Robert Encila-Celdran - Page 2

If timing is everything, wisdom is the impulse to tighten the cue or the restraint to yield the appropriate pause. It's one of the hallmarks of a seasoned thespian.

Disney's Newsies is a Tony Award-winning musical derived from the motion picture of the same title. Produced for the first time in Manila, it has commanded the day's headlines and kept a viewing public abuzz with excitement. We can assume Disney's ubiquitous brand had preceded its product, given the film's relative failure to draw critical and commercial acclaim in the early '90s. Considering its cult following after the release of the home video, it makes sense to bring musical theater back to its logical milieu where live performance of a Broadway musical is unparalleled. This production has been every bit as advertised: it's electric, witty, and poignant.

Sister Act was a Hollywood blockbuster in the early 1990s, pegged as a family comedy that cashed in on the sheer star power of Whoopi Goldberg. A quarter of a century later, Whoopi remains at the helm--this time as a producer of the Broadway incarnation. While her illustrious charm sells almost everything she's in, Sister Act the motion picture doesn't begin to compare to the polished genius of this stage adaptation.

After 50 years, 443 productions, and a consummate adherence to professional theater, Repertory Philippines (REP) has set a remarkable new benchmark for prestige and excellence.

Sara Ruhl is arguably the most inventive young playwright to emerge in recent years. Exploiting a genre that thrives on the fringes, she graces the mainstream with narratives that fuse realism and sundry whimsical elements. She has a shrewd sense of humor to boot, demonstrated in her 2009 Broadway hit and Pulitzer Prize nominee for Drama: In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play, now playing to titillating cheers at Repertory Philippines (REP).

While many of us are caught in heavy traffic--or out and about consuming pop culture--Jerry Sibal has been conjuring the most elaborate production ever conceived at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

For better or worse, Filipino identity is shaped by a legacy of mixed heritage. For Jerry Sibal--a Filipino of Chinese descent living in Manhattan--returning to his native Manila is a source of pride and creative renewal.

It's no fluke that Ballet Philippines' 47th season is titled 'Wings.' In its latest display of creativity, the company dazzles with a unique production and exhibits the intrepid capacity for flight away from convention.

Repertory Philippines' (REP) 49th season culminates with a musical adaptation of A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1905 children's novel. Just in time for the holidays, REP's offering comes in a mixed bag of splendor and disenchantment.

By sheer serendipity, Jhett Tolentino's scant introduction to the theater in his native province of Iloilo in the Philippines has led him to the industry's rarefied domain as a Broadway producer.