Music

“Tricks and Musical Treats, a PPO Family Concert“, an orchestra appreciation concert for children and families will be held on Sunday, October 27, 2019 at 4:00 PM at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theater) of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The concert will feature the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in a program subtitled “A Voyage to the Fantasy Isle of Harmony”. The program will feature young talented instrumentalists in a fantasy island setting with main actor Liesl Batucan and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. Nikki Junia will have an inter-active segment with the children who will play percussion instruments. Herminigildo Ranera conducts the orchestra.

The concert introduces the symphony orchestra and its music to children and families in a fun-filled way. The show will be directed by award-winning actor Liesl Batucan.

Pre-concert activities will start at 2:00 PM with a musical instruments petting zoo wherein children can experience playing different orchestral instruments assisted by the members of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. Trick or treat and activities will take place at the Main Theater Lobby at 2:00 PM. The children are encouraged to come in their best fantasy or island setting-inspired costumes.

For more information, please call the CCP Marketing Department at 832-3704 or TicketWorld at 891-9999.

Due to overwhelming popular demand, producers have just announced that 2 more weeks have been added to the Manila season. The sold-out international production of CATS The Musical will be playing in Manila for a strictly limited season, from 6th of November to December 1st at The Theatre at Solaire.

World-renowned theatre star and the Philippines’ very own Joanna Ampil reprises her role as Grizabella. Joanna Ampil has performed in several West End musicals, including Miss Saigon, Jesus Christ Superstar and Avenue Q, and she played the role of Fantine in Les Misérables in London.

Joining her in the cast are Luke Fraser Yates, George Hinson, Gavin Eden, Kirsty Ingram, Elizabeth Futter, Sally Frith, Erica-Jayne Alden, Amy Whittle, Ellie Young, Holly Willock, Danielle Cato, Gabrielle Coca, Cian Hughes, Rhys Batten, Thomas Inge, Mukeni Nel, Lloyd Davies, Abigail Dever, Alexandra Wright, Elly Shaw, Liam Buckland, Lee Nicholson, and Brian O’Muiri. Resident director is Dane Quixall. Further casting to follow.

Based on T.S. Elliot‘s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Cats first returned to the West End in December 2014 reuniting the original creative team – Director Trevor Nunn, Associate Director and Choreographer Gillian Lynne, Designer John Napier and Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Following a second season at the London Palladium in 2015 and a UK Tour in 2016, the production embarked on an international tour in 2017 and now continues to tour the world throughout 2018 and 2019.

On just one special night of the year, all Jellicle cats meet at the Jellicle Ball where Old Deuteronomy, their wise and benevolent leader, makes the Jellicle choice and announces which of them will go up to The Heaviside Layer and be reborn into a whole new Jellicle life.

Cats, one of the longest-running shows in West End and on Broadway, received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981 where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances. The production was the winner of the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical. In 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, and ran for eighteen years. Since its world premiere, Cats has been presented in over 30 countries, has been translated into 15 languages and has been seen by over 73 million people worldwide. Both the original London and Broadway cast recordings won Grammy Awards for Best Cast Album. The classic Lloyd Webber score includes Memory which has been recorded by over 150 artists from Barbra Streisand and Johnny Mathis to Liberace and Barry Manilow.

The international tour of the Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Theatre production of CATS is again presented by David Ian Productions. RCBC Bankard is a proud sponsor of the 2019 Manila season of CATS.

For more information Please Visit:

www.catsthemusical.com

Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group (ATEG) is thrilled to be staging SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET this October, its final musical offering for its 20th Anniversary season. It was previously announced that Tony and Olivier Award winner Lea Salonga and rock icon Jett Pangan would lead the cast as Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd, respectively. They will be joined by Ima Castro as the Beggar Woman, Andrew Fernando as Judge Turpin, Gerald Santos as Anthony Hope, and Nyoy Volante as Adolfo Pirelli.
Also joining them are Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, fresh off her critically acclaimed performance as Cynthia Weil in BEAUTIFUL, as Johanna, Luigi Quesada (DANI GIRL, WAITRESS) as Tobias, Arman Ferrer (MABINING MANDIRIGMA, BEAUTIFUL) as Beadle, and Dean Rosen (BEAUTIFUL, WAITRESS) as Jonas Fogg. Completing the ensemble are Steven Conde, Sarah Facuri, Christine Flores, Jep Go, Kevin Guiman, and Emeline Celis Guinid.

Photos from the Press Conference

© Photographs by Erickson Dela Cruz

SWEENEY TODD will be directed by Bobby Garcia and will have set design by Tony Award winner David Gallo, musical direction by Gerard Salonga along with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra, costume design by  Rajo Laurel. choreography by Cecile Marinez, lighting design by Aaron Porter, hair and make-up design by Leslie Espinosa, vocal direction by Manman Angsico, and sound design by Justin Stasiw.

Bobby Garcia says, “We have gathered quite the cast for this retelling of Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical thriller. I think we will be bringing to the stage a unique version of SWEENEY TODD, as told by some of the best musical theatre storytellers in the country, led by Lea Salonga and Jett Pangan. I am also so excited to be collaborating wit a creative team full of geniuses in their craft. I can’t wait to begin.”

Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical masterpiece SWEENEY TODD has become a bloody, worldwide success since being awarded eight Tony Awards (including Best Musical), for its Broadway premiere, as well as the Oliver Award for Best New Musical. Stephen Sondheim’s and Hugh Wheeler’s (A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures) tasty, thrilling, theatrical treat has simultaneously shocked, awed, and delighted audiences across the world. The Broadway revival went on to win two more Tony Awards taking its total up to 10 Tony Awards. This year also marks the 40th caps Atlantis’ 20th Anniversary season which has included acclaimed runs of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and the launch of its new division ATLANTIS IMAGINARIUM YOUNG THEATRE (AIYT) with its premiere production Madagascar – A Musical Adventure.

SWEENEY TODD runs from October 11 to 27, 2019 at the Theatre at Solaire. Tickets are now available at www.ticketworld.com.ph or through 891-9999.

PhilPop, Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) have teamed up for Taga-Alog Mini Bootcamp—a two-day songwriting workshop that aims to promote Ilog Pasig as a center of cultural narrative and heritage, as well as raise awareness for the rehabilitation efforts of the river through creative advocacy in music.

Songwriting for Advocacy 

Headed by acclaimed and award-winning music industry professionals Noel Cabangon, Trina Belamide, and Jungee Marcelo, the music camp gathered upcoming composers and songwriters who have shown immense promise in writing the next big anthem for the environment. 

With the success of last year’s TampisAwit and its initiative to foster a culture of sustainability and utmost care for Ilog Pasig, PETA and NCCA have expanded the mentorship program for budding songwriters and composers by tapping PhilPop to come up with a more comprehensive syllabus that put emphasis on Songwriting for Advocacy.

Camp Activities

Fellows were in for a treat as mentors provided their expertise on songwriting basics with emphasis on both form and content. The sessions included consultation with the coaches, as well as presentation and evaluation of their work. 

“This time, we’re not only imparting techniques to improve their craft,” Taga-Alog Mini Bootcamp 2019 Chairman Noel Cabangon said. “It is also our responsibility to prepare them in the real world, and help them pitch advocacy concepts that are geared toward creative ways to build awareness on various environmental causes. As musicians, we are more than just entertainers; we can change the world with our art.”

The two-day songwriting workshop and competition culminated with the performance of the top 5 finalists and the announcement of the top 3 songs. The first place winner will be given a grant for official recording and promotions during the entire Taga-Alog campaign for 2019.

Day 1 Photos:

Day 2 Photos:

 For more information, visit the Taga-alog official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TagaAlog/) or email nccatagaalog@gmail.com

After 22 years, seven studio albums, three EPs, and two decades of iconic hits, rap icon Gloc-9 is shifting gears and going independent. The song “Dungaw” featuring Keiko Necesario is the best song to do it with.

Known to work with different voices and perspectives in his songs, this time around Gloc-9 speaks in the voice of an unnamed man, confused about the visits he was receiving, wondering about the moment the song captures. As the song unravels, so does the story of this man’s life, the choices he had made, the ones that led him to this point.

But the final punch is in the the song’s culmination, when a final visitor allows him to ask a battery of painful questions. Why does suffering continue for many? Why are certain
sins not forgiven? Why do the wealthy get away with anything? Why is there privilege, and why is there poverty? The answers are in the mere fact that these questions are being asked.

Here, Gloc-9 reveals yet again that his power lies in his storytelling. That it is his songwriting that is his constant, and that it can only get better with age as he continues
to insist not just on creative growth, but also and more importantly on speaking about the lives that we refuse to see, taking on the voices we refuse to hear.

And just as the narrative in “Dungaw” unfolds, so does Gloc-9’s new chapter as an independent rapper and songwriter.

Take a peak at Dungaw: