Master Class (Philippine Opera Company)

♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Maria Callas (Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo) just cannot leave the limelight despite losing her voice and “retiring” for various reasons. She decides to go backstage and serve as a mentor for aspiring singers, guiding them not just in terms of vocal coaching, but also warning them about the cutthroat industry that they are planning to join. Her first student, Sophie de Palma (Alexandra Bernas), she critiques for not having a “look” which she believes to be important. The next one, Sharon Graham (Angeli Benipayo), enters in a long gown but walks away and disappears after some heavy criticism from La Divina. The last student, tenor Anthony Candolino (Arman Ferrer) manages to impress his mentor by standing his ground and having her listen to him. Coming back for a second try, Sharon finally gets to sing, but unleashes a harsh tirade on Maria when her feedback goes below the belt. Left alone with pianist Manny (Louie Angelo Oca), she reflects and reminisces about her career.

Jesus Christ Superstar (GMG Productions)

♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Judas Escariot (Javon King) warns Jesus Christ (Luke Street) about the potential dangers of his newfound cult following as well as his current messianic branding as the Son of God. Judas is also insecure of Mary Magdalene (Gab Pangilinan) and what appears to be her growing role and closeness to Jesus, far eclipsing his. True enough, the Jewish high priests begin to take notice. Annas (Kodiak Thompson) and Caiaphas (Grant Hodges) worry about the backlash Jesus’ growing popularity might cause, including a possible crackdown from the Romans should his following grow even larger and out of control. They offer Judas a sizable amount to betray Jesus. All he has to do is lead the Roman guards to him and plant a kiss on his cheek as a signal that he is the man they are looking for. As Jesus prays at the garden of Gethsemane, he asks God the Father whether his death will be worth the sacrifice.

Mortal Kombat II

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Two decades ago, Outworld emperor Shao Kahn (Martyn Ford) annexed Edenia by killing its king and taking his daughter as his own hostage princess. Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) grows up spiteful of his adoptive father but obedient, trained in the art of combat by her bodyguard Jade (Tati Gabrielle) who is ever loyal to her emperor. Meanwhile, Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano) continues his search for a fifth fighter as Mortal Kombat looms near. In addition to Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee), Liu Kang (Ludi Lin), Jax (Mehcad Brooks), and Cole Young (Lewis Tan), they recruit has-been actor and martial artist Johnny Cage (Karl Urban) who reluctantly agrees to what he considers to be a suicide mission. As battles are fought and fighters meet death, some old rivals and friends resurface, making the process even more complicated for Earthworld’s chosen heroes. Will they prevail or will Shao Kahn add yet another realm to his collection?

The Devil Wears Prada 2

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

20 years after her short stint at Runway, Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is now a successful journalist who gets fired along with her entire team just as she is receiving an industry award. Her rousing speech coincides with an article debacle at Runway, with the CEO of the parent company blaming Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) for the mishap. Andy is hired on the spot to be the new Features head to clean up her ex-ex-boss’ mess. While Nigel (Stanley Tucci) is welcoming, Miranda remains cold and aloof, which takes Andy two decades back to square one in a constant attempt to win her approval. Along the way they run into Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt) who is now a senior executive at Dior which means she has power over them through the ads that her company runs on their magazine pages. Toss in a couple of management and ownership changes and it’s like Andy never really left. Will she stay for good this time around?