The Guilty Ones are here! Philippine theater company The Sandbox Collective has unveiled the full cast of its upcoming production of ‘Spring Awakening’, with the line-up featuring both young and well-known names of the industry.
The Tony Award-winning coming-of-age rock musical is based on the 1891 German play of the same title by Frank Wedekind, which tells the story of teenagers as they navigate the wonders and consequences of their sexual awakening in a repressive society.
New generation of Philippine theater
This staging of ‘Spring Awakening’ is expected to showcase the emerging talents of the local theater scene.
The role of Melchior Gabor, the intelligent and radical schoolboy who falls in love with Wendla Bergmann, will be shared by Alex Diaz and Nacho Tambunting.
Diaz is best known for his role as Chris Abueva in Barefoot Theatre Collaborative’s ‘Bar Boys: The Musical’.
Tambunting, meanwhile, made his name overseas, originating the title role in ‘Felix Starro’, in addition to his television and film credits such as NBC’s ‘Rise’ and ‘Asian Persuasion’.
Sheena Belarmino will play as Wendla, a shy but curious girl who enters a relationship with Melchior.
Belarmino was recently part of The Sandbox Collective’s ‘Next to Normal’ as Natalie Goodman and PETA’s ‘One More Chance’ as Tricia.
The character of Moritz Stiefel, the anxious friend of Melchior, will be portrayed by Omar Uddin and Nic Chien.
Uddin notably originated the role of Josh Zuniga in ‘Bar Boys: A New Musical’ and reprised the character, along with Diaz, in the show’s 2025 re-run.
His other stage performances include Henry in ‘Next to Normal’ and ‘The Lion King’ international tour.
Chien is returning to the Philippine stage after recently starring in the local production of ‘Into the Woods’ as Jack with his mother, Lea Salonga.
He was also part of the 2017 staging of ‘Matilda the Musical’ in Manila.
The other young theater actors who will be bringing spring to the Philippines are Jam Binay (Ilse), Elian Dominguez (Ernst), Vino Mabalot (Otto), Davy Narciso (Georg), Angelo Martinez (Hanschen), Mijon Cortez (Anna), Felicity Kyle Napuli (Thea) and Angia Laurel (Martha).
Lance Soliman, Gabo Tiongson, Pappel and Nikki Bengzon will join the production as swings, who are responsible for playing several ensemble roles when needed.
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Theater legends
Long-time Filipino theater fans will also once again witness some of the industry’s established names, including Menchu Lauchengo-Yulo (‘Evita’, ‘Les Miserables’) and Ana Abad Santos (‘A Streetcar Named Desire’, ‘Portrait of the Artist as Filipino’), who will alternate in the role of Adult Woman.
Award-winning actor Audie Gemora will take on the role of Male Adult.
Among his several accolades is Best Performance as Male Lead in a Musical at the 2010 Gawad Philstage for his performance in ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’.
The Sandbox Collective’s ‘Spring Awakening’ will be directed by Andrei Nikolai Pamintuan, with musical direction by Ejay Yatco.
When will the show open?
‘Spring Awakening’ will open on February 13, 2026, at The Black Box at the Proscenium Theater, Rockwell in Makati City.
Tickets start at PHP2,900, which are now available for sale on Ticket2Me.
With music by Duncan Sheik, and book and lyrics by Steven Sater, ‘Spring Awakening’ first debuted off-Broadway before the original Broadway production opened on December 10, 2006.
Its cast included Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele and John Gallagher Jr.
It went on to win eight Tony Awards, including for Best Musical, Direction, Book, Score and Featured Actor. The original cast album also garnered a Grammy Award.
Deaf West Theatre staged a revival in 2015, which featured many deaf actors using American Sign Language.
Directed by Michael Arden, the production bagged three Tony Award nominations.
In the Philippines, ‘Spring Awakening’ was staged twice – in 2009 by Atlantis Productions and in 2019 by the Ateneo Blue Repertory.
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