#I love theatre so much

[tognaeg]

why are emotions

and why can a sheet of plastic, waved around on stage by lovable idiots I know, cause them

accursed theatre, beloved theatre

[love-little-lotte]

Miss Saigon in Manila!

Here in the Philippines, even if you're not a fan of musical theatre, you'd definitely know about Miss Saigon and Lea Salonga. That's how big this show is to many people here. The last time this show was in the country was way back in 2000, with Salonga herself playing the role of Kim. It also blessed us with a full pro shot available on YouTube, giving me and my fellow Gen-Z theatre fans a glimpse of Salonga in her most acclaimed role.

Fast-forward to 24 years later, and Miss Saigon is finally back, stopping in the Philippines for their international tour. My mother has been such a huge fan of Miss Saigon. As a child, I remember her playing her Original London Cast cassette (double tapes, of course, one of each act) and singing along to "I Still Believe." In 2014, she also bought me the cast recording of the West End revival, and I used to play this a lot because I was obsessed with Eva Noblezada's voice.

So, of course, there's no way we're going to miss Miss Saigon in Manila (even if we had to travel miles and ride a plane!) Along with us was also my older brother and his girlfriend. Watching this musical with my family was so, so exciting and certainly just too much for one heart.

This is my third show in the Solaire theatre, and so far, Miss Saigon has been the first to blow me away with its production. Don't get me wrong, the Phantom's Lair from POTO and the revolving stage from Hamilton were amazing, but Miss Saigon's production was so extravagant and spectacular that my mouth was just hanging open the entire time — especially during "Kim's Nightmare." That helicopter scene was just so fricking cool.

The story itself can still be a hit or miss. While some aspects are not as offensive as the original run (changing the lyrics in The Wedding Ceremony to actual Vietnamese words, for example), the show is still far from perfect and has so many dated themes... which I fear could never be corrected properly even in the future. There's simply no way you can make productions of this musical without including the problematic parts, so I understand why some people don't like this show. However, I'd argue that the show is not a white savior story. Is Chris really a white savior if he didn't get to save Kim in the end? He's not the hero of the story. (No one is; it's a tragedy.)

Nonetheless, there are still so many things to like about Miss Saigon, especially the score. Les Misérables is one of my favorite shows of all time, but Miss Saigon's music kicks its ass any day. While Les Mis has better individual songs, Miss Saigon's overall score always brings a chill up my spine. In addition to "Kim's Nightmare," "This Is The Hour" is one of my favorite moments and that's all because of the soaring music and the ensemble.

I also enjoyed the incredible cast during our show. Everyone was superb and amazing at bringing this show to life. Abigail Adriano, who played Kim, astonished me; how that powerful voice came out of such a small girl is beyond me! She's only 19, but wow, she commanded the stage like a pro and transported the audience to another dimension with her vocal chops alone. Her versions of "You Will Not Touch Him" and "I'd Give My Life For You" were too good. Her acting was also on-point. Adriano's Kim was so gentle yet strong and fearless. My family and I also got to stagedoor (my first time!) and when we approached her, I jokingly said, "You made me cry!" to which she replied, "I'm sorry!"

I was so looking forward to watching Seann Miley Moore as the Engineer ("EnginQueer," if you will). Instead, we got Nicholas Kong, who was such a great scene-stealer! His version of "The American Dream" absolutely gagged me — and not just because of the visuals. His Engineer also reminded me so much of the Thenardiers from Les Mis than other versions I've seen: funny but also a scheming menace.

Nigel Huckle played Chris in this performance and was also terrific. See, I've never warmed up to Chris in other versions. Some Chris actors are too aggressive, and I feel like they don't really care about Ellen in Act 2. But Huckle was different; he also even actually made me feel sorry for Chris. I can feel his desperation and confusion in "Why God Why." He also shared really good chemistry with Adriano; their "Sun and Moon" was too perfect.

Another performance that I was so looking forward to was Kiara Dario, who played Gigi. I've been seeing a lot of her tweets and simply loving her theatre-girl energy so much. A homegrown Filipina talent, she showcased everything: her impressive dance moves (no wonder she's part of a girl group here in the Philippines), her vocals, and of course, her acting. I'd love to see her in another big role soon or even grace the Broadway stage.

Here are some pictures from my first stagedoor (I wish we'd had more but we got so overwhelmed and frankly, we got tired from the very long day):

Overall, just a really fun night in the theatre with my family and so many wonderful performances. Definitely one for the books!

[deadpoets]

DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989) dir. Peter Weir

[t4kispace]

falsettos!!

heres most of my falsettos art so far!!!! i love this musical so damn much . the characters are so unique and im in love w the songs. also christian borle is my girlfriend (im so obsessed w that man it actually hurts)

[clefadrylcorner]

He's goth. He's bisexual. He's a disaster. He's canonically a dilf. He's worked for Count Dracula (that one) for literal decades. He's part of a codependent relationship support group. He eats bugs. He makes snicker doodles. His studio apartment looks like it came out of a 70s tie dye event. He wears pastel square sweaters. He decapitated a man by punching him. He has self-help books lining the wall of his home. He cut off a guys arms with a cheap serving platter. He brought flowers to give a witness statement. He drugged and brought many people to their deaths. He doesn't like ska. He's covered in blood for half the movie. He even did coke. I didn't say his name but he popped into your head didn't he?

[ingravinoveritas]

Everything about this is a serve on every conceivable level and I am here for it...

[applepixls]

lizzie's special section of jimmy's castle actually is doing crazy things to my brain

like grian going "sounds like a job for bossy ol' me"

and the way grian said "impulse and joel turn around" and impulse immediately and literally blindly just went "turnin' around."

skizz trying to find grian so he could shoot him fdgujdf

[miss-galaxy-turtle]

One of the most brilliant things Starkid ever did was introduce Jon Matteson in a show where he didn't sing for like 90% of it so we could see his acting talent and then save his vocal talent as a big reveal at the end

[music4-ls]

How Beetlejuice would act when he is in love? 🕸️

;; That man would be so.. Head over heels for the person he loves, fr. ¦🕸️

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

🕸️ 🕸️

BJ is the type of guy who wouldn't confess so easily

Yet, he tries to give a little hints to say "yk what, i love you" but in his language it would be like:

"lookin' good hotstuff." "ya should get naked rn" well, in general he would be so much flirty

̶H̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶s̶m̶i̶t̶t̶e̶n̶ ̶

Head over heels for ya, that's for sure.

He wouldn't tell that, yet he likes to touch you (not in perverted way...yet-)

BJ always would do something to at least touch your arm or something

Like, he would playfully poke your arm

"what? Just messing with ya!"

̶B̶J̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶d̶r̶e̶a̶m̶ ̶a̶b̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶e̶d̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶s̶m̶i̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶i̶d̶i̶o̶t̶ ̶

You would playfully ruffle his hair, he would tell you to stop

Yet, he likes ̶L̶o̶v̶e̶s̶ it.

He often imagines himself cuddling up with you,

Totally not paying attention when you two talk, he would be busy thinking how sweet your voice is, or how good you look.

No matter what body type you have - he will love you.

I mean, he's a chubby man himself, if you were like him, hell! He would love you even more

Gosh. You love him so much, and he loves to to moon and back.

[hasthecityrearranged]

Reciprocating face touches

[i-aint-got-santa-fe]

I CAN GIVE TIPS

I can hit the last note 😭

[kakuusei]

ROMI PARK as Yubaba/Zeniba

SPIRITED AWAY: LIVE ON STAGE (2022) dir. John Caird

[thesnappiestoperator]

I am what you want me to be And I'm your worst fear, you'll find it in me

Next To Normal - Donmar Warehouse - September, 2023

Taper: @lasagnatrades

Jack Wolfe is one of the best Gabe's I've ever seen and one of the most adorable

Stars: Caissie Levy, Jamie Parker, Jack Wolfe, Eleanor Worthington-Cox, Jack Ofrecio, Trevor Dion Nicholas

[oh-theatre]

Nerdy Prudes Must Die proves yet again what an amazing theatre company Starkid is. How versatile they are with both writing and actors. The music is incredibly good and unique. The comedy as always hits perfect and the heart wrenching moments are done so unbelievably well. They are truly incredible

[herewegobebe]

This whole thing was top notch SHINee comedy from start to finish 🤣💞💞 [x]

[ingravinoveritas]

David and his fabulously pink nails at the opening night of Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre tonight.