The Philippine Educational Theater Association (Peta)’s comedy musical “Walang Aray” dominated the 14th Gawad Buhay industry awards for the performing arts with eight wins.

In a ceremony held on July 9 at the Peta Theater Center in Quezon City, the inventive reimagination of Severino Reyes’ classic zarzuela “Walang Sugat” won Outstanding Musical-Original or Translation/Adaptation, Outstanding Stage Direction for a Musical for Ian Segarra, Outstanding Book of a Musical for Rody Vera, Outstanding Original Score for Vera and Vince Lim, and Outstanding Choreography for Gio Gahol.

“Walang Aray” also took the trophies honoring the Female Performance in a Musical for Shaira Opsimar, Female Featured Performance in a Musical for Neomi Gonzales and Ensemble Performance in a Musical for its cast.

Gawad Buhay, considered the local counterpart of the United States’ Tony Awards and the United Kingdom’s Olivier Awards, is given out annually by the Philippine Legitimate Stage Artists Group Inc. (Philstage) to recognize theater excellence among its member companies.

This year’s nominees and winners were selected by an independent jury from the eligible list of shows staged in 2023. Aside from “Walang Aray,” the winning productions were “The Last Five Years” (Barefoot Theatre Collaborative) and “Nekropolis” (Tanghalang Pilipino), with four awards each.

Both “Red” (The Necessary Theatre) and “Laro” (Barefoot Theatre Collaborative) collected three trophies, while “Sandosenang Sapatos” (Tanghalang Pilipino) claimed two.

“Tick, Tick … Boom!” (9 Works Theatrical) and “Lungs” (The Sandbox Collective) went home with one award each.

The Natatanging Gawad Buhay (Lifetime Achievement Award) was posthumously bestowed upon playwright and director Floy Quintos, who died in April.

Gawad Buhay 2020 winner Kakki Teodoro and “Bar Boys: A New Musical” star Benedix Ramos hosted the awarding ceremony that was marked by emotional yet humorous acceptance speeches. When “Laro” actor Phi Palmos went up the stage to collect his trophy for Male Featured Performance in a Play, he playfully said he would not follow the one-minute rule and went on sobbing, “Hindi n’yo po alam kung gaano ito kaimportante kasi may point po talaga na akala ko tapos na ang career ko sa teatro dahil sa mga opinyon ko.”

The opening, intermission and closing numbers featured excerpts from some of the past and present productions by Philstage member companies, performed that night with live orchestral accompaniment.

 

Winners

Here’s the full list of winners:Outstanding Stage Direction for a Musical: Ian Segarra (“Walang Aray”)

Outstanding Stage Direction for a Play: John Mark Yap (“Laro”)

Outstanding Musical–Original or Translation/Adaptation: “Walang Aray”

Outstanding Play–Original or Translation/Adaptation: “Nekropolis”

Outstanding Production for Children: “Sandosenang Sapatos”

Outstanding Production of Existing Material for a Musical: “The Last Five Years”

Outstanding Production of Existing Material for a Play: “Red”Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Myke Salomon (“The Last Five Years”)

 

Female Lead Performance in a Musical: Shaira Opsimar (“Walang Aray”)

Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Musical: “Walang Aray”

Female Featured Performance in a Musical: Neomi Gonzales (“Walang Aray”)

Male Featured Performance in a Musical: Reb Atadero (“Tick, Tick… Boom!”)

Male Lead Performance in a Play: JC Santos (“Red”)

Female Lead Performance in a Play: Justine Peña (“Lungs”)

Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Play: “Laro”

Female Featured Performance in a Play: Mitzi Comia (“Nekropolis”)

Male Featured Performance in a Play: Phi Palmos (“Laro”)

Outstanding Original Score: Vince Lim and Rody Vera (“Walang Aray”)

Outstanding Book of a Musical: Rody Vera (“Walang Aray”)

Outstanding Choreography: Gio Gahol (“Walang Aray”)

Outstanding Musical Direction: Rony Fortich (“The Last Five Years”)

Outstanding Original Script: Guelan Luarca (“Nekropolis”)

Outstanding Set Design: Joey Mendoza (“The Last Five Years”)

Outstanding Costume Design: Marco Viaña and Paw Castillo (“Sandosenang Sapatos”)

Outstanding Lighting Design: Gabo Tolentino (“Red”)

Outstanding Sound Design: Arvy Dimaculangan (“Nekropolis”)