MANILA, Philippines - Theater heartthrob Felix Rivera is getting ready for his biggest year yet onstage. After gaining attention for his star-making roles in Atlantis Productions’ Avenue Q and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Felix takes on four musical theater roles this year.
Felix returns to the streets of Avenue Q for the hit show’s fifth run at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati from March 12 to 27. He will once again play the dual roles of Princeton/Rod, which he has played in all the previous runs including an extended sold out run at Singapore’s Esplanade Theater.
He says, “It’s such a great show for people, and us actors, to experience. There’s so much one can learn from it whether it be about harsh realities or the spirit of hope. It’s great to finally be ‘looking for an apartment for rent’ again.”
After Avenue Q, Felix takes on a role in Legally Blonde, which opens on June 25 at the Meralco Theater.
“Legally Blonde is simply a fun but meaningful show,” he says. “Aside from the fact that its music and energy are simply bright and youthful (and pink), it imparts a message of breaking away from stereotypes and seeing through to what is real and true.”
He will then take on Sonny Malone, the male lead in the zany musical comedy hit Xanadu, which stars Rachel Alejandro. The show opens in September at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza, Makati City.
Felix closes the year with his most demanding role to date in Stephen Sondheim’s musical comedy classic A Little Night Music, which stars Dawn Zulueta as Desiree Armfeldt. Felix will play Henrik Egermann, a young man torn between his devotion to God and temptations of the flesh. He says of the challenge ahead, “One word summarizes it: Sondheim! For the first time in my theater life, I was scared for dear life during an audition. Studying the piece of the role Henrik, a song called Later, drove me to be twice as OC. It was simply a piece that I couldn’t just be ‘winging.’ And if that one piece was a challenge already, what more the rest of the show.”
A Little Night Music opens at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in October.
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For information, call Atlantis Productions at 892-7078 or 840-1187.