Nonie Buencamino News

This reimagined staging promises a stirring, four-week theatrical journey that invites today's audiences to rediscover Don Quixote’s timeless quest for hope and inspiration.

The all-star cast, Alice Reyes Dance Philippines’ dancers, and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, performed a reprise of the epilogue to 'Ang Larawan, The Musica'” right before the curtain fell on 'Contra Mundum, Ang All-Star Concert ng Ang Larawan' at the Manila Metropolitan Theatre on Saturday, May 6.

THE KUNDIMAN PARTY deserves this rerun, especially now we're on post-midterm elections. The play with music, a cultural-political drama, written by Floy Quintos and directed by Dexter Santos, has never been more relevant.

Fresh from his critically-acclaimed performance in the musical film 'Bakwit Boys,' actor Vance Larena plays the lead role in a musical adaptation of Jose Rizal's 'Noli Me Tangere' (Kanser), featuring the music by Joed Balsamo and book by Jomar Fleras. Larena plays Juan Crisostomo Ibarra y Magsalin, commonly known as Ibarra, a Filipino-Spanish and the only descendant of the wealthy Spaniard Don Rafael Ibarra.

The musical pedigree of Ang Larawan, an official entry to the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), traces back to Culturtain Musicat Productions' (formerly Musical Theatre Philippines) 1997 musical adaptation of Nick Joaquin's 1950 landmark play A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino. Why such a masterwork has stood the test of time is what this film adaptation wants you to fully grasp.

Sans the female lead Joanna Ampil (Candida), who's currently part of the UK/International tour of the musical Cats, the rest of the cast and the creative team behind the stage-to-screen adaptation of Nick Joaquin's A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino ( Ang Larawan ) recently met with the members of the Philippine press with one plea: urge the moviegoing public to catch the movie musical Ang Larawan during its first two days at the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), which traditionally opens on Christmas Day and runs through the holidays.