COUNT THEM—22 productions in just the first five months of the year, from the small two-character drama (“Red”) to the all-stops-out musical extravaganza (“Ibalong,” “Katy”). Local theater is at its most prolific and exciting in years; and so, before the last days of summer ring the curtain down on the old season to usher in the new by June—and with memory the only antidote to the ephemeral nature of theater—we thought we’d look back and salute the performances that lit up the stage and occasioned cheers in the previous months.
It is an industry term, we were told the other day. The term “triple threat” in the theater world refers to a performer who can sing, dance and act at the same time.
“I decided to trace my journey as a musical theater actor from the time I accidentally stumbled onto the stage, to going into it as a profession,” says singing actor Audie Gemora. “I will mark milestones in my long 33-year career with songs relevant to that journey. That’s why I chose to title the concert ‘I Was Here.’”
At the CCP Little Theater last July 5, musical theater actor Audie Gemora candidly recalled to a sold-out house his five-second audition for “Miss Saigon,” back when the musical’s creative team had just discovered the goldmine of homegrown Filipino talent.
It was 1977. The world was going to change for Menchu Lauchengco, 15, a high school student, but she didn’t know it yet.
Local theaterdom is abuzz with Trumpets big musical comeback, “The Bluebird of Happiness” which opened a couple of weeks ago at the Meralco Theater.
On a recent Monday at a P75-per-beer-bottle bar in Makati City, five original one-act-plays written by actor-director-playwright-producer Joel Trinidad were the main attractions for the night. Also having a good time with the Makati yuppies and some expats was Noel Trinidad. Gray-haired and still with the perpetually smiling face, the veteran theater-film-TV actor-host-comedian was all but proud of his son.
When “Katy” opened on Jan. 27 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, not only was it the first local production to raise its curtain this year, it was also a harbinger of sorts.
A mere kilometer from the Magallanes MRT station, in a nondescript building called Whitespace, a play of diminutive scale rages with astonishing explosive power, one that ravages the robust human façade and inflicts damaging blow after blow upon the fragile emotional soul.
The raves are still pouring in, even as Repertory Philippines’ “August: Osage County” is on its last weekend. The lion’s share of the praise goes to Baby Barredo, the company’s cofounder, artistic director and now the play’s main performer after an absence of more than a decade. Barredo remains at the top of her game at 72—an age she is not ashamed to admit.
