largest blue chips in our part of Planet Earth; and from a frustrated chemical engineer to a reluctant lawyer and to the highest magistrate of the land—for Chief Justice Panganiban, the message is quite simple: Good news. Bad news. God always knows.
Ageless Passion was directed by Bart Guigona and produced by Donna May Lina-Flavier, with musical arrangements by Jeffrey Solares. It was staged at the Meralco Theater, Ortigas on December 20, 2011 in celebration of Chief Justice Panganiban’s 75th birthday.
To view the repertoire of videos from “Ageless Passion”, see Kristian Jeff Agustin‘s channel via youtube.