Performing Arts
Dalaga Na Si Maxie: A Beloved Queer Story Gets a Drag Makeover 20 Years Later
Real LGBTQIA+ stories shaped this new original Filipino musical.
by Leana Vibal
Published on Jun 15, 2025
(SPOT.ph) It’s long been the battle cry of the LGBTQIA+ community, coined maybe even before the Stonewall riots took place: “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.” But 56 years since that pivotal uprising that started to tell the world gays and lesbians will henceforth be living loud and proud and no longer will they be hiding in the sidelines, are they truly being seen? Are their stories now front and center? Or are they still fighting for space under the spotlight?
In popular culture and the performing arts, LGBTQIA+ characters are often still caricatures—a token sidekick, the comic relief, the one-dimensional sassy best friend. But change is slowly happening. With the success of shows like Drag Race Philippines and Drag Den, queer people are taking back the narrative, flipping the script, and showing the world their true unapologetic selves.
Real fleshed-out tales of growth, struggle, and triumph are taking over the spotlight, as is happening in the legitimate stage this June. In the new queer musical, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros, the art of drag becomes a way of letting these stories step into the forefront, bringing not only healing to a group of fearless individuals but also a form of release and joyful protest.
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All Eyes on the Queens. Photo by Dominic Pamatmat. Cover design by Warren Espejo. Produced by Leana Vibal.
Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is the much-needed Drag update to the OG
If the name Maxie Oliveros sounds familiar, that’s because she is. Maxie is the lead character in the 2005 Cinemalaya cult classic Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros and its stage adaptation, Maxie The Musical, which first came out in 2013.
Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros is inarguably one of the most iconic pieces of queer cinema in the local scene, known for its honest depiction of a “batang bading” set against the backdrop of Manila's slums. A coming-of-age story of a gay kid raised by a family of petty thieves, it follows Maxie as she falls for a handsome do-gooder policeman, and as life eventually demands that she choose between family and the man she loves.
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The movie poster for the 2005 Cinemalaya classic Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros. Photo from Cinemalaya.
Maxie’s tale got a musical update eight years later when award-winning playwright Nicholas Pichay gave it the musical theater razzle-dazzle. And this year, on the 20th anniversary of its source material, the curtains rise up again for Maxie’s story, but this time it’s called Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros. It’s set five years after her father is shot dead, and our heroine is a little older—and also a little lost.
Much like most queer stories, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros follows its lead character from isolation to belonging. But unlike most queer stories, we don’t see Maxie go through the pains of coming out and its resulting consequences. Instead, we follow Maxie’s journey from grief to glamour, from “beauconera” to drag superstar. Sound fabulous? You bet.
“There was a move to remount Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros or Maxie The Musical, but I said I think it's too dated,” stage veteran Melvin Lee, the director of Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros, tells SPOT.ph. “The rainbow community has evolved. Their concerns have evolved, and even their landscape has changed. So, sabi ko why not just take off from where we left Maxie Oliveros.”
“If we just repeat the same story, ma-mi-miss natin ‘yong nuances, ‘yong laban, ‘yong development and ‘yong intersectionality pagdating sa queer issues,” adds playwright Julia Icawat Enriquez.
Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is a sequel to the 2013 musical, but if you skipped the latter, there’s no need to fret: this new material is a standalone vehicle. You don’t need to know the original material to follow along because at its core, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is also the unraveling of a young trans' journey.
“If we just repeat the same story, ma-mi-miss natin ‘yong nuances, ‘yong laban, ‘yong development and ‘yong intersectionality pagdating sa queer issues,” adds playwright Julia Icawat Enriquez.
Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is a sequel to the 2013 musical, but if you skipped the latter, there’s no need to fret: this new material is a standalone vehicle. You don’t need to know the original material to follow along because at its core, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is also the unraveling of a young trans' journey.
Much like most queer stories, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros follows its lead character from isolation to belonging. But unlike most queer stories, we don’t see Maxie go through the pains of coming out and its resulting consequences. Instead, we follow Maxie’s journey from grief to glamour, from “beauconera” to drag superstar. Sound fabulous? You bet.
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The show poster for Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros by J+ Productions and PETA Plus. Photo from J+ Productions..
Set in 2018, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros follows lonesome 18-year-old Maxie who is looking for a new family and a new home. Remember 2018? It was a time when drag had barely made a dent in Filipino pop culture. When most, if not all, drag-related activities were largely confined to bars in the city, like Nectar and O Bar. Still, one can feel a movement rising, and not only in the safe spaces of the underground Malate LGBTQIA+ scene, where queer happenings were thriving.
But it wasn’t all disco balls and confetti. The year 2018 was also the time when the SOGIE bill was introduced, which conservative groups would block at all cost. Discrimination incidents against members of LGBTQIA community were aplenty. On top of it all, the war on drugs was still in full swing.
Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros, co-writer Mikaundre Gozum Santos, may clearly remember that period but he says they’ve chosen a different direction in the telling of Maxie’s journey.
“We didn’t want to stage the violence of the time—we wanted to show how we triumph over it,” the playwright tells Spot. “We wanted to magnify what it was like in the budding drag community at that time through this narrative….We really zeroed in sa buhay ng mga bakla, ng mga trans.”
Santos continues: “Ito ay isa sa main avenues na nakita namin para ma-magnify ‘yong mga narratives ng community na hindi pa alam, or hindi pa naiintindihan ng karamihan or ‘di pa as nuanced 'yong representation.”
Together, Lee, Enriquez, and Santos developed the characters and the storyline for Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros through extensive research, focus group discussions with members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and consultations with drag artists. From here, it became clear for the two writers that to be able to bring Maxie’s story to life, they needed to do away with the CIS-Hetero cliches that plagued most depictions of queer lives in media. They wanted a queer story with queer struggles and a queer outlook.
“Hindi dapat malugami ang batang bakla sa kuwento na ito,” says Enriquez. “Dapat maramdaman niya that they are loved, they are cared for, they have a family, and they have a community who supports them.”
Once that was settled, it was time to search for the Maxie and the queens who will inhabit her story.
Meet the Queens of Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros
Enriquez and Santos’ story needed eight leading queens. Following the discussions they had with members of the drag community, they were able to narrow down a list of queen personas they wanted to feature.
They needed a vocal powerhouse, a lip-sync assassin, a camp and comedy artist, a political queen, a stunt and dance drag artist, a drag mother, a beauconera, and lastly, they needed a Maxie.
It may sound overwhelming, the challenge to find such specific archetypes—but you forget these queens are masters of transformation. In the end, it was a matter of finding the heart and the talent, and lucky for Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros, the Filipino LGBTQIA+ community is overflowing with that. And so J+ Productions and PETA Plus released a casting call on social media, attracting hundreds of hopefuls, many of whom still remember the 2005 movie.
“The desire to take part was almost automatic. Wala nang echos-echos pa,” says Gerhard Krysstohper, who landed the role of Pretzels. “The original movie, Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros, was my story too. After leaving drag for a bit, it made sense for me to take part in the sequel as a new character. Doing drag all of these years and finally accepting who I was fully, coming back to it now was the perfect time.”
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Jem Manicad and Gerhard Krysstopher in Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros. Photo by Dominic Pamatmat..
“Noong nabasa ko na they were looking for the cast of Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oh, tumibok yung puso ko,” says Jem Manicad, who plays Mama Tars. “Napanood ko ‘yong original film. Alam ko yung pakiramdam ni Maximo Oliveros at that time. Alam ko ‘yong pakiramdam being a gay kid na nagtatransform and a gay kid who fell in love. Alam na alam ko yung pakiramdam. This is very close to my heart.”
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The Queens of Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros. Photo by Dominic Pamatmat..
After two rounds of auditions—one where they had to let their drag personas take center stage, and one where they had to reveal their real, un-costumed selves—Enriquez, Santos, and Lee found their queens.
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Meet the cast of Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros (left to right): Jem Manicad, Gerhard Krysstopher, Corazon. Photos by Dominic Pamatmat.
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From left to right: Gabriel Villaruel, Winter Sheason Nicole, Zymba Ding, MRS TAN. Photos by Dominic Pamatmat.
Jamila Rivera as Maxie Oh in Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros
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Jamila Rivera shines as Maxie in Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros. Photo by Dominic Pamatmat..
Finding Maxie was a bit more challenging. The part required a certain naïveté and fragility that were hard to fabricate. And then they stumbled upon Jamila Rivera, a fresh talent from Naga City who made the journey to Manila just to audition for the role.
“Matagal na ako naghahanap ng istorya na makakarelate ako. At ito na 'yon,” says Rivera. “When I saw the casting call on Facebook, I said to myself, parang sa akin ‘to. Mag-a-audition ako.”
“Matagal na ako naghahanap ng istorya na makakarelate ako. At ito na 'yon,” says Rivera. “When I saw the casting call on Facebook, I said to myself, parang sa akin ‘to. Mag-a-audition ako.”
Rivera is a co-founder of Bicol Drag PH, the Bicol region's drag community. At first, she would only perform in non-drag intermission numbers for the group’s events but after seeing performances from Maxie Andreison’s run at Queen of the Universe (and her subsequent success in Drag Race Philippines), Rivera was hooked. She realized this is what she wanted to do.
“Parang nag-align ‘yong stars for me this time. Kasi pangarap ko talaga maging performer, palagi nga ako sumasali sa mga singing competition and talent searches,” Rivera says. “I fought so hard for so many years, kaya nung na-cast ako bilang Maxie Oh, sabi ko all those failures have finally led me to this win. Doing this fulfills my dream of becoming a performer and theater artist.”
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Just like Maxie, Jamila Rivera was new to the world of drag. Photo by Dominic Pamatmat..
Rivera is what the girls call a baby queen. When she arrived, she didn’t have the makeup, the clothes, the accessories. She needed all the help and guidance she could get from her castmates like Zymba Ding, Corazon, MRS TAN, and Winter Sheason Nicole, who are all seasoned queens. But if this lady from Naga had one thing going for her, it was her exceptional singing voice, which landed her the lead role. Her inexperience may have seemed like a deterrent, but for the creative team, it was what sealed the deal: she was exactly what they needed, as her truth almost exactly mirrored Maxie Oh’s.
Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros Is a Theater-Drag Hybrid
Like puzzle pieces, everything was slowly coming together.
With queens who’ve been living their respective parts and a storyline that reflected the LGBTQIA+ community's plight, it was now up to PETA Plus and Lee, the director, who’s done drag himself in PETA’s production of Care Divas and the Dolphy film Markova, to tie everything together.
For Lee, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros isn’t just musical theater—it’s a Drag Musical Extravaganza. The show takes the structure and emotional storytelling of theater and spruces it up with drag’s signature glitter, glam, and boldness.
Spoiler alert: Take Maxie’s indoctrination into “The House of Corazon”, for example: it’s not shown through an 11 o’clock number or a showstopping solo. Instead, Maxie is welcomed into the family through a succession of performances: lip syncs, high-energy dances, live singing—the works. For a moment, it feels like you’ve stumbled into a drag bar, with queens serving their individual strengths, each one commanding the spotlight like a true headliner.
In that set piece, each queen makes a small gesture to the next performer, akin to passing a rainbow baton as if saying, Hey, this isn’t just your show—it’s ours. It’s a device that adds spine to the narrative, showing the production isn’t just a string of drag performances.
For some reason, despite the artificiality of exaggerated makeup, outsize wigs, and costumes, it is the drag component that gives Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros its soul. Through every gender-bending display and over-the-top performance, the queers express their identity, reclaim their power, challenge the norm, and bring color to Maxie’s journey of self-discovery.
Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros doesn’t just showcase the art of drag; drag shapes the material into a story. Each number, no matter how wild or wicked, is meant to push the narrative forward. So while every performance shines on its own, each is connected to the other, forming a structure that ultimately makes a cohesive whole—something only theater can bring.
Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros doesn’t let the message get lost in the performance
Despite the fireworks and razzle-dazzle, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros doesn’t shy away from tackling the harsh realities faced by the LGBTQIA+ community—but it doesn’t dwell too much on it, either. It plays to its strengths, approaching the issues with punchlines and expressing its protest in songs.
By blending the power of theater with the boldness of drag, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros delivers a queer story that entertains without diluting its message of inclusivity.
By blending the power of theater with the boldness of drag, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros delivers a queer story that entertains without diluting its message of inclusivity.
“It’s not just a matter of we need to be seen. The community is trying to reach out and say to the world, ‘We are not just what you think we are,” says Lee. “We are contributing to the development of the community.”
With a cast and crew that reflect all the colors of the Pride flag, Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is a tale for the queer by the queer. It spotlights the colorful story of drag performers and the broader LGBTQIA+ community as they navigate the contemporary world. It’s a reminder of how stories become more powerful when they are told by those who’ve lived them.
“The fight for queer representation in media, on the stage, and in film carries on. But this time it’s not only important to be seen, but it’s more important to be understood,” says Gabriel Villaruel, the actor who plays political queen Lili Lorena.
This drag musical extravaganza doesn’t just feature queer culture; it celebrates it. It’s a joyful protest that raises the bar when it comes to what a queer story can look like, or what queer stories can be. Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is what happens when the queer community takes charge and rewrites the script. No caricatures and no tragic tropes. They’re telling their stories on their own terms, in the best way they know how: with rhinestones, big hair, and routines that take your breath away.
“The fight for queer representation in media, on the stage, and in film carries on. But this time it’s not only important to be seen, but it’s more important to be understood,” says Gabriel Villaruel, the actor who plays political queen Lili Lorena.
This drag musical extravaganza doesn’t just feature queer culture; it celebrates it. It’s a joyful protest that raises the bar when it comes to what a queer story can look like, or what queer stories can be. Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros is what happens when the queer community takes charge and rewrites the script. No caricatures and no tragic tropes. They’re telling their stories on their own terms, in the best way they know how: with rhinestones, big hair, and routines that take your breath away.
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Stand back! The Queens are flipping the script. No more caricatures and no more bad tropes. Photo by Dominic Pamatmat..
56 years after Stonewall, the fight for full visibility and inclusion for queers is far from over. But if there’s one thing worth celebrating, it’s this: more and more LGBTQIA+ stories are finally being told by people of their own.
Catch Dalaga Na Si Maxie Oliveros at the Illumination Studios in Makati City until June 22, 2025. Tickets are available at Ticket2Me for P2,500. For more information, visit Dalaga Na Si Maxie: A Drag Musical Extravaganza’s Facebook page.
Also read: Your Ultimate Guide To Theater Shows in the Philippines in 2025
Photos by Dominic Pamatmat
Photos by Dominic Pamatmat
Videos by Mig Mabanta
Leana is Spot's go-to for Arts & Culture and Things to Do. On any given day, she’s either glued to her screen—or gliding underwater like the mermaid she swears she is. Contact: leana@spot.ph
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