REPERTORY PHILIPPINES' INITIAL OFFERING FOR 2016.....

Aggie Wheeler And Simon Bright..... A Mysterious Letter.....
The Seance..... Daria Confronts Martha..... William Gillette, Inspector Goring And Felix Geisel..... It's 2016 and Repertory Philippines has opened its new season with the hilarious play "The Game's Afoot" by Ken Ludwig

The setting is the 1930s and the main character William Gillette is an actor who is best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He invites the cast of his latest play to his house to celebrate Christmas when all hell breaks loose and someone dies. He now has to channel his alter ego as he tries to solve the real life mystery. Ms Joy Virata heads the impressive cast as she plays Martha Gillette. She shares the same role with Jay Valencia Glorioso. Pinky Amador is Daria Chase while Paul Holme is William Gillette. Jeremy Domingo is Gillette's best friend Felix Geisel while Christine Flores is Felix's wife Madge. Natalie Everett portrays Inspector Goring. Hans Eckstein and Mica Pineda are the scheming couple Simon Bright and Aggie Wheeler. Miguel Faustmann directs the production. The play runs from January 15 to February 7, 2016 at Onstage Greenbelt 1.

I actually like the play. If I wasn't busy with taking pictures, I would have sat back on my chair, watched the play and laughed so hard at the scenes as it unfolds. Eventually, I couldn't control my laughter any longer and just let go. It does surprise me though that I understand and like British farce.

WHEN FAIRIES BECOME FILMSTARS.....

Hans Eckstein as Oberon.....






Red Concepcion as Puck.....






Miguel Faustmann (Willie Hayes, Left) And Robbie Zialcita (Max Reinhardt, Right).....








Caisa Borromeo as Olivia.....








Cris Villonco as Lydia.....






Arnel Carrion is Jack Warner.....




Reuben Uy plays Dick Powell (Left), Topper Fabregas as Daryl (Far Right).....






Nick Campos is Joe E. Brown....






Joy Virata plays Louella Parsons (Right).....







I am fascinated with Shakespeare! It is amazing to see his works adapted into movie screenplays then turned into films. The movies make me understand his stories better, as I do find his way of writing dialogues a little complicated for me. I admit, I haven't read a single Shakespearean book and I think that my unfamiliarity with his written works is the reason behind this difficulty.

But I do not like some of these Shakespeare films. I have to check the director of a movie before I decide whether I would watch it or not. Films like "Romeo and Juliet" which had Leo DiCaprio and Claire Danes and directed by Baz Luhrmann was fantastic. So was "Shakespeare in Love" which starred Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow with John Madden as director. But I can not say the same of "Much Ado About Nothing", a film that boasts an all star cast led by Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves. Its screenplay was written and at the same time directed by well known Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh. Branagh's roots made him stick to the conventional treatment of Shakespeare. And this meant sticking to the fast pace cadence when the actors speak their long, rhyming lines.

This is not my first time to watch a live Shakespeare play. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed it. I guess me keeping an open mind and not letting my bias get the best of me made me appreciate the play more. It also was awesome to watch local actors show their acting chops and adapt to the Shakespeare line delivery that I mentioned before. Some, like Cris Villonco, even portrayed a character out of her box, that of a blonde bimbo who is the movie producer's girlfriend, hence her inclusion in the movie set.

The title of the play is "Shakespeare In Hollywood". Set in 1934, Shakespeare's most famous fairies Oberon and Puck have magically materialized on a Warner Bros. Hollywood set of Max Reinhardt's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The two get instantly smitten by the glitz and glamor of show business as they are ushered onto the movie to play, who else but themselves!

Oberon unexpectedly falls in love to a mortal, Olivia who is the actress playing Hermia. The villain in this story is Willie Hayes, the motion picture censor who wrote the Hayes Code. Hayes thinks that the script of the movie does not conform to his prudishly restrictive code and threatens to shut down filming of the movie. With his movie career and love in jeopardy, Oberon orders Puck to find the flower that "makes a man/woman madly dote upon the live creature he first sees". The merry go round starts but all is sorted out in the end.

Hans Eckstein plays Oberon with Red Concepcion as Puck. Robbie Zialcita is director Max Reinhardt and Arnel Carrion plays movie producer Jack Warner. Miguel Faustmann is the hilarious Willie Hayes and Reuben Uy is cast as Dick Powell. Topper Fabregas is Daryl, Jack Warner's PA. Nick Campos is Joe E. Brown while Rem Zamora has a cameo as James Cagney. Female leads are Caisa Borromeo as the actress Olivia, Cris Villonco plays blonde bombshell Lydia and Joy Virata is Louella Parsons. The production is directed by Jaime del Mundo.

A quick note. Some of the photos may seem blurred, but this is intentional. The actors are constantly moving and I wanted to show movement in some of the pictures hence the blurry output. Besides, if I wanted a perfect portrait, I could have asked them to pose in their costumes but I do not want to be a nuisance to the actors.

FROM FILM TO THEATER ARE 39 STEPS.....

This Poster Says It All.....






Michael Williams As Richard Hannay.....






















Lisa Infante-Robinson As Annabella Schmidt, The Spy.....












The Female Passenger Pamela.....





The Scottish Housewife Margaret.....








Juliane Mendoza As The Emcee.....




The Secret Agent.....



The Milkman.....



The Police Officer.....



Professor Jordan.....



Bogus Police Inspector.....



First Old Guy.....



Male Motel Owner.....



Stage Clown.....





Rem Zamora As Mr. Memory.....




The Lady Cleaner.....



The Train Passenger.....



The Highlander.....



Cogon Leaves.....



The Lady Assistant.....



The False Detective.....



Second Old Guy.....



Lady Motel Owner.....





I have always loved the musicals, especially the well known ones. During my time in London, I never got tired of watching these musicals over and over again as the production is always top notch. I saw Les Miserables thrice and Phantom of the Opera twice. Others that I have enjoyed were Rent, The King And I and Fame. Cats and Bollywood did not grow on me and I shunned these two. Perhaps it has something to do with my affinity for dogs and dislike for "noisy" production. Throughout my stay, I was able to watch just two straight stage plays, Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof which starred Brendan Frazer and JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, which was advertised as a children's play. To my surprise, I did enjoy these two just as I enjoyed the musicals.

My time with Repertory Philippines as one of their photographers has exposed me to other materials that I haven't seen before. This blog has featured some of the plays that I have covered. But this stage adaptation of The 39 Steps from Alfred Hitchcock's thriller is the best production that I have seen so far for this year.

Hitchcock's film was a thriller but this stage adaptation written by Patrick Barlow from the novel of John Buchan has more touches of action and comedy in it. Although the production seems to involve a thousand characters, it was interesting to note that the cast is composed of four people with Michael Williams' character as Richard Hannay the solitary constant lead. Lisa Infante-Robinson played the three women who got involved with Hannay. Juliane Mendoza and Rem Zamora play every other character on the show: heroes, villains, men, women, children and even inanimate objects!

I have seen Rem act in other Repertory produced plays but I believed that he shone the brightest here, truly a scene stealer. And I am so much impressed with the way he pulled off that Scottish accent, it felt I was conversing with that Highlander! Major kudos to you my friend.

I guess I have typed a rather long insight that, I'm afraid might bore you, my dear readers if there are any. c",) For a quick glance on what the plot of this production is all about, click here.

This is after all, a photoblog, enough talking and enjoy the pictures!