MANILA, Philippines – It’s been a fruitful 47th theater season for
the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA); and while the
theater is ablaze with the ongoing Summer Program, the company shows no
signs of stopping for a breather.
PETA’s 48th season sees the comeback of crowd favorite and hit comedy musical Rak of Aegis.
Fans and first-timers are expected to flood the theater for this
record-breaking hit that is set to open this June, due to insistent
public demand.
Breakout
Kapuso star Aicelle Santos, and 2009 WCOPA Champion Kim Molina come
back as Aileen; the promodizer with big dreams to raise her family from
the knee-deep floods that have plagued their town for months. This
all-Filipino, all-original musical features songs from the iconic band
Aegis, with a star-studded ensemble on an award winning, must-see set.
This comedy musical has hit a record-breaking 135 shows in the first
year of its showing alone, a milestone for the theater company and
indeed, for Philippine theater. In 2014 alone it has garnered over 16
citations for performance and technical categories including Outstanding
Original Musical, Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Musical, Stage
Direction for a Musical (Maribel Legarda), Original Libretto (Liza
Magtoto), Musical Direction (Myke Salomon), Choreography (Gio Gahol),
Costume Design (Carlo Pagunaling), Sound Design (Salomon and Happy
Constantino), Set Design (Mio Infante), Female Lead Performance in a
Musical (Aicelle Santos and Joan Bugcat), Female Featured Performance in
a Musical (Kalila Aguilos) and Male Featured Performance in a Musical
(Myke Salomon, Pepe Herrera, Jerald Napoles and Juliene Mendoza)
The cast of Rak has
also enjoyed several new projects in between runs: Poppert Bernadas who
plays Aileen’s suitor Kenny was recently seen in The Voice Philippines,
while Pepe Herrera (Tolits) enjoys a stint in the romcom TV series, Forevermore. Singer Kim Molina also breaks into the theater scene with production after production, most recently in the upcoming Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady by Dalanghita Productions.
This run also welcomes many new neighbors to Barangay Venizia. Renz
Verano and Lorenz Martinez both play Aileen’s father Kiel, opposite
Lani Ligot (Priscilla Queen of the Dessert; Broad Way, Narrow Way)
who plays Mercy, Aileen’s mother; The Company’s Sweet Plantado also
joins the cast as Mary Jane. The ensemble is joined by PETA
artist-teacher Roi Calilong (D’ Wonder Twins of Boac, PAMANA), Teetin Villanueva (MANHID, Maxie the Musical) with Via Antonio and Raflesia Bravo.
The cast also sees the return of talented ensemble members made up of
Stella Mendoza (Mary Jane), Kakai Bautista and Neomi Gonzales (Mercy),
Jerald Napoles (Tolits), Myke Salomon (Kenny), Nor Domingo, Julienne
Mendoza, and Gie Onida (Fernan), Phi Palmos, Ron Alfonso, and Jimmy
Marquez (Jewel), Gimbey dela Cruz, Abi Sulit, Gab Pangilinan, Jet
Barrun, Gio Gahol, Carlon Matobato, John Moran, Paeng Sudayan, and Kakki
Teodoro (Ensemble).
