Oliver Oliveros - Page 56

Repertory Philippines' 73rd Season Valentine offering is Mark Saltzman's musical comedy ROMEO & BERNADETTE. Here is entertainment at its funniest, with Neapolitan melodies you recognize but whose names you can't quite remember, i.e. 'O Sole Mio' ('Now Or Never' recorded by Elvis Presley) or 'Matinatta' ('Morning Song') by composer Ruggerio Leoncavallo.

'For a recent assignment for BroadwayWorld.com, New York's premier online resource for theatre-related news, I had to hop on a plane, and find my way to the Big Apple. This Broadway baby was New York-bound for work and leisure, for the very first time...'

9 Works Theatrical's new production of Jonathan Larson's phenomenal '90s musical RENT is set to open this weekend in Manila. Cast members Johann dela Fuente, Cara Barredo (Mimi Marquez), OJ Mariano (Tom Collins), Carla Guevara-Laforteza (Maureen Johnson), Fred Lo (Mark Cohen), Peachy Atilano and Noel Rayos (Benny Coffin III) sang the show's anthem 'Seasons of Love' on The Filipino Channel's (TFC) Sunday noontime musical variety show A.S.A.P. to promote the show.

The International British Academy (IBA) is staging Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's second British musical collaboration JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at the Insular Life Corporate Centre Auditorium in Alabang, Muntinlupa, South of Manila on February 4 and 5, 2010. IBA headmaster Bryan Riddin directs the production featuring a large cast of 80.

Filipino siblings Enrico and Jerianne Banson are producing Jonathan Larson's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT at the Southside Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Building D in San Francisco, California via The Royal Underground Theatre Company, a JERICA Productions subsidiary. Their production of the popular rock musical opened last January 21, 2010 and runs until February 21, 2010.

New productions of Jonathan Larson's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical RENT are about to open in Manila, the San Francisco East Bay and New Jersey. And all these productions happen to feature Filipino and Filipino-American actors in their roster of young and hip cast members.

Peter Quilter's (End Of The Rainbow, Glorious!) DUETS premiered in Atlanta, U.S. last year. DUETS has since had successful productions in New Zealand, Lithuania, Croatia, Australia and Poland. Repertory Philippines' version of DUETS, which opened on the weekend of January 15-17, 2010, marks the play's Asian premiere, and Repertory's first offering for its 73rd Season.

Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (Parade, 13, Songs for a New World) joined 2009 Ovation Award nominees Michael K. Lee and Filipino actress Jennifer Paz in a one-night-only performance of 2009 Ovation Award Best Musical nominee and Off-Broadway gem THE LAST 5 YEARS last Saturday, January 9, 2010 at the David Henry Wang Theatre, the home of East West Players, in downtown Los Angeles, California. Proceeds from the event will benefit Broadway Cares (BC)/Equity Fights AIDS (EFA).

Filipino-American actress Arielle Jacobs is currently playing the lead role of Nina Rosario in the first national tour of Tony and Grammy-winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS. The tour kicked off in Tampa, Florida last October 27, 2009 and will end in Costa Mesa, California on August 15, 2010.

V-Day 2010 Campaign Event to 'stop violence against women and girls' and V-Day New York 'Healing Through Music' announce its second auditions for Eve Ensler's Obie award-winning play THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES to be staged at the Philippine Consulate in New York on Fifth Avenue on April 10, 2010, Saturday at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. Female actors may show up at the auditions on January 23, 2010, Saturday at 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Champion Studios, 14th floor, 257 West 39th Street, New York City.

For 2010, Repertory Philippines has picked an exciting selection of shows sure to stimulate local theatergoers.

The Marie Eugenie Theatre of the Assumption (METTA) resumes its production of fast-paced and campy Off-Broadway comedy THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP on January 21 to 23, 2010 at the newly-opened Assumption Black Box Theater, 5/F Marie Eugenie Building, Assumption College, Lorenzo Village, Makati City in Manila. The show features popular celebrity impersonator Jon Santos and screen and stage actor JV Katipunan.

Tony winner Lea Salonga is singing the theme song 'Lipad' (Fly) of Filipino animated feature 'Dayo: Sa Mundo ng Elementalia' (Wanderer in the World of Elementalia), which premieres on Cinema One cable television on December 27, Sunday at 8 p.m.

BroadwayWorld.com Philippines had the opportunity to visit the recording studio where Audie Gemora (who just finished his run as Benjamin Barker/Sweeney Todd in Repertory Philippines' SWEENEY TODD) and Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo (who played Mr. Todd's accomplice Mrs. Nellie Lovett in the same production) were curing their version of the hit duet 'For Good' from the Stephen Schwartz musical WICKED. The new recording is included in Gemora's Broadway album dubbed 'Playlist,' featuring most of the musical arrangements by Hong Kong-based musician Rony Fortich (Hong Kong Disneyland, Once On This Island).

These brand new recordings, done in a sweeping, easy listening manner, effortlessly succeed with Gemora's rich baritone and heartfelt renditions. You will never get tired listening to tracks over and over again.

RENT Manila February 6, 2010 show owner, Our Awesome Planet (www.OurAwesomePlanet.com), paid a visit to the rehearsals on December 17 and took a video clip that shows stage director Robbie Guevara presenting his cast and the 'Finale B' number.

A self-confessed 'Broadway baby' conquers New York for the first time, by Oliver Oliveros. Excerpts from the Lifestyle Asia Magazine feature below!

AUDIE GEMORA, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Robbie Guevara, Lena McKenzie, and Franco Laurel comprise the lead cast of Repertory Philippines' (REP) new stage production of Stephen Sondheim's SWEENEY TODD. The musical runs at Onstage, 2/F Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Makati City in Manila from November 14 to December 13, 2009.

From over 5,000 song requests from around the globe - the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, and Dubai - Lea had selected a diverse and electrifying set that delighted her loyal fan base, and new concertgoers alike in her two-day holiday concert (Dec. 11-12) at the PICC.

Philippine musical theatre lead player Audie Gemora (Sweeney Todd, Man of La Mancha) releases his much-awaited Broadway album just in time for the holidays. Entitled 'Playlist,' the album is independently produced and distributed by STAGES Production Specialists, Inc.