unSAULicited

Opening-night talkback after REP’s Man of La Mancha at REP Eastwood Theater. Nonie Buencamino was not available for the talkback. Photo: Saul de Jesus / Unsaulicited. Nonie Buencamino is Nonie Buencamino. Any show with Nonie in it will always be entertaining. I watched Repertory Philippines’ new staging of Man of La Mancha at the REP Eastwood Theater on opening night, and that was the most immediate thought I had walking out of the theater. If you are asking whether REP’s Man of La Mancha is worth watching, here is the honest answer. Yes. And yes, there is room for refinement. Both can be true. Quick take: Repertory Philippines’ Man of La Mancha is a worthwhile restaging of a classic for a new generation. Nonie Buencamino commands the stage, Marvin Ong is the perfect complement to his Don Quixote, and “The Impossible Dream” lands when it matters most. Its most interesting visual concept could have been pushed further, but the productio...

On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan runs from July 10 to August 2, 2026 at The Proscenium Theater, Rockwell Center, Makati City. Official poster courtesy of Rockwell and 9 Works Theatrical. Kayla Rivera is stepping into Gloria Estefan’s rhythm. For the Southeast Asian premiere of On Your Feet! The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan , Rivera will alternate as the unstoppable Queen of Latin Pop with Filipino-British singer and actress Molly Langley . The casting gives Manila audiences two distinct Glorias for a musical built on movement, resilience, family, and the hard-earned confidence of finding your own sound. Rivera brings the familiar force of a performer whose musical-theater career already includes In the Heights , Carrie , and Side Show . Langley brings a growing local stage presence shaped by international performance experience, demanding musical-theater roles, and a recent Top 6 finish on GMA’s The Clash . And when the catalog i...

By Daniel Dacanay Guest Contributor Daniel Dacanay attended the May 27 press preview on behalf of Unsaulicited. The cast and creative team of Double Take: Reverse Card & AL.TER during the May 27 press preview at Illumination Studio, Makati. Photo courtesy of Daniel Dacanay. Coming into this double-feature play, I had no expectations of what was going to happen. I had read the synopsis of AL.TER , but I knew nothing about the story of Reverse Card . Coming in with an open mind, I was surprised by the messages left by both stories about the LGBTQ+ community and the pains queer people suffer, shown as human stories that anyone can understand. It is easy to say that being part of the queer community is hard, but it is even harder to show it. Double Take takes that and, as the cast and crew shared during the press preview, they really decided to show it all. The pain. The shame. Even the anger that can come from experiencing life as a queer person. ...