What does it mean to be a witness?
It is a question at the heart of MARTYRIA: A New Musical, an original apostolic musical that brings together faith, original music, movement, and storytelling in a theatrical exploration of revival and the call to carry the Gospel forward.
With book, lyrics, music and script by Stacy Abarca, direction and choreography by Mayet Abarca, MARTYRIA draws creative inspiration from the story of Pentecost and the historic Azusa Street Revival that began in Los Angeles in 1906.
But MARTYRIA is not a retelling of history.
Instead, it takes those themes and places them within an entirely original story.
Welcome to Martyria
The musical transports audiences into the fictional world of Martyria, where questions of truth, belief, doubt, and conviction begin to collide.
Within this world, audiences meet characters with different beliefs, experiences, and responses to faith. As their lives intersect, each is confronted in different ways with questions that cannot always be answered easily.
What follows is a journey shaped by faith, testimony, opposition, hope, and the possibility of revival.
Beyond that, MARTYRIA leaves much of its story for audiences to discover when the curtain rises.
Inspired by revival
MARTYRIA takes creative inspiration from the Azusa Street Revival of the early 20th century and the biblical account of Pentecost in the Book of Acts.
Rather than recreating these events onstage, the production draws from the ideas at their heart: the transforming power of the Gospel, the courage to believe, the importance of testimony, and the way revival can spread through ordinary people.
Those themes become the foundation for an original theatrical world and an original set of characters.
At the center of it all is a simple idea:
Revival begins when someone is willing to respond.
And with that response comes another calling — to become a witness.
Building the world of MARTYRIA
Behind the production is a creative team that has developed MARTYRIA from its earliest script readings into a fully staged original musical.
Stacy Abarca serves as playwright, lyricist, and primary composer, while Mayet Abarca directs and choreographs the production.
Music and sound design is primarily composed by Stacy Abarca with John Ryan Eduardocontributing as co-composer, and Psalm Manlangit contributing to the arrangements.
The visual world of MARTYRIA is brought to life through Joy Camero and Mayet Abarca for costume design and Rene Camero for props and set design.
Live music also forms an important part of the production, performed by Mishael Anota, Haniel Tayo, Ginuel Quirez, Psalm Manlangit, and John Ryan Eduardo.
The production team includes Janellette Santos, Glorie Gadicho, Divine Mericido, and Ara Bosque, with Rachael Muñez, alongside Mishael Anota, leading social content, visual direction, and documentation.
Bringing MARTYRIA to life
The company features Alexy Boticano, Ann Givera, Hannah Icang, Jediaell Pedralvez, Geryca Carandang, Blayze Tolentino, Erika Macapobre, Mary Ann Matabang, Joshielle Tamidles, Jem Esquerra, Jesan Faith, Eunice Ingeniero, Kasley Garcia, Mica Ingeniero, Josh Villavicencio, Jezriel Fundal, Vencint Binamira, Roy Dela Cruz, Celino Mallari, Aron Valencia, Symon Andres, Frederic Guliman, and Jayvee Gosamo.
Together with the musicians, creatives, and production team, the cast has taken MARTYRIAfrom script readings and early development to rehearsals involving music, movement, design, and storytelling.
The result is a production created not only to tell a story, but to communicate a message its team believes remains relevant today.
From Manila to Cebu
Before its Cebu presentation, MARTYRIA will hold an exclusive Manila Preview Show on Oct. 10, 2026, at YMCA Manila.
The preview will give audiences their first opportunity to experience the original musical before the company travels to Cebu for the United Pentecostal Church of the Philippines, Inc. (UPCPI) Asia Pacific Youth Conference 2026, happening Oct. 27 to 29, 2026, at the Cebu Coliseum.
MARTYRIA will be presented as part of APYC 2026, centered on the theme “MaximumImpact: Because of Souls.”
More than a musical
For the team behind MARTYRIA, the goal goes beyond presenting a theatrical production.
Through music, movement, and storytelling, the musical hopes to remind a generation of the power of the Gospel, the reality of revival, and the calling to become a witness.
Its title carries that message.
Martyria comes from a Greek word associated with witness and testimony — an idea that sits at the heart of the production.
The musical looks to stories of revival from generations past not simply to remember what happened then, but to ask what those stories mean for people living today.
Can faith still move people to action?
Can ordinary lives become testimonies?
Can revival begin again with a generation willing to respond?
MARTYRIA invites its audience to experience the story before answering those questions for themselves.
And when the curtain falls, one question remains:
Will the world find a witness in you?
