‘Tisoy’: From stage to screen

Back in college at UP, I was fortunate enough to be part of a group of speech majors working on a script for the annual Speech Festival. The other members of the group were Tony Gloria, Marcy Garcia and Alcide Alforque.

Tony is now a major player in the movie industry; Marcy aka Marcy Haskins is into educational broadcasting at the Ohio State University; Alcide is involved in theater in Sacramento, California. I became an entertainment writer and editor, among other pursuits. We were all members of the UP Speech Association (Upsa), which was always given the final night by the Department of Speech and Drama.

We decided to do a stage version of Nonoy Marcelo’s “Tisoy,” a very popular cartoon strip. Nonoy was able to capture the lifestyle of the youth in the late ’60s. He was quick in giving us permission to work on his cartoon hero. It was lots of fun brainstorming on ideas for the play.

Minor roles

Tony ended up directing the production, while Alcide and I played  minor roles. Marcy worked as the show’s producer since she was the Upsa president. Tisoy was played by Rene Ciriacruz, who’s now based in the US and writes a column for the Inquirer.

We were scheduled on the last night of the festival. The professors came as part of the audience, which filled the Abelardo Hall auditorium to capacity.

“Tisoy” was a huge success, and it was satisfying watching the audience laugh at the gags we came up with. There was a huge demand for a rerun. We obliged two weeks later and again received a warm reception. Our production caught the attention of the Imus Catholic Youth Movement, which wanted us to restage “Tisoy” in Cavite. That, too, was well-received. So, we staged the play three times in a span of four months. —Not bad for an amateur production written by college students.

I thought that would be the end of my involvement with Nonoy’s creation. Several months later, however, we were approached by executives of Channel 5, which wanted to do a TV version of “Tisoy.” The major roles of Tisoy and Maribubut had to be given to popular stars, but they wanted some members of the cast to join the sitcom. I was cast as Professor Naspu, Willy Dumapias as Clip and Jon Belandres as Pomposa. The lead roles were given to Jimmy Morato and beauty queen Pilar Pilapil. Also in the sitcom were Bert Marcelo, who was just starting out as a comedian, and Moody Diaz, the vaudeville comic.

Kissing scene

Pilar was only 17 or 18 when she joined the cast after winning the Binibining Pilipinas-Universe beauty tilt. She was very pretty, and everyone in the cast had a crush on her. I actually had a kissing scene (—OK, just a peck on the cheek in a dream sequence) with her, and I didn’t wash my face for several days! Pilar’s role didn’t call for serious acting, so it would take several years before she would get challenging roles that showed off her prowess as an actress.

I didn’t really enjoy doing the TV version of “Tisoy.” It called for long hours in the studio, most of which were spent waiting for my scenes to be taped. The stage edition at the UP was more satisfying, because we had a live audience that responded to every funny routine we created.

The TV version must have clicked with viewers because, in 1969, it was turned into a movie with Jimmy, Pilar and Bert reprising their roles. Others in the cast were Ike Lozada, Aruray and Jerry Pons. Eight years later, Ishmael Bernal took a crack at Nonoy’s brainchild, this time with the backing of Nora Aunor’s NV Productions.

Bert, who had become a popular comedian, played Tikyo for the third time but, instead of Jimmy and Pilar, the lead roles were given to Christopher de Leon and Charo Santos-Concio. Also in the cast were Jay Ilagan and Moody. Nora came out in a cameo role, along with Amy Austria, Bembol Roco and Niño Muhlach. Nonoy helped with the script in the TV and first movie versions. He did the screenplay for Ishmael’s version.

I don’t know how the two movies fared at the box office or with the critics, but I will never forget the work Tony, Marcy, Alcide and I did on the three stage editions of “Tisoy”—and the warm response they got from the audience!