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Young Star gives you the lowdown on the plays to look out for in the first part of 2012.

The Manila theater scene is atwitter lately. They say its due in large part to sitcoms like Glee and the recently aired Smash, top-billed by the likes of Debra Messing and American Idol alum Katharine McPhee. These sitcoms have seemingly thrust a slew of musical theater actors to the limelight, most notably Spring Awakening’s Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff, Legally Blonde’s Christian Borle, Hairspray’s Matthew Morrison, and Wicked’s Kristen Chenoweth, Megan Hilty, and Idina Menzel.

Not to mention, there is the hype machine generated by Hollywood celebrities like ScarJo, Jesse Eisenberg, and Daniel Radcliffe who flock to the Great White Way to transmit their acting chops to the live stage, and the case on movie adaptations of popular Broadway musicals like Sweeney Todd and Les Miserables (whose cast is being hotly debated at the moment by netizens all over. Taylor Swift, you are finally out!)

Indeed, the theater scene is thriving and undergoing some sort of cultural renaissance — so much so that several shows and musicals are rip and roaring to the take to the stage, just this first quarter of the calendar year. Young Star gives you the lowdown on what shows are worth spending precious bucks on.

Livin’ La Vida Imelda: The Performance

Who’s doing it: Carlos Celdran

What to look forward to: The stage adaptation of his popular Imelda tour that debuted at the CCP back in 2004. The artist-activist will be using handmade visual guides, multi-media and selected artworks among the Silverlens/Slab collection as a springboard for his narratives. Expect a lesson on state-sanctioned arts and culture. Really, it’s more fun in the Philippines.

The hook up: Running ‘til Mar. 10 at the Silverlens Slab Gallery. For tickets, call 816-0044 or 0917-587-4011. Special discount for students. 

Company Call

Who’s doing it: Ateneo Blue Repertory. (P.S.: They’re doing Bare too.)

What to look forward to:  A one-night only musical spectacle featuring some of the org’s most accomplished and up-and-coming members and alumni from the past 20 years. View excerpts from Pippin, Once On This Island, Sweet Charity, Batboy, and dare I say it, High School Musical.

The hook up: Feb. 11 at Henry Lee Irwin Theater. For tickets, call 0926-7164395.

Eyeball

Who’s doing it: Tanghalang Pilipino. Kind of like our National Theater Company.

What to look forward to: So we all know about Cinemalaya. Virgin Labfest is kind of like the theatrical counterpart of that, also run by the CCP. The festival brings to fore original Filipino work staged in the most innovative way possible.

The hook up: Running ‘til Feb. 12 at the CCP Little Theater. Call 891-9999.

Haring Lear

Who’s doing it: PETA. The one that started it all.

What to look forward to: Shakespeare’s King Lear set in a post-apocalyptic world that is strangely contemporary yet familiar, tethered to the T by visionary Gino Gonzales’s dark scenic design. Translation by National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera.

The hook up: Running ‘til Mar. 4 at the PETA Theater. For tickets, call 725-6244.

Leading Ladies

Who’s doing it: Repertory Philippines. Another one that started it all.

What to look forward to: Two Shakespearean actors down on their luck, stumbling upon the news of a certain rich lady who is about to leave three million dollars to her long lost “nephews.” The twist? These nephews turn out to be nieces and so starts a game of entanglement with two actors pretending to be women for money’s sake. Think Mrs. Doubtfire minus the money aspect.

The hook up: Running at On-stage Greenbelt ‘til Mar.4. For tickets, call 891-9999.

You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown

Who’s doing it: 9 Works Theatrical. Shameless plugging.

What to look forward to: Your favorite Peanuts characters coming to life. We’re talking Charlie Brown, Lucy the crabby kid-bitch, blanket-toting Linus, Schroeder, Sally, and Snoopy whose cuteness can possibly give Hello Kitty a run for her money.

The hook up: Running at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium from Feb. 11 to Mar. 3. For tickets, text 0917-5545560 or call 891-9999.

Fireflies

Who’s doing it: Tanghalang Ateneo. More from the side of blue.

What to look forward to: A contemporary play about four couples seeking authentic human relationships in an impersonal urban world.

The hook up: Running ‘til Feb. 25 at the Rizal Mini Theater. For tickets, text 0922-8952070

Battalia Royale

Who’s doing it: Sipat Lawin Ensemble. A site-specific theater group. Crazy cool.

What to look forward to: A stage adaptation of the Japanese cult film Battle Royale. You know, where a bunch of students on a fieldtrip are gassed, and they wake up in a military concentration camp to the worst possible news of their lives: they have a little over a day to kill each other. Only one may survive, or else they all die. Kuya Bodjie plays the eerie teacher. How! About!

The hook up: Prepare for an interactive kind of theatrical piece that Sipat Lawin Ensemble is known for. Feb. 21-23 at the CCP Ramp. 730 p.m.

In The Heights: The Repeat Run

Who’s doing it: Atlantis Productions. They’re also bringing in Mig Ayesa this year for Rock of Ages.

What to look forward to: Latino flavor. Salsa and hip-hop numbers. Singer Nyoy Volante, breakout star Bibo Reyes, and the arrival of the show’s creator, Tony Award-winner Lin Manuel-Miranda here in Manila. Yes, Atlantis is flying him in too to catch the Manila run. It’s really them, already.

The hook up: Runs from Mar. 16-25 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium. For tickets, call 891-9999. 

The Forsaken House

Who’s doing it: Dulaang UP. Idol levels.

What to look forward to: Director Joel Lamangan on stage. ‘Nuff said. The show is a 1940s drama about a man trying to hold his family together amidst radical change and diversity. But to what end and at what cost?

The hook up: Runs from Feb. 15 to Mar. 4 at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater. For tickets, call 0917-7500107.