Winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play (2004), the latest offering of Repertory Philippines 2011 Season is Ken Ludwig’s comedy tale set in 1930’s Hollywood about the making of the Warner Brothers 1935 movie version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” but is served with a twist! The rollicking production plays through April 1- 17, 2011 with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and matinee shows on Saturdays and Sundays at 3:30 p.m. All performances are at Onstage, Greenbelt 1, Makati City. Call Repertory Philippines at 571-6926 and 571-4941, email [email protected] or visit www.repertory.ph for more details. Tickets are also available at Ticketworld at 891-9999 or www.ticketworld.com.ph.

In celebration and commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, Harlequin Theatre Guild, the resident theatre organization of De La Salle University (DLSU), will be having a re-run of the Israeli play A Child of my Own by Hagit Rehavi Nikolayevsky based on a book by Amia Lieblich and its translated version, Ang Sarili Kong Anak by De La Salle University-Manila’s very own Mr. Genaro Gojo Cruz on March 23-26,2011 at the Teresa Yuchengco Auditorium.

This production in cooperation with the Embassy of Israel tries to break the innocence of traditional thinking of conservative Israel. A Child of My Own portrays uncommon means of having a child while discussing social issues such gender roles, sexuality and maternal health; focusing on the situation of modern women, involving their maternal health in relation to the assisted reproductive technology, specifically the artificial insemination. The play also realizes the traditions of the Israeli culture by exhibiting some of their celebrated events; the eve of Passover, the Memorial Day, the Lag Ba-Omer, and the last day of school. The form…

Franco Phil presents “Chambre 26 (Room 26)” is a solo Object Theater performance, a chronicle of a loneliness populated by inanimate things objects. A collection of old postcards, locked up in a box, has their own stories and words, their own landscapes and music. One day, a performer opens up the box and releases these fragments of memory. On Friday, March 11, 5PM, 6PM & 7PM at PETA (Philippine Educational Theater Association), 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, QC. Contact PETA Marketing and Public Relations Office at 725-6244, 410-0821 or 0917-5642433 or email [email protected] for ticket sales/reservations and workshop inquiries.

Franco Phil presents Mauvaise Graine (Bad Seed), a show inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale “The Ugly Duckling”, with a moving social message, developed throughout the four seasons of the year. On Thursday, March 10, 8PM at CCP. Contact Alliance Francaise de Manille at 895-7585, 895-7441, 895-7585 and 0917-8928968 or email [email protected] or CCP at 832-1125 to 39 for more details.

Markki Stroem: The Superboy Got Talent

By Christopher de Venecia

When I first saw the production of Next to Normal on Broadway, I was floored. I didn’t know what to expect of the show, much less from a musical that is, as the Pulitzer Board would put it, “a powerful rock musical that grapples with mental illness in a suburban family.” You could just imagine how my cynicism quickly disappeared when the prelude to the musical started playing. Depressingly divine, where a bi-polar mother Diana, a charismatic yet cryptic son Gabe, a worn-out father Dan, and obsessive-compulsive daughter Natalie, lament over the show’s opening tune, “Just Another Day,” it was anything and everything a modern day homage to RENT and Stephen Sondheim would be - a tremendous, transcendent, and palpable knockout.

Thankfully, Atlantis Productions is bringing this contemporary Broadway hit to our local shores. For Circuit’s “Hail to the Hottest” issue, we get up-close and personal with one of the show’s bright young things, theater’s newest ‘it’ boy, and Pilipinas Got…

Flash your RWM Membership Card and get these instant discounts when you buy Kaos tickets! Get 20% off (maximum of 2 tickets) for the gold and platinum cardholders, 15% off (maximum of 2 tickets) for the silver cardholders, 10% off (maximum of 2 tickets) for the emerald cardholders and 20% off for one (1) VIP or Premiere Ticket for the new members. You can also get 50% off (minimum of 4 tickets) through gaming points and 20% on Mercado Buffet Discount. Lastly, you can also get one (1) free balcony tickets when you refer five friends or one (1) deluxe ticket for free when you spend at least P5,000 at any Newport Mall merchant or spend at least P2,500 at Passion, Ginzadon, Mercado or Noodle Works. Call 836-6333 or 908-8833 or log on to www.rwmanila.com/kaos for more details.

Watch Duke Orsino fall in love with Viola who disguises as Cesario which made the Countess Olivia who is married to Viola’s twin Sebastian, down on her knees. Take Sir Toby’s vow for his undying love for Maria, Olivia’s maid and Antonio’s truthful love for Sebastian. With everyone all happy and loved, one of the characters would vow revenge on everyone. On March 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, at the Ateneo de Manila University. Contact 0917-9956763 for inquiries.

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have the intriguing, thrilling, riotous, “unmissable” comedy smash. The 39 Steps promises to be a blissfully funny show and a wonderfully inventive and gripping comedy thriller at breakneck speed, and played for laughs all the way. Show dates are March 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, with shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM and matinee shows on Saturdays and Sundays at 3:30PM at Onstage, Greenbelt 1, Makati City. Call Ticketworld at 891-9999 or Repertory Philippines at 571-6926, 571-4941 or email [email protected] for ticket inquiries.

Miguel de Cervantes’s tale of love, valor and unflinching idealism is staged as ballet. Guest soloist Connor Walsh of the Houston Ballet performs with the Ballet Philippines. Staged by BP stalwart Noordin Jumalon with design by National Artist for Theater Salvador Bernal. Accompanied live by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. On February 19 – 20 at 3PM, February 20 at 10AM, February 17 – 18 at 7:30PM & February 19 at 8PM at the CCP Main Theater. Call CCP Box Office at 832-3704 and TicketWorld at 891-9999 for more details. Contact Ballet Philippines (551-1003 / 832-6011) or visit www.balletphilippines.org for group sales and inquiries.

Dulaang UP presents its 4th production, a Roman comedy by Heinrich von Kleist with Filipino translation by Jerry Respeto and direction by Jose Estrella. Amphitryon is a tale of love, infidelity and deception. Opening on February 16- March 6 at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, 2/F Palma Hall, UP Diliman, QC from Wednesdays- Fridays, 10AM and 7PM and 3pm during weekends. Contact 0917-7500107 or 926-1349 and 981-8500 local 2449 or 433-7840 for ticket inquiries.