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Review of NEVER AGAIN: VOICES OF MARTIAL LAW Set C: Steamy, Silly, Searing
October 7, 2016Last September 21, 2016, the Philippines marked the 44th anniversary of the day then President Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081, which placed the entire country under...
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Review of TP's PANGARAP SA ISANG GABI NG GITNANG TAG-ARAW: Fanciful Farce...
October 8, 2016For its season opener this year, Tanghalang Pilipino takes on William Shakespeare's popular comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" using the Filipino translation done by no less than...
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Review of Atlantis' JERSEY BOYS: Volante is Valli!
October 15, 2016I had only seen the film version of "Jersey Boys" directed by Clint Eastwood two years ago when it was shown in local theaters. I never got the chance to watch it on stage even though I...
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Review of Trumpets Playhouse' ALWAYS UPON A TIME: Learning Life Lessons
October 29, 2016One of the first projects of Trumpets in 1993 was "Fables and Parables" by writer-director Freddie Santos. In the same vein and spirit with that pioneering show, the maiden production...
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Recap of VIENNA BOYS CHOIR Live in Manila 2016: History and Harmony
November 11, 2016The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the oldest choirs existing in the world with a history dating back at least 500 years. Illustrious musicians like Mozart and Salieri have worked with...
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Review of PETA's THE TEMPEST REIMAGINED: Intricate Integration
November 12, 2016Adapting Shakespeare into Filipino certainly sounds like a formidable venture. However, in various such local productions, the talents of Filipino theater artists have made the tricky...
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Review of Atlantis' FUN HOME: Fathoming Frailties of a Father
November 21, 2016Since it was announced that Lea Salonga will be returning on a local stage for a play, fans had been looking forward to watching this production. I have heard of the title "Fun Home"...
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Review of Full House/RWM's ANNIE: Triumphant Tomorrow!
December 1, 2016I had long known about the musical "Annie" because it was well-known that Ms. Lea Salonga broke through local mainstream show business by her precocious portrayal of the title role in...
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Review of Ballet Phils' AWITIN MO AT ISASAYAW KO: Fancy and Frenetic
December 2, 2016The very concept of this modern ballet is very interesting indeed -- combining the grace of ballet with the dance music by the timeless Filipino 70s disco band, VST & Co. The...
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Review of 9 Works' A CHRISTMAS CAROL: Holiday Heart and Humility
December 16, 2016"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is probably one of the best-known Christmas stories. The name of its lead character Scrooge had become part of the English language to be mean...
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My Yearend Roundup: The BEST of PHILIPPINE THEATER 2016
December 21, 2016For the year 2016, I had seen and written about 32 theater productions: 11 musicals, 10 full-length plays, and 14 one-act plays. That may seem to be a lot of shows I had seen. However,...
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Review of Repertory Phils VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE: Gleeful Gloom
January 29, 2107This year, Repertory Philippines is celebrating its 50th founding anniversary and 80th season of shows since Zenaida Amador and Baby Barredo staged their very first production "Miss...
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Review of Sugid's BUWAN AT BARIL SA E♭ MAJOR: Activism and Anguish
February 4, 2017“Buwan at Baril sa E♭ Major” by Chris Millado was bravely staged in 1985 (the year before the EDSA People Power Revolution) by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) at...
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Review of Twin Bill's MY NAME IS ASHER LEV: Creativity and Conflict
February 17, 2017Living in a strictly Catholic country, we have often seen conflicts between religion and the arts. The Catholic bishops have risen up in protest against moral decadence in films (like...
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Review of Dulaang UP's FAUST: Deals with the Devil
February 18, 2017Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Faust" is a familiar fictional character I had known for years. I only knew he sold his soul to the devil, but I had never actually known his whole story....
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Review of TP'S EURYDICE: Weird, Wistful, Whimsical
February 24, 2017In Greek mythology, Eurydice is the wife of musician Orpheus who died on their wedding day. Orpheus attempted to save her from the underworld and almost succeeded, until he could not...
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Review of Artist Playground's PRELUDE TO MACBETH: Prescience and Powerplay
February 25, 2017This is the first time I had seen Artist Playground tackle an English play since their inception two years ago when all the plays they staged were in Filipino. This English play they...
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Review of Repertory Phils AGNES OF GOD: Powerhouse Performances
February 26, 2017A dead baby was found in the wastepaper basket inside the room of young novice Agnes. She does not have any memory about the event. Mother Miriam Ruth, the Mother Superior of the...
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Review of Red Turnip's THE NETHER: Controversial Chilling Cyberspace
March 9, 2017For its final production of its 4th season, the Red Turnips presents Jennifer Haley's 2015 Olivier-nominated play entitled "The Nether." This progressive theater company had always been...
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Review of PETA's A GAME OF TROLLS: Awakening from Apathy
April 1, 2017Because of the resurgence of a certain family back into the political limelight, there had been a slew of plays about Martial Law and its atrocities that had been staged by various local...
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