#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

[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...

[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

[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

[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]

[ahmed-hesnotthere]

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

[p1nqu3]

a prince and her princess 🪡

sanuso brainworms STRIKE AGAIN

me when sanuso

[real-odark]

CORDELIA FALSETTOS THE WOMAN YOU ARE !!

[ingravinoveritas]

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

[jordanelemus]

ybc musical costume in-depth analysis! 💥🎸🎱

hi! I'm jordan, the costume designer (and also an actor and co-writer) of "the young blood chronicles" musical! i posted this on instagram, but i thought it might be cool to post it here too!

my initial role in “the young blood chronicles” musical was costume design, which, as a fashion enthusiast, i was incredibly excited about. i spent about a month curating a huge pinterest board collection and creating individual moodboards. the show takes place in 2013, but i wanted to take inspiration from both pre and post-hiatus fall out boy looks! here’s an in-depth look :’)

patrick’s main inspo was his “soul punk” era, which lives distinctly in the hiatus. i wanted something that would remind us that years had passed since the last time the band had made music together; something cool and trendy, but a little too dressed up for a long day in the studio. even when not onstage, ybc patrick is performing. clothes can give you power and he knows that. the yellow sunglasses were our way of getting around patrick’s glowing yellow eyes from the music videos, but i really love how it makes it seem like he has a mask on. it makes the end of “miss missing you” even more heartbreaking.

pete’s main inspo came from both his early clandestine drops as well as his more androgynous looks (both pre & post-hiatus). pete really cares about fashion, but he still has a chill la vibe. 2013 pete could often veer more edgy, but i chose to move in a different direction in order to better distinguish pete and patrick’s styles. unless you’re a vixen or patrick, you don’t get a leather jacket! sorry pete! to me, pete’s fashion has always felt so current while still being forward-thinking. ybc pete’s outfit could be from 2006 or 2024 and that was very purposeful!

andy’s looks are mostly pulled from more recent years, but band tees never go out of style. the mesh top under the tee alludes to his tattoos, which make up the extent of his stage looks these days since he typically does shows without a shirt on. celia had this mesh top in her closet and i love the colors on her (it’s the only source of color in the heaven outfits!). andy’s outfit is maybe the simplest of the four on paper, but i think it’s sick. it’s laid back, but super specific and grounded. it makes me want to start wearing basketball shorts.

joe’s looks are pulled from both pre-hiatus and early post-hiatus looks! striped sweaters & cargo pants are things he’s worn before, so i'm lucky i had them in my closet (especially since i wasn’t originally joe!). joe, especially in recent years, really likes wearing dark colors onstage, but, similar to how i avoided leather jackets for pete, i wanted to very clearly differentiate the boys from the vixens. any black piece of clothing on any of the boys had to be broken up with a design or pattern. no all black outfits! sorry joe!

the goal with the heaven outfits was to make the exact same outfits in all white. i wanted the exact same silhouettes as before. i’d say we were pretty successful! we got really lucky when it came to finding these costume pieces.

my vixens! these costumes were a lot more nebulous throughout the process. many of the costume pieces came from the actors’ own wardrobes. it was really important to me that each vixen had her own distinct style. baylee’s vixen (whom she named blair) has a more feminine style, her main costume piece being a lacy leotard. she's sweet with an edge. ava’s vixen is second-in-command & her outfit really screams that. the lingerie top is so killer. alexa’s vixen is almost a mix of baylee’s & ava’s in terms of style. the outfit is sweet, but edgy with the ripped tights & lingerie-style top. lauren’s vixen is a little more utilitarian, actually dressed in a way that makes sense for kidnapping four people. she’s more sporty than the others, but her combat boots are incredibly threatening. hbic is all that and more. her outfit is simple, but powerful. she is terrifying.

tiffany had to feel a bit like an outsider. she’s wearing the vixen clothes, but her jacket has some color on it. it’s a little too big on her. the other vixens really live in & embody their clothes, but for tiffany, it's a bit more like a costume.

here’s how i describe the angels: 1) the hottest girls at the ren faire & 2) like that picture of the angel guiding the two kids that every latine family has in their house. they almost feel out of place; so incredibly fluid in a show that is mostly made up of harsh lines. texture and layers were really the name of the game here, but the angels still have an edge to them. to quote fob: “…angels choking on their halos, get them drunk on rose water. see how dirty i can get them, pullin' out their fragile teeth & clip their tiny wings.”

+ i made pete’s bass machete and tiffany’s/joe’s guitar axe! i don’t have much to say about them, but i loved getting to utilize my cosplay foam skills.

this was my first time ever costuming a show and it was such a dream. the entire cast was so willing to experiment with me and it was such a joy to revisit aspects of 2013 fashion, which i remember from my preteen years, but never got to truly participate in! :’)

- jordan <3

ig: @/jordanelemus

photos: @/cararittner on ig!