Fancy the world of musical theater? Fortunately, the performing arts are alive and well in the Philippines, which is keen to watch the likes of stage plays and jukebox musicals to get their theatrical fill.
It might be difficult for one to enter the local theatre community, but being part of the Philippine audience is as simple as finding a show you would like to watch first.
Look no further than these ongoing and upcoming productions of renowned musicals to be staged in Manila. These include local and international musicals staged with a Filipino audience in mind. There’s one for just about every genre that comes to mind.
Hamilton
The ongoing Manila run of Hamilton is taking place until November 12 at The Theatre at Solaire in Parañaque City. The Tony record-setting biographical musical follows the life of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton from the American Revolution to the politics of the early United States.
Little Shop of Horrors
The Sandbox Collective will stage Little Shop of Horrors in 2024. Repertory Philippines previously ran the horror-comedy rock musical in 2005, 1993, 1989, and 1986. The multi-award-winning production features a florist shop worker who raises a carnivorous plant that feeds on human blood and flesh.
Miss Saigon
GMG Productions will stage the Tony-winning Broadway musical at The Theatre at Solaire in March 2024. Miss Saigon is set during the final days of the American occupation of Vietnam’s Saigon in 1975, detailing the epic love story of an American G.I. and a young Vietnamese woman.
Parokya ni Edgar
A Parokya ni Edgar jukebox musical, whose title has yet to be revealed, has been teased for a 2024 release. Full House Theater Company appears to be behind the upcoming musical, with the cast of Ang Huling El Bimbo singing “Harana” in July. Songs teased behind them in the form of doodles include “Gitara,” “Picha Pie,” “Mr. Suave,” “Inuman Na,” and “Don’t Touch My Birdie.”
Rent
You don’t need to wait any more than 525,600 minutes to watch the upcoming Philippine run of Rent. 9 Works Theatrical is re-staging the Pulitzer-winning Broadway rock musical in 2024. Rent is set in late-20th-century Manhattan’s East Village, where friends fight for their dreams amid poverty, drugs, HIV/AIDS, and sociopolitical challenges.
Snow White and the Prince
The classic production returns through Repertory Philippines’ Theater for Young Audiences. The titular role alternates between four artists, with Snow White and the Prince running at Greenbelt 1’s Onstage Theater in Makati until December 17.
Tabing Ilog The Musical
This live theater adaptation of the popular show of the same name gets a 2023 restaging at the PETA Theater Center from November 10 to December 17. Tabing Ilog The Musical is directed by Phil Noble, starring a new cast and featuring a new script with additional lyrics by Eljay Deldoc.
The Last Five Years
Real-life couple Myke Salomon and Gab Pangilinan star in the award-winning off-Broadway musical The Last Five Years. The musical explores two intersecting timelines during the five-year relationship of a writer and an actress. The show’s run is extended until October 29.