Chicago (Lunchbox Theatrical)

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Roxie Hart (Bianca Marroquin) dreams of fame but instead lands herself in jail after shooting her lover Fred, who promised her stardom but was apparently just interested in the “extra” benefits of their relationship. There she meets vaudeville veteran Velma Kelly (Terra MacLeod) who is also imprisoned for the “alleged” murder of her philandering husband and sister. The two eventually vie for the attention of Matron “Mama” Morton (Roz Ryan) and star lawyer Billy Flynn (Jeff McCarthy), both of whom they perceive as their ticket to freedom. But more than the get-out-of-jail ticket, the two seem to be more interested in the fame brought about by the media circus involved in their respective court trials hoping that each of them would have a showbiz career after the final verdict is passed. However, the game changes as one of their Hungarian inmates is hanged, a first in the history of the Windy City. The two then forge their own strategies to get the media in their favor. After all, it does not really matter if you are innocent or not in 1920’s Chicago. It’s all about image, fame, and all that jazz.

Dirty Dancing (Lunchbox Theatrical)

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Summer of 1963. A peek into Baby's socialite life means either long nights full of social dancing or a repetitive game of Simon Says. Just like every teenager during that time, her life has been planned well ahead for her as she anticipates her next few years to be spent as part of the Peace Corps. Never has she thought that a little bit of Mambo and some big band could change her life. When the long-time dance partner of star dancer Johnny Castle gets knocked up by a waiter, Baby suggests that they find someone to fill in for her until an abortion is successfully done, lest the dance group lose a significant amount of their meager wages. That someone ends up being her. She then spends the next few days in serious training with him, transitioning from naive girl to competitive dancer and finding her way to womanhood in the process.

Potted Potter (Lunchbox Theatrical)

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Offering a condensed version of all seven Harry Potter Books in seventy minutes, Potted Potter is a rather hilarious parody made possible by the comic tandem of Gary Trainor and Jesse Briton, who present themselves as two stage actors (which they are) trying to come up with a stage adaptation of the books. Trainor is the actor portrayed as the expert in everything Harry Potter, while Briton plays the part of the clueless co-actor whose supposed ignorance of the story serves as a good source of most of the laughter from the audience. The parody features a live game of Quidditch, which involves two members of the audience tackling Trainor while dressed in a tacky gold ensemble as the Golden Snitch.

Improvisation makes up for the utter lack of set, props, and appropriate wardrobe. The two state from the very beginning that it is supposed to be a grand spectacle but turned Improv due to Briton’s irresponsible management of their funds, which is of course part of the script. The atmosphere is similar to that of a stand up comedy show, in which the dialogue is key to the humor. They also play up the comedy of errors produced by the conflict between the Harry Potter Purist (Trainor) and the indifferent wannabe joining the bandwagon (Briton), to which any Harry Potter fan could easily relate.

The Phantom of the Opera (Lunchbox Theatrical)

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An old man bids for items from the past, including a chandelier with a rather interesting history. As it comes to life and hovers back to the ceiling where it belongs, everyone is transported to an old opera, where one witnesses the rise of Christine Daaé (Claire Lyon) from chorus girl to prima donna, taking the place of the opera's aging soprano, Carlotta. This she achieves through the aid of a mysterious tutor which she refers to as the Angel of Music. Everyone else calls him the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ (Jonathan Roxmouth). With the arrival of her childhood sweetheart Raoul (Anthony Downing), she then faces a tough dilemma: how to escape the man to whom she owes her career so she could be with the man that she truly loves.

Mamma Mia! (Lunchbox Theatrical)

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Residing on a Greek island, a mother and a daughter prepare for a wedding. Sophie (Charlotte Wakefield) wants to solve the mystery of her identity before tying the knot. Reading through her mother's diary, she isolates three men who could possibly be her father and sends all of them an invitation to her wedding, without mommy’s consent. What happens when Donna (Sara Poyzer) finds out all about them sooner than expected? Unresolved issues resurface and a wonderful story unfolds as the characters sing and dance through ABBA’s set list of hits one by one.

The acting felt a bit technical at first, as if every moment was calculated. Luckily, this notion goes away pretty fast, along with the weirdness of seeing too many Caucasians on one stage. Sorry, it is my first time to see a musical with a foreign cast. Everything becomes natural after a few minutes or so and a happy kind of vibe just hits you as soon as the nostalgia sets in.