“May audience talaga ang teatrong Pilipino.”
Theater actress Gab Pangilinan expressed this reacting to the recent excitement of Filipinos to the upcoming debut of “Hamilton” in the Philippines.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, an award-winning theater actor and playwright, announced that the acclaimed Broadway musical will be making its Asian premiere in local theaters this September.
Miranda made this exciting announcement in a video released on March 28 on GMG Productions’ Facebook page.
“We’ve had so many incredible Filipino company members part of the ‘Hamilton’ pamilya all over the world and now we get to bring the show to your beautiful country very soon. I can’t wait for you to see it,” he said.
It will be premiered at the Theatre at Solaire this September 2023 for a strictly limited season.
The pre-sale of the ticket, on the other hand, is slated at 10 a.m. on April 20.
Meanwhile, the news of “Hamilton” in the Philippines excited the musical’s fans in the country.
This international musical became one of the most talked about topics on social media after the announcement.
A local theater fan with the Twitter handle @danyoonlee later observed that there are many theater fans in the country. She then expressed her sentiment about it on Twitter.
“Ok nalungkot ako slight na bakit pag foreign prods biglang ang daming excited sa feed ko????? nagulat ako na andami palang theater fans. sana ganyan din tayo ka-excited for local prods,” her tweet reads.
Gab reacted to this and expressed a similar view.
“Dis. Though di naman ako nalungkot pero proof din ito na may audience talaga ang teatrong Pilipino— challenge din siya para sa lahat ng mga manlilikha na tumuloy lang at ipagmalaki pa lalo ang sariling atin. I’d like to think there is a space for us all,” Gab tweeted.
dis 🥹 tho di naman ako nalungkot pero proof din ito na may audience talaga ang teatrong pilipino— challenge din siya para sa lahat ng mga manlilikha na tumuloy lang at ipagmalaki pa lalo ang sariling atin 🎭 i’d like to think there is a space for us all. https://t.co/SOQjbb6XoH
— gab (@gabpangilinan) March 29, 2023
In the replies section, Gab listed several locally produced plays that her followers and other local Twitter users can watch.
These include “Walang Aray” from the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), “Steel Magnolias” from the Cebu-based 2TinCansPhilippines, Inc., and “Ang Huling El Bimbo: The Musical” from the Full House Theater Company (FHTC).
*updated*
DuP’s Rosang Taba
Ateneo blueREP’s Zsa Zsa Zaturna
NWR and FHTC’s Ang Huling El Bimbo 2023
TP’s Nekropolis
PETA’s Walang Aray
UpStart’s Breakups and Breakdowns
may DickTalk sa RCBC
Steel Magnolias sa CebuAno paaaa🤍🎭
— gab (@gabpangilinan) March 29, 2023
The schedules of the upcoming plays and other stage productions can be viewed here Theater Calendar (theaterfansmanila.com).
Gab’s main tweet, meanwhile, garnered 528,000 views on the short-messaging social media platform so far.
Several Twitter users also agreed with Gab that local plays have an audience among Filipinos.
Other Filipinos pointed out the need to prioritize and fund the development of overall Philippine culture and arts.
“I think if we put premium and opportunities for our Filipino theater prods to be highlighted as same as how we support film making and film festivals we can attract more audiences to love our own production. Sining at kultura can help in bringing our country back on track!” a Twitter user said.
Gab previously made headlines for her roles in “Mula Sa Buwan” and “Ang Huling El Bimbo: The Musical.”
Gab and Nica del Rosario also performed the chart-topping song “Rosas.”
RELATED: From theater to real life: ‘Mula sa Buwan’s’ Gab Pangilinan, Myke Salomon get engaged | Are the singers of Robredo campaign song ‘Rosas’ in a relationship?
