The Boy is back

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandbox Collective brings back last year’s surprise hit, The Boy in the Bathroom — a refreshingly poignant musical about domestic drama, disease, falling in love with the unexpected and venturing into the unknown.

Could you stay in one place forever? Or live day to day without knowing what’s out there? For David, staying behind closed doors seems to be the only option. Crippled by his obsessive-compulsive disease (OCD), a manic mother and his disillusionment with the world and life in general, he isolates himself in the bathroom for a year and vows never to go out. That is, until he meets a girl.

In this quirky yet refreshingly sophisticated musical, one explores that exhilarating feeling of finding the answer to life’s questions and taking that leap of faith.

This quirky, Off-Broadway musical, which critics have dubbed as “widely entertaining and yet hauntingly poignant,” explores the relationship between OCD-inflicted David and his overbearing mother Pam. In a singular moment, everything in David’s life comes to a halt as he locks himself in the bathroom, forging a world of daydreams, toilet paper and make-believe.

When a girl named Julie enters the equation, however, he finds himself falling in love and wondering whether it’ll be just enough to make him open the door and venture into the unknown.

Fresh from its critically-acclaimed showing at last year’s Imaginarium Festival, The Boy in the Bathroom returns for a limited rerun this month as an entry to the upcoming Fringe Manila Festival. The much-anticipated restaging will take place on Feb. 19 (8 p.m.) and Feb. 21 (5:30 p.m.) at the Huseng Batute Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The musical stars Broadway World award-winning actor and Aliw Award nominee Topper Fabregas, Gawad Buhay Award-winning actress Caisa Borromeo and veteran actress and star of West End, Sheila Francisco. The Boy in the Bathroom will be directed by Toff de Venecia, director of the award-winning musical, Dani Girl.

For details, call 585-6909, 0917-8877225 or 0917-8908633. You may also call TicketWorld at 891-9999 or visit http://ticketworld.com.ph. Follow The Sandbox Collective on Facebook: TheSandboxCollective, Twitter: @TheSandboxCo and Instagram: @TheSandboxCo. Check out www.thesandboxcollective.com to find out more about the company’s shows, promotions and season line-up.