Thursday, August 27, 2015

August Round-up

August 2015 was a great month for me because I was able to watch a lot more shows than I usually do in a month. Of course, that leaves me with too few funds for daily needs such as food and skincare, but I wouldn't change a thing!

Therefore, in lieu of an empties post (and with an empty wallet), I've decided to rank the shows I've watched instead.

Listed by overall enjoyment:

1. Hamlet (play) - simple but great acting.
2. La Cage Aux Folles (musical)  - the power of a single star outshining everyone.
3. Singing in the Rain (musical) - not bad, needs polishing.
4. La Cenerentola (concert reading, opera) - great music, dismal direction.

I surprised myself, writing that list: I'd have a very different list if I were looking at how "good" I found each performance compared with others of its ilk. However, this has shown that a great experience in the theater, no matter what type of performance, doesn't just depend on the work of those on stage. Part of this burden rests with management and with the audience itself.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Hamlet, August 2015

Yesterday, Sunday (August 24, 2015) CCP's Little Theater, better known as Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino, was host to Hamlet. This was the work of Terruno Espressivo and Shakespeare's Globe.

For a little background, the goal of this tour is to hit all 205 nations in 2 years, marking the 450th year of Shakespeare's birth and the 400th year of his death. Thus, unfortunately, the Philippines only had 2 shows marked on the same day at CCP.

What do I think? This play was very much worth it, even for those who aren't big fans of his work (in general).

Friday, August 21, 2015

Singin' In The Rain, August 2015

Last night, I watched the first performance of Singin' in the Rain at Solaire. As usual, especially at opening night, the show started later than expected. Thankfully, not as long as I expected it to be. It also had the smoothness of a first show: meaning none at all. There were certain glitches in the sound system, and the show had to stall for 20 mins in the second act due to technical difficulties. There was also a misguided rainshower during intermission.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

La Cenerentola August 2015

Yesterday, I watched La Cenerentola at Meralco Theater. La Cenerentola is a Rossini comic opera of Cinderella , and this was the concert reading thereof. Despite the stellar cast of Arthur Espiritu, Karin Mushegain, Beong In Park, Noel Azcona, Ronnie Abarquez, Myramae Menezes, Tanya Corquera with conductor Ang, it was the worst theater experience of my life. And it was not even because of the sound system, though I could not hear the males properly at the lower ranges when they didn't project their voices.

It was because of how this concert was treated.