Filipino theater fans got a glimpse into some of the most anticipated productions for the first half of the year, as the first-ever ‘Night at the Theater’ was held at the Samsung Performing Arts Theatre in Makati City on February 6.
Presented as part of ‘Art Walk by Ayala Land’ in celebration of National Arts Month and Art Fair Philippines being hosted in Circuit Makati, ‘Night at the Theater’ showcased 13 production companies, who each gave a sneak peek of their ongoing and future shows.
Apart from the bite-sized presentations, the participating companies also set up their own booths to promote their shows and sell merch of new and past productions.
In his opening speech, Christopher Mohnani, Ayala Land’s arts and culture director for Makati, described the event as “the closest thing” that the Philippines can call its very own theater convention.
Notable announcements
Among the surprise announcements during the program was the cast reveal of Repertory Philippines’ (REP) ‘Man of La Mancha’ — a Tony-winning Broadway musical about Miguel de Cervantes, who, while imprisoned in a dungeon, transforms into Don Quixote as he tells an imaginary tale in a comedic attempt to escape.
REP’s artistic director, Jeremy Domingo, revealed that the lead character will be played by Nonie Buencamino, while Quixote’s trusted squire, Sancho Panza, will be portrayed by Marvin Ong.
Buencamino and Ong then performed the show’s opening song, ‘Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)’.
While the performance was unfortunately riddled with mic malfunctions, the two actors persevered and were rewarded with deafening applause.
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The company’s third staging of ‘Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)’ will be directed by Nelsito Gomez, with music and lyrics by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, and book by Dale Wasserman. It will run from June 5 to 28.
Gomez, representing Ateneo De Manila University’s theater arm Areté, later announced the rerun of ‘Si Faust’, a rock opera reimagination of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s ‘Faust’, featuring music by OPM band Wolfgang.
It was first staged in November last year, also with Gomez as the director.
Shaira Opsimar and Matel Patayon, who respectively play sisters Marga and Martha, and Joshua Cabiladas as Tino, performed a devastating scene from the musical, with their spine-chilling rendition of ‘Mata ng Diyos’ (Eyes of God) stealing everyone’s breath away.
Outstanding performances
Companies that have previously announced their future productions also performed onstage, starting with Theatre Group Asia’s ‘A Chorus Line’.
The show’s incredibly diverse cast delivered a jaw-dropping performance of ‘Gimme the Ball’, showing everyone what to expect from the world-class production as it opens on March 12 at the very same stage.
The girls from The Sandbox Collective’s ‘Spring Awakening’ also brought a tantalizing mix of spring and teen rebellion onto the stage as they sang ‘Mama Who Bore Me’ and ‘Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise)’.
Alice Reyes Dance Philippines, the lone dance company for the night, showed a snippet from their upcoming restaging of the 1977 rock opera ballet ‘Tales of the Manuvu’, while the cast of Tanghalang Pilipino’s ‘Mabining Mandirigma’ boasted their vocal prowess with their own powerful performance that closed the event on a high note.
Straight plays dominate the stage
Armed with sparse props, a few spotlights, and little to no music, straight plays ‘About Us But Not About Us’ by IdeaFirst Live and Scene Change’s ‘3 Upuan’ (3 Chairs) made the gigantic stage their own with their respective offerings.
Set to open this Valentine’s Day, ‘About Us But Not About Us’ cast Romnick Sarmenta, Elijah Canlas, and Andoy Ranay perfectly embodied their characters Eric, Lance, and Marcus, respectively, in a scene that — while only a few minutes long — felt like an eternity as they took the audience through unexpected twist and turns about love, lies, and betrayal.
Meanwhile, time stood still when Martha Comia — alone onstage, in front of hundreds of people — delivered a gripping and grief-filled monologue from ‘3 Upuan’ as Jai.
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Other companies present
Among the other production companies present were Barefoot Theatre Collaborative, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), Encore Theater, CAST PH, and NWR Musicals.
Barefoot, PETA, and Encore showed trailers of their upcoming productions, ‘Anthropology’, ‘Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4: Oh Sh*t! It’s Live Sa Cheter!’, and twinbill ‘Miranda at Yolanda’, respectively.
CAST gave a sneak peek from their free outdoor staging of Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’, while the cast of NWR Musical’s ‘Bagets The Musical’ — currently running at the Newport Performing Arts Theater — performed ‘Growing Up’.
Fan feedback
The event was admittedly not perfect, with certain performances unfortunately riddled with technical issues, such as hot and glitching mics or poor acoustics that threatened to ruin the moment.
However, speaking to some of the fans afterwards, these shortcomings seemed to have been drowned out by the collective reaction of awe and disbelief.
The latter was due to the fact that theater is still considered a niche and not easily accessible to the general public, making events of such a scale nearly impossible locally.
One attendee likened the event to anime conventions and to similar programs that often only take place in New York City on Broadway or in London’s West End.
Another avid theater fan and practitioner described the ‘Night at the Theater’ as “surreal”, adding that their inner child felt healed by the experience.
As the venue remains abuzz with chatter from ecstatic theater kids late into the night, one thing was made very clear: the community is thriving and hungry for more events like ‘Night at the Theater’.
Performances such as these mark a moment for everyone to gather and celebrate the magic of Philippine theater and the people who work hard to keep it alive.
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