It’s ‘raining’ musicals in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - The producers that brought to Manila Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Chicago and the ongoing Singin’ In The Rain are working on bringing here more international tour productions of Broadway and West End shows.

Miss Saigon, The Lion King and Les Miserablés are three of the mega-musicals being eyed to be staged in the country next.

“We are always on the lookout for which ones are on tour,” said Bambi Verzo of Concertus Manila, which together with the UK-based live entertainment producer Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, haven’t stopped flying in foreign productions since they first mounted Cats featuring Lea Salonga in 2010. “Like Miss Saigon is ending in February, and they’re planning a world tour… (The touring) production of Les Miserablés is now in Australia and we’re thinking of bringing it, as well as The Lion King, which is another big one. We’re getting there. These are dream projects.”

The West End runs of Les Miserablés and Miss Saigon boast of Filipino artists in their cast. Les Miz, now on its 30th anniversary, has Rachelle Ann Go essaying one of its most important roles, Fantine. The current incarnation of Saigon -— the revival of the original production some 25 years earlier that launched Lea into stage superstardom — has several Pinoys in its cast, including Jon-Jon Briones as the Engineer. 

The West End smash-hit Singin’ In The Rain, on the other hand, is running at the Solaire Resort & Casino’s The Theatre until Sept. 13. The STAR caught it last week and found out that to get a little wet is the best way to enjoy the musical adaptation of the Hollywood classic of the same title. Thus, it is recommended to go for the seats at the so-called Splash Zone to experience the centerpiece attraction of this cheery and merry musical — the rain (12,000 liters of it) onstage. Raincoats are provided, by the way, for those seated in this area.

Singin’ In The Rain serves as the opening salvo only of a series of shows co-presented by Lunchbox and Concertus. Up next beginning September are smaller shows but not any less exciting. There’s the simultaneous showing of La Soirée, the Olivier-winning cabaret show on Sept. 23 to 27 at The Theatre in Solaire; and Louis Pearl — The Amazing Bubble Man, a family-oriented show on bubble art, magic and science on Sept. 23 to 27 at the RCBC Theater.

During a presscon, Brett Haylock, creative director of La Soirée, described the 11-year-old hybrid show born at the UK’s famous Edinburgh Festival: “It borrowed a little from the circus world, the cabaret world, the burlesque world, from the variety and (we) smashed them all together. It’s a very unique experience.”

 “It’s incredibly sexy, it’s very dangerous, it’s played on such a small stage and that’s one of our signatures — it’s incredibly intimate. And humor runs through its veins,” he added, “it has an adult sense of humor, so I think it’s a great night to get a babysitter (laughs). There’s nothing offensive, but it’s cheeky, irreverent, you can bring your grandma but leave the kids at home.”

The other shows lined-up are Beyond The Barricade, an evening of Broadway and West musical showstoppers by former Les Miz principal performers come Oct. 7 and Cookin’ Nanta, the hit Korean comedy-musical slated on Nov. 10 to 15. Both will run at Solaire’s The Theatre. 

Verzo shared that Cookin’ Nanta, a cooking show-meets-Stomp in that it makes music out of kitchen ware, is such a hit in Korea and overseas that “I have to compete against two to three groups to bring Nanta here, it’s so fun,” adding that they hope to attract the huge K-pop fanbase in the country to see the show.

Asked how they select which shows to present to Pinoy audiences, Verzo said, “It all depends on the tour productions. There’s so many content now, so many to choose from and so many venues (here). We wanted to have a change, a mix of shows. We wanted to bring in kids-oriented shows, an adult show, all affordable, because as you know the big productions are a little more expensive.”

She added that this is the first time they’re doing multiple shows in the last quarter of the year, “which is very challenging because there’s a lot of shows coming up. But this year, we’re really gonna end it with a big bang.”

The biggest and most successful productions they’ve had so far were the musicals Phantom of the Opera (2012) and Wicked (2014), both of which lasted for seven weeks. Verzo noted that each show has tapped either local musicians or production staff. “We (Pinoys) blend so well with the international production people. In fact, Mary Ann Espina, our keyboardist for Phantom, is still touring.”

Theater-goers can expect more to come. Verzo said, “When we did Cats, the response was so overwhelming that we wanted to bring the next one, then the next one. I think we were able to meet our goal, which is to bring world-class productions to the Philippines that you don’t have to fly to the US or the UK to watch them.”

La Soirée, the Olivier-winning cabaret show, will happen on Sept. 23 to 27 at The Theatre in Solaire