Gawad Buhay Citations So Far: “Yemaya” Leads Round 2, “Spring Awakening” Led Round 1
The jury has released two rounds of citations for the 17th Gawad Buhay Awards. Here is the full list of both, and what a citation does and doesn’t mean.
The jury has released two rounds of citations for the 17th Gawad Buhay Awards. Here is the full list of both, and what a citation does and doesn’t mean.
At three on a Saturday afternoon, Lust Entertainment Bar in Quezon City feels nothing like a bar. The neon is off duty and the regulars won’t arrive until well past midnight. For a little over an hour, the room belonged to Naririnig N’yo Ba Ako?, Ogie Diaz’s first bar play, and to Kych Minemoto, who was back on a stage for the first time in years. “Sobrang namiss ko yung feeling na andun ka sa moment na yun,” he told us after the show. What he missed was being in the moment and staying there. On a stage, he said, “isang oras kang andun mahigit,” an hour or more without a break, where screen work comes a scene at a time. “Nakaka-fulfill ng artistry as an actor.” It was only the play’s second performance. Since opening night, the show has found its footing. The jokes landed closer together, the cast seemed looser, and the audience laughed and called back more freely than the opening crowd had. Some of that comes from new ad-libs and some …
Jun Robles Lana said audiences would understand why the About Us trio was leaving. On closing day, IdeaFirst Live put them in its 2027–28 season.
Ogie Diaz’s first bar play turns Lust Entertainment Bar into a black box theater for ₱1,000. Opening night had heart, a natural cast, and a script that still needs tightening.
Lea Salonga and Alfie Boe will headline Spotlight: South Africa, a five-day musical theater safari at Kapama River Lodge, Aug 7–11, 2027, from $9,890 per person.
Benilde’s REX moves Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex to a flooded Filipino city, with Eula Valdez and Martin del Rosario reuniting 12 years after Dagitab. Nov 12–22 at Circuit Makati.
Elha Nympha withdrew from Inday: The Musical a day before opening, citing breach of contract. Studio A has named Eunice Somintac to play Inday.
At the Inday: The Musical press conference, writer Danna Bernardino and Elha Nympha, whose family traces roots to Capiz and Siquijor, explained why the show treats kulam with more heart than fear. Its first two shows are sold out, with Oct 23–25 added at RCBC Plaza.
Joseph the Dreamer returns to RCBC Plaza November 6 to 22, with Nonie Buencamino as Jacob and Neo Rivera and Jordan Andrews as Joseph. Cast and tickets.
Chicago The Musical returns to The Theatre at Solaire, the stage it opened in 2014, from March 9 to 28, 2027. Presale dates and how to get tickets.