Ateneo BlueRep BAREs All Again

The Ateneo BlueREPERTORY brings back on stage BARE: A Pop Opera as season finale. BARE, with book, music and lyrics by Jon Hartmere, Jr. and Damon Intrabartolo, tells the story of Peter Simmonds and Jason McConnell, two boys in love with each other and struggling with life's issues amid peer pressure, societal expectations, among others. Peter is getting tired of living his life in the closet, while Jason is not yet ready to come out, given the high expectations of his family and peers. The story is set in a Catholic boarding school.

Reprising his role as Peter is Bibo Reyes, whose roles in other productions include Sonny in Atlantis Productions' In the Heights; and Berger in Hair, Dennis in All Shook Up, and Tank in Zanna, Don't, all of Ateneo BlueREPERTORY.

Coming in as Jason is Jaime Barcelon, who appeared in Atlantis Productions' The Little Mermaid as Jetsam, Repertory Philippines' Little Women as Laurie and The Sound of Music as Rolf, and Ateneo BlueREPERTORY's Tick... Tick... BOOM! as Jonathan Larson, among other productions.

Maronne Cruz plays the role of Ivy Robinson, the pretty and popular student who falls for Jason. Maronne has appeared as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Jeanie in Hair, Woman 2 in Edges, and Scaramouche in Rock and Rule, all produced by Ateneo BlueREPERTORY.

Directed by Ana Abad Santos, BARE opens on February 29, 2012, 8pm at Teatrino, The Promenade, Greenhills, San Juan. Other play dates are March 1 to 3, and March 7 to 10, with gala shows on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, and matinee shows on Saturdays at 3pm.

For tickets and inquiries, you may contact Chiz Jardin at 09165787618 or through e-mail at nicojardin12@yahoo.com. Show buyers can contact Luis Marcelo at 09175025847.

Facebook users can subscribe to www.facebook.com/bluerepbare and www.facebook.com/blueREPERTORY. Twitter users can follow @_blueREPERTORY.

BARE: A Pop Opera is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW), 570 Seventh Avenue, Suite 2100, New York, NY 10018 (www.theatricalrights.com).

Phantastic!

It was supposed to be an ordinary Monday night at the mall. I decided to get my haircut so I took a jeepney ride to SM North EDSA. I usually get off in front of the Main Building and head straight to Fix. But tonight, partly because I was sleepy, I absent-mindedly got off in front of SM The Block. On the way to Fix, I passed by SM Cinemas, and saw The Phantom of the Opera on schedule. I asked the cashier until when it will be shown, and she said tomorrow would be its last day. Thinking that I could try to watch later, I still went to Fix to try to get my haircut as a walk-in client. Unfortunately, my stylist would be available at 8:30pm, so I decided against waiting for my turn and told myself I am watching The Phantom of the Opera tonight.

At the ticket booth, I was surprised to find out that it only has one screening time for the night. I bought my ticket and still had time to take dinner. After dinner and buying a few more stuff, I went to the theater.

I was not expecting that the first part would contain interviews here and there about the show. To some extent, I was getting impatient and I wanted the show to start immediately. But what can I do? It's The Phantom of the Opera's 25th Anniversary Performance, and this should be expected. So I watched, I waited, and updated my Facebook status.

And then the show started. I was in London. Nah, but it felt like it. The Royal Albert Hall had so much people, and I was excited to see how the stage would transform from scene to scene. Sure, I watched the movie version of the musical years back (only to be horribly disappointed with the execution of the musical numbers) and the producers can do almost anything to make scenes believable. But production on stage is more challenging. And I must say, the scene transitions and stage design are simply breathtaking.

Can I just say I fell in love with Sierra Boggess? I first heard her in the cast recording of Love Never Dies, together with Ramin Karimloo. And it was such a treat to watch them play their roles in the original Phantom musical. Sierra gave life to Christine, and it was refreshing to see Christine in a different light, as compared to Emmy Rossum's movie portrayal. Ramin had quite a few misses here and there, but his portrayal of the role was powerful, convincing, and moving, nonetheless.

The way Christine and The Phantom parted ways towards the end somehow made the story of Love Never Dies plausible, as it sent me the message that Christine was at this point in love with The Phantom but just had to go with Raoul.

There were still quite a few surprises after curtain call, and to say that I loved them is an understatement. Haha I won't spill the beans since my very few readers might still catch the show and I do not want to spoil the surprise.

Watching the 25th Anniversary Performance of The Phantom of the Opera made me want more for it to be staged here in the Philippines. I hope someday they would bring it here. But for now, I will just wait for its DVD release.

Have a phantastic night! :)

Treat Yourself to BARE: A Rock Musical

Starting February 17, 2009, the Ateneo Blue Repertory Company will stage Bare, the rock musical revolving around the story of Jason and Peter, two gay teenagers struggling to find their place in society as they are about to graduate from a Catholic high school.

Jason, the senior class golden boy hides a secret romance with Peter, his roommate. Peter wishes to drop the facade, but this could destroy Jason’s reputation. Ivy’s entrance to the scene makes the situation more complicated, as the popular girl pursues Jason.

Bare is a musical tackling the tensions faced by teenagers struggling to find their identity. With musical direction by Felix Rivera (Musical Director of Blue Rep’s High School Musical) and directed by Ana Abad-Santos (Director of Repertory Philippines’ Hamlet), Bare runs from February 17 to March 7 at the Fine Arts Exhibit Hall, 3/F Gonzaga Hall, Ateneo de Manila University.

With tickets at P200 each, why not give yourself and your friends a post-Valentine treat? For details, contact Alexa Yupangco at 09177220805, or visit http://BareManila.multiply.com. Play dates are as follows:

February 17, Tuesday – 8 PM
February 18, Wednesday – 8 PM
February 19, Thursday – 8 PM
February 20, Friday – 8 PM
February 21, Saturday – 8 PM
February 24, Tuesday – 8 PM
February 25, Wednesday – 8 PM
February 26, Thursday – 8 PM
February 27, Friday – 8 PM
February 28, Saturday – 8 PM
March 3, Tuesday – 8 PM
March 4, Wednesday – 8 PM
March 5, Thursday – 8 PM
March 6, Friday – 8 PM
March 7, Saturday – 8 PM

Updated (February 26, 2009)