TO COMMEMORATE the 800-year legacy of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Francis of Assisi Parish of Ma-a and Theatre in Black announce theupcoming premiere of the original production “KIKO: Il Poverello The Musical.”
Written and directed by Davao theatre artist Fonzi Marquez, the production will takethe stage on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, at 7:00 PM at the Holy Cross of DavaoCollege (HCDC) Gymnasium, Davao City.
The musical explores the life of St. Francis by looking past the traditional pedestal of sainthood to present him as a relatable, flawed young man.
The story traces Francis’s development and spiritual conversion: growing up in an affluent family with every privilege, enduring the crucible of war, losing everything, and finding whatgenuine relationship with God means.
Grounded in Sister Clare’s guiding reminderthat “God can make the most beautiful things out of broken things,” the musical follows Kiko’s journey to rebuild the church—discovering that the renewal called foris not merely physical stone, but the church on the inside and the altar within thehuman heart.
A creative collaboration for Davao’s performing arts
The production represents a collaborative endeavor between St. Francis of AssisiParish of Maa and Theatre in Black.
Theatre in Black is a theatre movement dedicated to supporting and nurturing the growing theatre scene in Davao City byproviding acting and theatre training for local schools, organizations, and churches.Directing the show and penning its book and lyrics is Fonzi Marquez, whose localdirectorial experience in Davao City includes helming the 2023 Davao production ofthe Broadway musical Godspel.
Explaining his artistic vision and approach to the script and score, Fonzi Marquez stated:
“The 800 years commemoration of St. Francis’s life was a big project for us to be able to create a story that would retell his life, his legacy, not just for the churchgoers or the priests, but also for the modern churchgoer, the youth, and for us who are not very much aware of his life.
“So we have two types of stories wherein we listen to the
historical St. Francis and the traditional Catholic St. Francis. For us to be able to tell the story with integrity, we wanted to explore both aspects—like what historical St. Francis said versus what the Catholic tradition St. Francis also said—and we tried our best to marry the two St. Francises and try to find the best human St. Francis that we could.
“When you listen to the soundtrack of Kiko, we wanted to tell a very diverse story. We wanted to approach Kiko through modern lenses. You’ll hear a lot of different genres
from disco to hip-hop to pop to ballad. So, it really tells the story of Kiko in a very diverse way. One of my favorite lyrics of the Pope is fixing the church from the inside and the outside. That means when we are faced with troubles in the church with so many challenges, we are also called to pay attention to the church on the inside and our inner altar when we are interacting with God. I’m hoping that their hearts are
open to that experience so that they can accept the message of love, hope, and faith that Kiko wishes to tell with his life.”
AN INVITATION FROM FR. RUSSELL BANTILES
Extending a direct invitation to the faithful, students, theatre patrons, and the wider community of Davao, Rev. Fr. Russell Bantiles of St. Francis of Assisi Parish of Ma-a shared:
“How can we tell the story of St. Francis again 800 years later? Our answer is ‘Kiko: Il Poverello The Musical.’
“We bring to the stage the inspiring story of Francis of Assisi.
Not simply Francis the Saint, but Francis the young man with his dreams, ambitions, struggles, questions, and his search for the meaning of life.
“Why should Francis’s story matter to us today? Because Francis’s questions are still our questions. And so I invite you: come and experience the story of Francis. Join us
on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. at the Holy Cross of Davao College gym. Let us bring the message of St. Francis—his faith, peace, fraternity, care for creation, love for the poor, and joyful following of Christ into the 21st century. See
you on November 21.”