Of Hair and a ‘hairy fairy tale’
A rebellious classic ends Rep’s 50th anniversary season, while a retold fairy tale highlights the upcoming 51st.
REPERTORY PHILIPPINES will end this season — and its 50th anniversary celebration — with the iconic rock musical Hair, which will be brought to the stage on Nov. 17, with performances until Dec. 17 at Onstage Theater, Greenbelt 1, Makati City.
Broadway’s Hair is also celebrating its 50th anniversary on stage, but besides sharing this milestone, Hair is the perfect production to end the Rep’s season because of its timely themes on subversion against war, climate change, violence, racism, sexual repression, and corruption.
Set in the 1960s, the angst and the energy of the hippie culture and the flower power movement are captured on stage by Hair’s cast members, led by Markki Stroem, who alternates with Topper Fabregas, and together with George Schulze, Caisa Borromeo, and other young performers who rock their long and afro hairstyles, vests, hippy accessories, and elephant pants.
Rep’s version is directed by Chris Millado and with musical direction by Ejay Yatco.
Hair is the story of young people in New York City who form an underground “tribe” of hippies as a cry of protest against the Vietnam War. The hippies celebrate their counterculture against the mainstream lifestyle, which explains the long hair and casual and colorful fashion of both men and women. Sometimes called “flower children,” they popularized the phrase “make love, not war,” which is still being used today.
The musical is best known for the songs “Aquarius,” “Hair,” and “Let the Sunshine In.”
51ST SEASON OFFERINGS
From Hair’s angsty energy ending the theater company’s 50th season, Rep will start the new year with a buffet of shows that are meant to induce different emotions and reactions from the audience.
“People say we don’t have a brand, but I say our brand is a smorgasbord of plays for everyone. We will make you laugh, cry, and think,” said Joy Virata, Rep’s artistic director, on Oct. 24 during a preview of the plays set for the next season.
The 2018 season will kick off with Comedy of Tenors, on view from Jan. 26 to Feb. 18. It is the comic story of a colorful crew of characters — a theater producer and his frazzled assistant, a mercurial Italian opera star and his wife, their daughter and her lover, a diva, and a singing waiter — who find themselves together in a hotel room before the start of an important concert.
Directed by Miguel Faustmann, it stars Issa Litton, Jeremy Domingo, Noel Rayos, Loy Martinez, Mica Pineda, Arman Ferrer, and Shiela Martinez.
After the laughs comes a play of love and ambition. Silent Sky, which will run from March 2 to 25, centers around the historical figure of Henrietta Swan Leavitt who leaves her home to pursue her passion in astronomy despite discrimination against women in 1900s. Although she received little recognition in her lifetime, Henrietta is attributed for her discovery that allowed succeeding astronomers to measure the Earth from other distant galaxies.
Silent Sky is directed by Joy Virata, and stars Cathy Azanza Dy, Caisa Borromeo, Naths Everette, and Shiela Francisco.
On April 6 to 29, the story of a young man who tries to keep his sanity in the midst of a truly odd family will be told in Arsenic and Old Lace. Set in the 1930s, the story follows Mortimer Brewster and his eccentric and weird family, including his two aunts who murder lonely old men for fun, and a brother who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt. Mortimer tries to get rid of the cops and keep his fiancé unaware of the crazy situation.
The play stars Joy Virata, Jay Valencia Glorioso, Nel Gomez, Barbara Jance, Jeremy Domingo, Apollo Sheikh Abraham, Miguel Faustmann, Gabe Mercado, Steven Conde, and Dingdong Rosales. It will be directed by Jamie Wilson.
Something for the kids and kids at heart is Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale which will run from Sept. 15 to Jan. 27. This is a magical retelling of the classic fairy tale of Rapunzel and her very long, long, long hair, who is trapped in a tower — no thanks, in this version, to the evil lady, Za Za, who is determined to rule the kingdom. Joining them are a dragon as the narrator, a handsome prince and his great hairstylist friend who are on a quest to find the perfect person with the perfect hair, and a neurotic gypsy woman.
“People say we don’t have a brand, but I say our brand is a smorgasbord of plays for everyone. We will make you laugh, cry, and think.” — artistic director Joy Virata
Directed by Joy Virata, the cast includes Bituin Escalante and Jillian Ita-as.
Looking fur ther ahead , Repetory will bring its original musical Miong back to the stage in 2019. It tells the story of Emilio Aguinaldo, his youth, his marriage, his family, and his beginnings in the Katipunan.
The cast is yet to be announced, but it will be directed by Ms. Virata, and run from March 22 to April 14, 2019.
“For 50 years, we have been bringing the best of West End and Broadway to the Philippines and creating a space for theater arts and artists to develop. We are embarking on the next 50 years with the same passion and drive to bring live theater to more people,” said Rep’s president and CEO, Mindy PerezRubio at the preview. —