Saturday, February 13, 2016

LATE POST: Ballet Philippines' Opera

Ballet Philippines' Season closer was the mindblowing Gabriel Barredo's Opera. Redha Benteifour took the task of creating the movement for the original music of Malek Lopez.  The artistic collaboration left me dumbfounded. I cannot claim to understand the entirety of the libretto and the intricacies of the choreography. The unbridled artistic contribution of  Barredo and Benteifor put together was explosive. It was so rich an experience that I did not find the need to overthink the ballet. I just simply let my eyes and heart appreciate the beauty of their work.  

Gabriel Barrredo's massive and ornate creations was a conversation piece in itself. I found myself in a conversation with no less than Mr. Ramon Orlina (the sculptor)  talking about the genius of his work.  Redha Benteifor has created numerous masterpieces for Ballet Philippines in the past. To create movement in such a complex set like that would have been a daunting challenge but his organic sequences fit like a glove. These two artists seemed to be art soulmates, understanding each other well never overshadowing the other. 

Opera may not be your go to show if you are a purist but it is a product of ingenius expression. Truly it is a gift to Ballet Philippines, one of their precious additions to  their esteemped reportoire. 


Gabriel Barredo



















Wednesday, February 10, 2016

50 Shades of Everything


Curtains will open to a brand new controversial show this coming February 12, 2016. Fifty Shades, the musical parody is set to begin its  hot and steamy eighteen show run in Manila. Are you coming to see it?

Let's undress this show slowly and purposefully.

This show written and directed by Albert Samuels, is a musical parody of the E.L James'  Fifty Shades of Grey. By affiliation alone, it indirectly promises the ultimate deliverance. A parody about a book about sex,  it can't not be a glorified peepshow right?! Wrong! They committed to applying the 50 shades concept  to just about everything.

Fifty Shades of Laughter

This show created a symphony of laughter from the audience. The cute giggles  from the  dainty conservatives were beautifully complemented by the boisterous laughter from the impressed male population. The squeals and shrieks from   the modern women  were the melody to the  beat of the thigh slapping and foot stomping of everybody else. This show tickles every kind of person out there. They elicited fifty shades of laughter.  I attribute this to the fact that they built characters found on every type of stereotype out there. Their intelligent use of references to things that the Filipino audience could definitely relate to worked seamlessly.

Fifty Shades of Music and Dance
Talking about the music, well let's just say it had a million notes that were hit beautifully by the cast. Vocally, the cast  impressed me with their bankable belts  and  vocal riffs and runs. Technical it was a perfect showing. Oh and did I mention  the dance sequences had a bit of ballet in there?!

Fifty Shades of Anastasia Steele
Leave it to sentimental me to dissect  a simple plot into a spectrum  of womanhood.  No infogram is ever enough to capture the inner abyss of a woman's internal dramatics.  I appreciated  that the story poked fun on how women sometimes forget to value their inner goddess. Instead they calculate their worth using actuation of their men. The message is quite comforting, Find your inner goddess and embrace it even until you've found love.

Fifty Shades of Grey
Mr. Christian Grey, you had me biting my lip. It took a whole lot of schooled  poise to keep me from screaming BRAVO during the most inappropriate scenes. It's time to bring in the slow clap. This actor deserves a pat on the back for 1. Learning a thing or two about Filipinos 2.  his flexibility 3. his endurance. I'll leave the rest to your imagination. 

Fifty Shades, the musical parody is a sweep of laughter packaged in talent. Life is too hard not to take small bites of light hearted fun,indulge. #Walangtulugan


Support our local talents  Bituin Escalante, Karel Marquez, Lorenz Martinez, Julz Savard and GeorgeSchulze.Watch them shine alongside the international stars. 





For TICKETS contact 0917-5545560, 586-7105 or email info@9workstheatrical.com. (Strictly for Adults 18+)
Show dates:
12Feb2016/FRI/8PM
13Feb2016/SAT/2PM, 5PM, 8PM
14Feb2016/SUN/2PM, 5PM, 8PM
19Feb2016/FRI/8PM
20Feb2016/SAT/2PM, 5PM, 8PM
21Feb2016/SUN/2PM, 5PM
26Feb2016/FRI/8PM
27Feb2016/SAT/5PM, 8PM
28Feb2016/SUN/2PM, 5PM