Theater world gets busy in 2017
RE-RUNS
Cyrano de Bergerac’s extremely large nose makes a comeback as the Filipino version, Mula Sa Buwan, is set to have a re-run from Feb. 16 to 26 at the Ateneo de Manila University’s Henry Lee Irwin Theater in Quezon City.
While there was a real Cyrano de Bergerac, it is the fictionalized version of his life, set out in a play written in 1897 by French poet Edmond Rostand, that people are familiar with. Through the centuries the story was adapted and translated for both stage and screen.
Black Box Productions’ adaptation, however, shifts the focus of the story from Cyrano — the love-struck poet who pours his heart into verse as he helps a friend woo the woman they both love — to the individual stories of the other characters, a move shaped by the cast. The cast includes Nicco Manalo and Boo Gabunada who alternate as Cyrano; Fred Lo and Edward Benosa who alternate as Christian; and KL Dizon as Roxane.
A limited repeat run for Atlantis Theatrical’s Fun Home is slated on March 10 to 19 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, in Makati City.
The story revolves around Alison (played by Cris Villonco), a 43-year-old artist working on her memoir, as she sifts through old diary entries from her old residence-cum-funeral home.
If you missed seeing Broadway star Lea Salonga on the local stage last year, here is your chance.
Atlantis Theatrical is also working on two major shows this year: its adaptation of Roald Dahl’s tale of a precocious child Matilda and Harvey Fierstein’s Kinky Boots, about the owner of a failing shoe factory who partners with a drag queen to produce a line of high-heeled boots and save the business.
The witches of Wicked will revisit the Philippines in February. Acclaimed as “one of the greatest musicals of our time,” Wicked is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz which focuses on the relationship between two witches — Elphaba the Wicked Witch (Jacqueline Hughes) and Glinda the Good (Carly Anderson).
The British production will have performances in Singapore, Hong Kong, then the Philippines as part of a major international tour. The Manila show opens on Feb. 2 at the Theatre at Solaire and will run until March 5.
NEW SHOWS
On a more serious note, after last year’s Never Again: Voices of Martial Law festival of plays, this year, audiences will be led back again to Quezon City’s Bantayog ng mga Bayani for another
retelling of stories of struggles at the height of Marcos dictatorship.
Sugid Prod., Inc. presents the play Buwan at Baril sa Eb Major by Chris Millado, directed by Andoy Ranay. The cast includes Angeli Bayani, Crispin Pineda, Danny Mandia, Joel Saracho, JC Santos, Jojit Lorenzo, Mayen Estanero, Paolo O’Hara, Ross Pesigan, Cherry Pie Picache, and Jackilou Blanco.
The show runs from Jan. 26 until Feb. 5.
For its third season, theater group Artist Playground starts things off with Prequel to Macbeth, an indepth view of the world created by Shakespeare. It tells the story of how Macbeth becomes Thane and Glamis and how he meets Lorna Stewart, who becomes his wife, lady Macbeth.
Directed by Roeder Camanag, the show runs from Feb. 23- 26 at the 1701 the Little Room Upstairs, Landsdale Tower, Mother Ignacia Ave., Quezon City. This will be followed by M Episode, another study into the famous tragic character of Macbeth, in June to July; then Text Tula!, a one-man show on rediscovering the beauty of Filipino as a language.
Lastly, Artist Playground will stage a Rody Vera piece, Fly Me to the Moon, in October, directed by Paul Jake Paule. — Camille Anne M. Arcilla