Looking back at the year’s best shows, top trends, and what to expect in 2025

2024 saw a packed theater calendar, and if we called 2023 the year of revenge theater, this year has proven that we’re no longer just catching up and recovering from the years of closure: We’re now in a period of seeing Manila’s theater scene continuously growing and thriving.

Including reruns, ballets, university productions, and other small, independent stagings, there have been more or less 70 shows staged this year. I’ve only seen around 50 plays (if we count each play included in the theater festivals). But with what I’ve seen, I’d like to glean some informal statistics on the 2024 theater year. 

More than 30 of the productions (festivals counted as one whole production) staged were original Filipino works, and seven of which were musicals. But if we count each one-act production part of the year’s festivals and anthologies, we’ve seen more than 30 straight plays. Around 13 productions this year are from foreign intellectual property, most staged and interpreted with a Filipino cast and crew, while two are international tours. We also saw the staging of five adaptations, translating material from films and books to the stage.

It’s always been said that theater is a mirror held up to society, and though the year started strong with several historical and politically charged works (which I expected to continue), theater in 2024 ended up revolving more around relationships, friendships, and community—themes Filipinos always connect and resonate with, time and time again.

Unsurprising, as 2024 has seen relationships and connections of all forms take the spotlight. Talk of toxic relationships and high vs low maintenance friendships have been around for years, but these seem to be amplified this year. (Especially in talk of just letting go and cutting them off. Oof.) And maybe this is reaching, but there’s some uncanny comfort in the timeliness of the shows that hit the stage this year.

Aside from romances, of the happy, kilig types, and the sad, sawi sort, both of which Filipinos will always love, there were many stories on stage that also touched on finding and strengthening connections and community with people around us (alongside the romantic main plots). Take the beloved Thursday barkada, given more life in “One More Chance the Musical,” or the coming-of-age together of the “Bar Boys,” or even the ragtag bunch of misfits and dreamers in “Mula sa Buwan” and “Rent,” who, through their individual circumstances (being thrust into war for the former, and being faced with life-threatening illness and poverty for the latter), find belonging.

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2024 has also seen more intimate productions sprout throughout the metro. Beyond the university circle, there have been more micro and independent theater groups that have begun putting up shows with limited runs and intimate audiences. Happening in non-traditional theater settings such as cafes and studios, this development may help in making the world of theater appear more accessible to those who are curious to peer in, proving there’s much to enjoy beyond the formal proscenium theaters and big, loud, spectacular numbers.

It is in these spaces that we were able to see stories tackling mental health, self-worth as well as politics and history delved into more. The intimate settings have allowed for an environment that is more effective for storytelling, making its message more felt.

With the sold-out runs and critical acclaim of these shows, we can assume we’ve now reached the audiences that find appeal in stories told through these modes. We can expect a number of these productions to make repeat performances in 2025, along with new shows with themes that continue to revolve around the highs and lows of interpersonal relationships and mental health.

2024 highlights

While I do have my own personal favorites, looking at our busy theater year as a whole, several stood out for their impressive storytelling, production design, and how, in their own ways, they’ve pushed the envelope in the realm of theatrical production. 

With politics and history ever relevant, especially given our country’s (and the world’s!) state of affairs, productions like “Kumprontasyon,” staged by the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and “Pingkian: Isang Musical” by Tanghalang Pilipino (TP) were among the bravest and most impactful. “Kumprontasyon”’s intriguing premise (how would conversations/confrontations between pivotal figures in our history play out?) made it an engaging examination of the past vis-a-vis history’s effect on the present, while “Pingkian”’s unique storytelling—a rock musical, which intersperses flashbacks and (fever) dreams of one of our oft-forgotten heroes—made its eponymous character’s words on love of country even more compelling, especially to a wider audience.

PETA’s “One More Chance the Musical” was also noteworthy as an ambitious marriage of two pop culture icons: the eponymous 2007 film, and the music of OPM folk pop band Ben&Ben. Putting these two together in one production was undoubtedly a challenge. Despite a somewhat shaky foundation in its opening, the musical’s long run (extended into a second run towards the second half of the year) proved beneficial for PETA in tightening and refining the material. From its success with last year’s “Walang Aray,” and even looking back at pre-pandemic multiple runs of “Rak of Aegis,” it wouldn’t be a stretch to say PETA’s now found another piece that will boost audience development.

Barefoot Theatre Collaborative also made large strides this year with two runs of their new musical, “Bar Boys.” Also a film-to-musical adaptation, what’s noteworthy about Barefoot’s work is how they’ve developed the material into a unique entity of its own. Thanks to an updated storyline that’s more in touch with the current social and political climate, all original music, and its dynamic staging, “Bar Boys” looks like a production that will continue to enjoy box office success should they continue to run in the near future. 

Meanwhile the restaging of “Mula sa Buwan” also proved that Barefoot is formidable in the game of reinvention. Under the helm of a new director, Mikko Angeles, the cult favorite musical has evolved into its most visually spectacular version yet. 

While most productions this year embraced the use of digital projections as part of (or even to fully make up) the set, a few productions stood out for their impressive use of the stage.

As mentioned, “Mula sa Buwan”’s 2024 iteration evolved into a more cinematic version with larger-than-life sets that served to make the story’s setting and context even more vivid. “Request sa Radyo” also pushed the boundaries in its theatrical execution. The wordless play challenged the form itself, taking audiences through a real-time experience of a lone(ly) OFW’s internal anguish. The hyperrealistic set design added to this blurring of what’s real and what’s theater. 

On performances, TP’s “Balete” had a solid ensemble with its Actor’s Company, especially with TP alumnus Nonie Buencamino at the helm. The play is an impressive acting masterclass that takes us through gripping jumps in haunting memories. 

The first original production of the Company of Actors in Streamlined Theatre (CAST), “Patintero sa Ayala Avenue,” also featured an astounding mostly one-man act by Zoë De Ocampo. Their portrayal of the Boy, along with the various other characters Boy encounters, is powerful and clear, each character and voice distinct. CAST’s other offering, a modern retelling (but still using the original language) of “Othello,” was equally impressive for its leads. It is also noteworthy for leaning more into the issues of domestic violence—an underlying theme that often isn’t as emphasized, in favor of the more obvious conflicts on discrimination, jealousy, and manipulation. The intimate performance of both plays also lends to the intensity of the portrayal. 

Equally unforgettable are Missy Maramara’s performances in “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” and “Gruesome Playground Injuries,” which she stars alongside equally formidable and memorable actors Caisa Borromeo and Topper Fabregas, respectively.

Unexpected standouts include Repertory Philippines’ (Rep) “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” which in the hands of director Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and its strong cast of four, transformed from mere musical vignettes into an enjoyable reflection of love and relationships of the current era, despite the original piece being decades old. (I think something to do for 2025 is to come to shows without expectations so that one can be surprised by gems like this. “Bar Boys” was also an unexpected gem!)

While there’s still a lot of work to be done in improving the systems that support the local theater industry, the highs it’s reached in 2024 gives us hope for the theater seasons to come.

What’s ahead for 2025

Several theater companies have already announced their upcoming shows for the new year. 

This January, CAST will be bringing back their staged reading festival. Showing every Sunday starting Jan. 12 with the theme “Theoria Omnium (Theory of Everything),” the featured plays all revolve around scientific drama. While CAST’s staged reading tradition involves keeping the actual plays a secret until the day of the performance, the company has announced the featured performers, among them are Dolly De Leon, Sue Ramirez, Jenny Zamora, Ron Capinding, Nor Domingo, Cathy Azanza-Dy, Jaime Del Mundo, Nelsito Gomez, Brian Sy, Dean Daniel Rosen, Zoë De Ocampo, Jam Binay, Katski Flores, and Naths Everett. 

Rep’s musical for young audiences, “Jepoy and the Magic Circle” will resume its run at the new Eastwood Theater.

In February, PETA will once again hold their Control + Shift: Changing Narratives festival, which features 10 one-act plays, including a rerun of “Kumprontasyon.” Meanwhile, The Sandbox Collective will be staging the musical “Next to Normal,” featuring Shiela Valderrama Martinez, Nikki Valdez, OJ Mariano, Floyd Tena, Sheena Belarmino, Jam Binay, Benedix Ramos, Vino Mabalot, Omar Uddin, Davy Narciso, and Jef Flores.

Rep will also be bringing back “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” as a Valentine’s offering, running from Feb. 14 to Mar. 9, 2025. 

CAST’s “Othello” will also be enjoying a return to the stage from Mar. 7 to 16, featuring most of the same cast as earlier this year, led by Tarek El Tayech as Othello, Reb Atadero as Iago, Gab Pangilinan as Desdemona, and Maronne Cruz as Emilia. 

TP will be staging their season-ender, “Kisapmata,” an adaptation of Mike de Leon’s 1981 film of the same name, which was based on Nick Joaquin’s “The House on Zapote Street.” The play, starring the TP Actors’ Company’s senior members, will run from Mar. 7 to 30, 2025.

We can continue to expect new jukebox musicals to be developed and take the stage, as these are proven gateway pieces for audiences.

READ: OPM as the soundtrack of PH theater: A look into the trend of jukebox musicals

 9Works Theatrical is set to stage “Liwanag sa Dilim,” a jukebox musical featuring the hits of Rico Blanco, this coming March 2025. 

Full House Theater Company of the Newport World Resorts is also set to stage “Delia D: A Dragtastic Musical” featuring the songs of Jonathan Manalo and starring Phi Palmos in April.

This article was completed under the ArtsEquator Fellowship 2024.