Philippine theater scene all set for new year after fruitful 2025

The new year has barely started, but Filipino theater fans already have a lot to look forward to.

Philippine theater has been thriving more than ever since the country emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, which paralyzed the industry for over two years.

Many described the flood of new and returning productions in 2023 as “revenge theater”.

Yet, it seems the local scene never stopped there and instead went on an impressive upward trajectory.

In 2025, the Philippine theater industry showed that Filipino actors have the talent and the grit to match their Broadway counterparts.

With the local stagings of hit Broadway musicals ‘Next to Normal’, ‘Come from Away’ and ‘Into the Woods’ garnering not only positive feedback but also several citations and accolades from local award-giving bodies.

The stage also bore witness to the birth of new and original local productions.

This includes ‘Delia D’, ‘Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical’, and ‘Si Faust’, while reruns and restagings of beloved shows — ‘Walang Aray’ (Literally: ‘No Pain’) and ‘Bar Boys: The Musical’ to name a few — continued to capture the audience.

Of course, musicals aren’t the only ones that kept fans coming to the theater.

Straights plays such as ‘3 Upuan’ (3 Chairs), ‘Para kay B’ (For B), ‘Anino sa Likod ng Buwan’ (Shadow Behind the Moon) and ‘Dagitab’ (Sparks) told brave and unfiltered stories.

Although devoid of the dazzle of elaborate dance numbers, it still proved effective in keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

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Global fan favorites on the local stage

Maintaining this steady momentum, the first half of 2026 for Philippine theater already seems to be on its way to be even better than last year’s.

A few foreign productions — some featuring an all-Filipino cast — have already been announced.

GMG Productions will kick off the first month of the year with ‘Les Miserables: World Tour Spectacular’.

It will feature Filipino Broadway and West End stars Lea Salonga (who will play Madame Thenardier), Rachel Ann Go (Fantine), Emily Bautista (Eponine), and Red Concepcion (Thenardier).

Also often known as the ‘Arena Spectacular’, this version of the critically-acclaimed production will be more of a concert, but the cast will still be in full costume.

And judging by the available clips online, the staging will be just as grand as the traditional musical.

It will run at The Theatre at Solaire in Paranaque City from January 20 to March 1.

As of this writing, all but the January 22 evening show has been sold out at the TicketWorld site.

Theater fans will also get to witness the final weeks in the life of Jesus Christ through the iconic rock and opera music of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’.  

Also brought to the local stage by GMG, the Olivier Award-winning revival will run at The Theatre at Solaire for only three weeks in May.

More Broadway hits with an all-Filipino cast

Following the success of the all-Filipino cast of ‘Next to Normal’, The Sandbox Co will attempt yet another feat with ‘Spring Awakening’.

A coming-of-age Broadway rock musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater that has won multiple awards, including a Tony Award for Best Musical.

Set to open on February 13 at The Black Box at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati City, fans already have high expectations for this production due to its powerhouse cast of local veteran and rising actors.

Big industry names Audie Gemora, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Ana Abad Santos will be joining the guilty ones led by young thespians Alex Diaz, Nacho Tambunting, Sheena Belarmino, Nic Chien and Omar Uddin.

Meanwhile, Theater Group Asia — which staged ‘Into the Woods’ last year with an all-Filipino cast and a local twist — will once again bring a Broadway classic to the Philippine stage as ‘A Chorus Line’ opens on March 12 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati City.

Theatergoers can expect a line-up of insanely talented actors from across the country, as well as some familiar faces from the diaspora, namely Conrad Ricamora and Lissa deGuzman.

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From screen to stage

A musical-to-movie adaptation is fairly common, but the Philippine theater industry is switching that up with the upcoming stage adaptations of several Filipino films.

First on the list is ‘Bagets The Musical’, the stage adaptation of the 1984 Filipino coming-of-age comedy film ‘Bagets’ (which can literally be translated to “teens” or “kids”).

Leading the cast are Andres Muhlach and Mico Chua alternating as Adie, KD Estrada and Ethan David (Arnel), Milo Cruz and Migo David (Tonton), Jeff Moses and Sam Shoaf (Topee), and Tomas Franco Rodriguez and Noel Comia Jr (Gilbert).

On February 14, The Idea First Company will stage ‘About Us But Not About Us’.

An adaptation of the similarly-named 2022 film by Jun Robles Lana, whose ‘Anino sa Likod ng Buwan’ proved to be a huge success last year.

Directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio, the psychological drama revolves around literature professor Eric and his student Lance as a casual conversation over a meal slowly reveals their secrets and lies.

Romnick Sarmenta and Elijah Canlas will revive their roles as Eric and Lance, respectively. 

They will be joined by Epy Quizon as Marcus, Eric’s late partner. Other cast includes Andoy Ranay, Geraldine Malacaman-Villamil and Herbie Go in certain performances, as well as Noel Rayos (cover for Eric), Jack Denze (waiter and Lance Double) and Jao Catarus (cover for Lance).

‘About Us But Not About Us’ will run until March 8 at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Makati City.

While it isn’t exactly an adaptation, the ‘Ang Babae sa Septic Tank’ (The Woman in the Septic Tank) franchise will expand its deeply entertaining satirical universe to the theater stage with ‘Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank 4: Oh Sh*t! It’s Live Sa Cheter!’.

Keeping up with its meta-comedy aspect, this fourth installment will be “about ego, art, and the messy reality of making Philippine Theater today,” according to the Philippine Educational Theater Association or PETA.

Which will be staging the show from June 19 to August 16 at the PETA Theater Center.

While a cast line-up is yet to be announced, Eugene Domingo is already set to lead the new show, similar to the franchise’s past two films and the series.

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