What does 2020 look like for the Philippines’ most esteemed theater company?
Theater-loving folk have got quite the lineup to look forward to next year. Repertory Philippines has unveiled its titles for 2020, and things are shaping up to be livelier than ever. There’s even an exciting new experimental concept coming up!
Before we talk about the show lineup, let’s raise a glass to REP’s new Artistic Director: the esteemed Liesl Batucan! She brings a fresh energy to REP for her premiere season, and her excitement for what the company has in store for the public cascades into everything that’s coming our way.
Missy Maramara and Tarek El Tayech headline Stage Kiss, a romantic comedy by Sarah Ruhl that earned the New York Times Critic’s Pick of 2014. In an amusing art-imitating-life story, Missy and Tarek play stage actors with a romantic history, and they unexpectedly get cast as lovers in a 1930s melodrama—not potentially complicated at all! Andres Borromeo, Justine Narciso, and Mica Pineda round out the snappy story’s cast, and it’s all brought together by a very familiar name in the director’s chair: award-winning filmmaker Carlos Siguion-Reyna.
Pivoting from romantic chemistry and whimsy, REP delves into political gravitas and cultural complexities with Anna in the Tropics: winner of a Pulitzer Prize, written by Cuban American playwright Nilo Cruz. New York-based production designer Joey Mendoza helms this one, which stars Ana Abad Santos, Jake Macapagal, Paolo O’Hara, Brian Sy, Gab Pangilinan, Gie Onida, and Madeleine Nicolas.
The Anna in the title isn’t one of the actors, though. It’s the actual literary classic Anna Karenina, read out by a lector in a Cuban cigar factory. The literary engagement gives everyone new lenses with which to see the world and themselves, informing the new twists and turns of their lives.
Of the legends of musical theater, few are as fundamental as the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway classic Carousel—even TIME Magazine thinks so, since it proudly declares it the Best Musical of the 20th Century.
Two celebrated performers form the centerpiece of the musical: Nikki Gil and Gian Magdangal, in their first outing on REP’s stage. Their star-studded ensemble joins them under the direction of rising star Toff de Venecia. In case you’re unfamiliar with Carousel, it’s about a whirlwind love affair and the complications thereof, and how two young people learn about themselves and each other in a world of tough choices.
Remember when we said REP has an experimental new thing up its sleeve for 2020? REP Unplugged is it, and it’s got Ed Lacson Jr. leading the charge!
Recognizing that theater can and should evolve with the times, REP Unplugged is set to explore alternative methods of staging and presentation in unconventional performance spaces. It’s still all very hush-hush (even the exact schedule is still under wraps) because they don’t want to spoil the surprise, but more details are expected to come around the corner once the new season rolls into town. Keep your eyes peeled!
The REP Theater for Young Audiences offering for the 83rd season is Snow White and the Prince by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman: yes, the same folk behind the REP 2018 production Rapunzel, Rapunzel, A Very Hairy Fairytale! If you had fun with their retelling of Rapunzel’s story, you can bet they’ve got the same kind of inventive whimsy going for Snow White. Bringing this production to life is the amazing Joy Virata, and there’s no doubt the show will capture all the fun and magic of the beloved children’s classic in a fresh new light.
Season passes for REP in 2020 are now available, and season subscribers get a 30% discount to boot! Ticketworld’s got you covered through www.ticketworld.com.ph, and you can also inquire about tickets directly from REP (8451-1474 or 0966-905-4013). Don’t forget to check out www.repertoryphilippines.ph as well as @repertoryphilippines on Facebook and Instagram for show updates and details!
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