Vince Vicentuan - Page 2

Everyone knows the musical all too well. At least for those who were already breathing theater when The Phantom of the Opera opened in London's West End in 1986, and on Broadway in 1988.

They say that history is written by the victors, its integrity dependent on who actually wrote it.

Tony and Grammy Award-winning Broadway producer Jhett Tolentino and Frontrow Entertainment have officially announced the six key Philippine cities for the five-month 'M. Butterfly' 2019 National Tour, commencing this February 14, 2019 in Iloilo, and ending June 2 in Baguio.

Imagine yourself in a small room where you can watch people in their most unguarded moments and listen to their innermost, basest desires without any burden or worry of getting caught… Imagine yourself doing what you love doing with no cares for time and space… Imagine yourself in a dressing room where the ethereal meets the corporal, and the objects of your voyeuristic eyes are actresses prepping up for their roles prior to their cues on stage.

In the play 'Boston Marriage,' dramatist David Mamet famously quotes, 'We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.' Indeed, as life in the present has become ever more stressful, one can always choose to find comfort in the gustatory wonders of a perfect pie.

Jukebox musicals have been quite a trend lately. Owing its origin to Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story, which successfully ran on West End from 1989 to 2003, the genre's popularity has been boosted by many others that followed suit, such as Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, featuring the music and life of Carole King. Just recently, Manila had seen the staging of a tribute to one of the country's more enduring musical groups, The Apo Hiking Society, with the successful Eto na! Musikal nAPO! This mid-October, yet another jukebox musical, built around the iconic songs of major karaoke staples provider, Air Supply, beckons.

The press preview of David Henry Hwang's award-winning play 'M. Butterfly,' produced by Broadway producer Jhett Tolentino and Frontrow Entertainment, at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater proved to be far stronger than the force of nature, fluttering nonchalantly despite looming news of a super typhoon. As if on cue, Typhoon Mangkhut was a no-show when the local press trooped to the Bonifacio Global City Arts Center to witness with excitement the return of this classic, 28 years after an 18-year-old RS Francisco won the hearts of critics and audiences alike in Dulaang UP's 1990 local premiere.

The simple but elegant opening and press launch of the Maningning Miclat Art Award Exhibition at the Far Eastern University (FEU) Nicanor Reyes Exhibit Hall last September 4 heralded a new batch of young and talented student-artists competing for the top prize, further ensuring award-winning artist, poet, and educator Maningning Miclat's legacy.

Philippine theater enthusiasts will surely take pride in the Manila kickoff of the first-ever international touring production of Disney's 'The Lion King,' hailed as 'the world's #1 musical.'

As far as our fickle adult memory is concerned, there could be very few child roles in major Broadway and West End musicals that captured our hearts: Annie, Oliver, Mary Lennox, and Dorothy. Matilda is the latest welcome addition.

Every generation, past or present, knows what a great musical is: it's one that's so hauntingly memorable, its score and plot reflective of the time or the aspirations of the time. Such is The Sound of Music whose songs and romantic narrative have haunted us to this very day, since its November 16, 1959 Broadway opening.

Touted as "Broadway's greatest dance musical," "West Side Story," the international tour, opened in Manila to a crowd of old and new fans, and the result is both exhilarating and, to some degree, bifurcating.

The Cyndi Lauper-Harvey Fierstein award-winning musical 'Kinky Boots' has finally strutted into Manila, and if the spontaneous standing ovations and full houses since opening night are any indication, Lola, the indomitable drag queen at the center of the show, could be right--'I came for one thing only--adulation!'

Ateneo Blue Repertory's take on "Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady" is downright engaging: a no-dull-moment rollick of riot and fun. Where most comedy musicals fail, this two-hour comedy does not lollygag in its intent to entertain nonstop, and we have the millennials' boundless energy and raw talent to thank for. Not to mention playwright Carlo Vergara's campy wit that packs in the tummy cramp.

The much-anticipated return of WICKED did not fail to generate the buzz and crowd it was expected to. The throng that trooped to The Theatre at Solaire on February 8 was proof that this hit Broadway musical indeed has a Manila cult following, some of whom wickedly garbed in celebratory costumes, most flamboyant of which was Tessa Prieto-Valdes, a regular on big musical opening nights.

Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group's (ATEG) Manila production of the 2015 Tony© Best Musical FUN HOME opens and unravels with no fanfare: a minimalist set, a meager ensemble of ten actors, musical numbers that do not play to spectacular choreography and exploding lights, and a venue so small the performers and spectators are actually within an awkward spitting distance.