A Chorus Line (Theatre Group Asia)

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Broadway director Zach (Conrad Ricamora) is holding auditions for a chorus line for one of his shows. 24 dancers try their best to impress him. After one round, they are down to 17. The interviews get personal as Zach strives to get to know them beyond their career aspirations. Mike (Angelo Soriano) explains that it was his sister who was originally a dancer and he just tagged along. Sheila (Mikaela Regis), Bebe (Michaela Marfori), and Maggie (Iya Villanueva) highlight the importance of ballet in their lives. Youngest auditioner Mark Anthony (Ken San Jose) talks about his prepubescent discoveries. Greg (Luca Olbes) recalls his homosexual awakening. Val (Brie Chappell) narrates how cosmetic surgery upped her career prospects. Paul (Universe Ramos) reluctantly recalls his initial gigs as a drag queen. Cassie (Lissa deGuzman), Zach’s ex and Broadway muse, begs to be cast despite already being considered a soloist and a star. An accident prompts Zach to ask all of them what they’d do if they have to stop dancing. Diana (Christina Glur) sings an ode to the life of a dancer.

Muling Nanghaharana ang Dapithapon

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Mag-uudyok ng iba’t-ibang kuru-kuro ang paglipat ng manunulat na si Mario Rafael de Polano sa bahay ng kanyang pinsan sa Imus. Matapos magpasya na talikuran na ang pagsusulat ay susunugin ng manunulat ang lahat ng kanyang mga akda, dahilan upang magkasundo ang mga kapitbahay na isa sa kanila ang dapat magtungo sa bahay ng manunulat at kausapin ito. Isa sa mga kapitbahay na babae, ina ng anak sa lalaking mayroon nang asawa, ang maaatasan na makipag-usap sa manunulat. Siya naman ay nangangarap na maging manunulat din ngunit naniniwalang ang kahinaan niya sa pagsusulat sa wikang Tagalog ay isang malaking hadlang upang maisakatuparan ito. Tatagal din ng ilang buwan ang pagkakaibigan ng dalawa ngunit isang araw ay bigla na lang maglalaho si Rafael sa Imus. Sa kanyang pagkawala ay matatagpuan ng babae sa pintuan ng kanyang bahay ang mga talaarawan at iba pang mga naisulat na ni Rafael, at dito makikilala ng lubos ng babae ang mailap na lalaki.

Project Hail Mary

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Molecular biologist Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) finds himself in the company of two dead astronauts in a spaceship light years away from Earth. Awakening from an induced coma means suffering from retrograde amnesia. He explores the ship as some memories begin to come back to his mind. Finally he remembers how he was approached by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) who leads Project Hail Mary, a global initiative to send three scientists on a one-way suicide mission to Tau Ceti, 11 lightyears away from Earth. That solar system’s sun is the only one unaffected by dimming brought about by Astrophage, a sun-eating cell that breeds on Venus thanks to the abundance of carbon dioxide there and forms an infrared line toward the sun called the Petrova Line. Estimates indicate that Earth has a maximum of 30 years before global cooling slashes half of the population due to the resulting famine. Alone, Ryland arrives at Tau Ceti to find an alien spacecraft with a rock alien life form who is there on a similar mission.

Anthropology (Barefoot Theatre Collaborative)

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AI programmer Merril (Jenny Jamora) is grieving over the disappearance of her sister Angie (Maronne Cruz) and to deal with that grief she ends up coding a computer simulation like ChatGPT, but in Angie’s likeness. As she talks to the AI that looks and sounds like her sister every day, she ends up obsessing once more about the circumstances of her disappearance. One day, Angie the AI tells Merril that the real Angie might not be dead after all, and promises to sift through all her available data and patterns found therein in an effort to find her. Merril’s ex-girlfriend Raquel (Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante) questions the consequences of relying too much on such a program to process her grief, but Merril isn’t listening. When the AI asks Merril to call her estranged mother Brin (Jackie Lou Blanco) so she could get some data from her and her interactions with Angie before she disappeared, they find new clues that might just refute her declared death.

Mabining Mandirigma (Tanghalang Pilipino)

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Brains have always been the weapon of choice of Apolinario Mabini (Shaira Opsimar), proving from such a young age that his intellect would one day help shape an ideology that will help spark a revolution. That revolution comes in the form of the Philippine resistance in a war against three centuries of Spanish colonial rule. What they probably never expected was the arrival of the Americans at the scene. While acting revolutionary president Emilio Aguinaldo (David Ezra) courts the ilustrados to fund his government and support the country’s fight against foreign invaders, Mabini warns of a congress infested with representatives that only represent the interests of an economic elite. As the tides of war go against them, Mabini is sent to exile on Guam for a few years before returning to a country that now seems comfortable with American rule. Old allies resurface and declare that the revolution still lives on. Will their efforts be enough to grant the country the independence they’ve all been fighting for?

Spring Awakening (The Sandbox Collective)

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Late 19th century Germany. Teenager Wendla Bergmann (Sheena Belarmino) asks her mother how babies are made but she is given a motherhood statement, pun intended, about love and all that BS. Meanwhile, the schoolboys try to make sense of life in general as well as the adult-dictated status quo they ought to obey at all times. Melchior Gabor (Nacho Tambunting) writes essays about various themes, from shame to sex, while Moritz Stiefel (Omar Uddin) entertains suicidal thoughts for not being able to keep up with the demands of Latin and Trigonometry. While rebellion seems to be the most plausible answer, the teens are reminded of the consequences through their friend Ilse Neumann (Jam Binay) who is kicked out from her abusive household and now lives a Bohemian life at some artists’ colony. When Melchior and Wendla begin to explore their bodies, together, new complications arise that will acquaint them with the cruel truths of adolescence.

Ang Lahat ng Hayop sa Ating mga Yapak

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Sa taong 2013 ay yayanigin ang Pateros ng isang karumal-dumal na pangyayari: ang panggagahasa at pagpaslang sa isang dalagang nagngangalang Janina matapos itong maglasing at mahiwalay sa mga kaibigan. Ang pagbibintangan at makukulong ay ang tagapaghatid ng pagkain na si Eli Boy Bustalenya na siya namang igigiit sa mga kinauukulan na wala siyang kinalaman sa mga pangyayari. Sa kasamaang palad ay isang larawan na kuha ng mamamahayag na si Dexter de Dios ang makakasagap kay Eli Boy na siyang magdiriin dito. Lampas sampung taon din ang magdaraan at sa pag-uwi ng anak ni Dexter na si Andrew upang tumanggap ng parangal ng ama ay mauungkat ang nakalipas kasama ang mga bagong kaalaman na maaaring magpawalang-sala sa isang tao na baka sa kahuli-hulihan ay wala naman palang kinalaman sa mga pangyayari. Ang panibagong pag-uusisa ay maglalatag din ng mga mabubunyag na kaugnayan sa pagitan ng naturang pagkakasala at malawakang katiwalian sa pamahalaan.

Lahat Ng B

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Ilang dekada na ang lilipas pero tuloy pa rin ang pagsusulat ni Lucas ng mga novels at itutuloy nga niya ang mga naudlot na love story nila Irene, Sandra, Erica at Ester. Ang hindi talaga niya maituloy tuloy is yung love story nila ni Bessie. May time jump na ilang dekada at tumanda na ang mga characters. Nasa kaliwaan stage na sila Irene at Jordan. Si Sandra naman kukunin na ni Lupe after makalaya nung isa sa kulungan pero makokonsensya sila kasi paano na yung asawa niya na si Ruben? Si Erica pipiliing bumalik sa Maldiaga para hanapin si Jake kahit successful na ang career niya sa Manila. Si Ester at Sara nagkikita tuwing Friday pero hurdle pa rin nila yung asawang matanda na si Pio. Si Bessie naman iniwan na ni Brigs at may Alzheimer’s na kaya dinadalaw dalaw na lang ni Lucas sa nursing home.

Para Kay B

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Isang frustrated writer na nangngangalang Lucas ang nagsusulat ng una niyang nobela na gusto niyang tawagin sa pamagat na Para Kay B. Ang B na tinutukoy ay si Bessie, ang babaeng kanyang iniibig pero medyo mukhang di talaga sila itinadhana. Even then, sulat pa rin ng sulat si Lucas ng love stories, lima lahat. Yung isa ay yung sa kanila ni B habang yung iba naman e halo-halong may imbento lang and based naman on real people yung iba. For example, yung incestuous love story ni Sandra ay based sa kahera ng motel na tinutuluyan niya para magsulat. Bukod dun, meron din siyang entry about Ester na middle aged mother na may lesbo love affair. Si Erica na galing sa isang fictional island called Maldiaga kung saan wala silang concept ng pag-ibig. At siyempre yung unang kwento ng libro tungkol kay Irene at Jordan na pinaghiwalay ng panahon pero pagtatagpuing muli ng tadhana.

O Agente Secreto

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Armando Solimões (Wagner Moura) is on the run and changes his name to Marcelo Alves. He drives all the way back to his native Pernambuco to seek refuge at a commune operated by Dona Sebastiana (Tânia Maria) where he meets fellow “refugees” both in the literal and figurative sense. He visits his toddler Fernando (Enzo Nunes) from time to time who has been living with his in-laws after the death of his wife. While father and son yearn to be reunited, Armando does not want to put both of their lives in danger. He meets Elza (Maria Fernanda Cândido), a resistance leader in Recife, so that he could tell his story and it could be documented. She informs him that a bounty has been placed on his head and that two hitmen have been sent from the south to hunt him down. She asks him to wait for four days for his and his son’s fake passports so they could leave Brazil. Will they make it out in time?

The Bride!

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Stuck in some stream of consciousness limbo, Mary Shelley (Jessie Buckley) argues that there were many things she wanted to say but couldn’t in her novel Frankenstein. She then decides to possess a human being so she could finish her work. She spots Aida (Jessie Buckley), an escort who gets entangled in a mafia ruckus that ends with her death. Meanwhile, Frankenstein’s monster who now goes by the name of Frank (Christian Bale) approaches scientist Dr. Cornelia Euphronius (Annette Bening) and begs her to “create” a companion for him. Although reluctant at first, she agrees and they dig up a cadaver at the cemetery, which happens to be Aida’s. As Aida is brought back to life for the sole purpose of becoming Frank’s wife, she disagrees. What follows is a whirlwind courtship marked by violence and social change, resulting in detective Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) and his assistant Myrna Mallow (Penelope Cruz) hunting them down.

Hoppers

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Japanese-American college student Mabel Tanaka (Piper Curda) has always been a problem child, but in a good way. Her grandmother teaches her the importance of nature early on, which leads her to a path of environmental activism, much to the chagrin of Beaverton city mayor Jerry Generazzo (Jon Hamm) who is up for reelection. He thinks he has it in the bag through his pet project, a freeway that will run through a local forest glade where Mabel spent much of her childhood with her late grandmother. Mabel discovers an experiment by her professor who has invented a technology called “hopping” where they create robotic animals they can transfer their consciousness to so they can observe wild animals by blending in. Mabel gets her hands on a beaver robot and blends in with the animals at the glade, trying to convince them to come back and live there once again to prevent its destruction.

Sisa

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When Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States at the turn of the 20th century, the resulting Philippine-American war had entire Filipino communities under close inspection at garrisoned communities where they were practically treated as slaves under strict curfew and surveillance. The arrival of a mentally ill woman whom they end up calling Sisa (Hilda Koronel) reminds the women of the toll of war on mental health. She is taken in by Delia (Eugene Domingo) whose husband and sons were all killed by the Americans. She also meets Leonor (Jennica Garcia), a widow who becomes the kept woman of the American general in command of the area, earning the ire of the women in the community who see her as a whore. The amnesty announcement from president Roosevelt involves several high ranking officials visiting the community and is also the targeted day for a mutiny. Has freedom finally come?

The Catcher in the Rye

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16-year-old Holden Caulfield is kicked out of school, the third he has transferred to so far in the last few years. He has flunked all of his subjects except English, which he believes to be his strongest suit. He gets a bloody nose after getting in a fight with his roommate Ward Stradlater as he pesters him regarding the details of his date with a girl he once knew. He then decides to pack his bags and leave for New York but keeps it a secret from his parents who are not expecting him until Wednesday. Luckily, he has some cash to spare which he uses to pay for a hotel room, a prostitute, and drinks after calling some acquaintances in the city to accompany him for a few nights. A few days later, he sneaks into their house to visit his little sister Phoebe to say goodbye to her for good because he is thinking of running away.

Rich People Problems

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A heart attack leaves family matriarch Shang Su Yi bedridden. As she fights for survival while on life support, members of the clan acknowledge that the time is near. Knowing that his cousin Nick, heir apparent to Tyersall Park, is still banned from the estate, Eddie flies his entire family on a private jet from Hong Kong to jockey for position, while Astrid is busy in India entertaining a marriage proposal from Charlie Wu in the midst of her divorce proceedings with Michael Teo. Encouraged by his wife Rachel, Nick eventually flies back to Singapore to find the family in complete disarray. Meanwhile, Kitty still finds herself shut out from Singapore high society despite her husband’s billions at her disposal. To make matters worse, her stepdaughter Colette, now married to a titled aristocrat in England, is moving back to Asia for their environmental activism, eclipsing her stepmother at every society get together.