16th Gawad Buhay Winners: Kisapmata Leads
The 16th Gawad Buhay Awards had a clear center of gravity: Tanghalang Pilipino’s Kisapmata. The production took 11 of the 28 competitive awards, including the four play acting categories, ensemble, play, direction, translation or adaptation, set, lighting, and sound.
The next six awards went to Shrek the Musical. Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical took four. Side Show and Come From Away received two each, while Nobody Is Home, We Aren’t Kids Anymore, and Via Dolorosa took one apiece.
Kisapmata leads the night
The spread of the awards makes Kisapmata more than the night’s most decorated production. It won across the full architecture of a play, from translation and direction to set, lighting, sound, ensemble, production, and performance. Jonathan Tadioan, Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan, Toni Go-Yadao, and Marco Viaña also took the four individual play acting awards.
Shrek the Musical was the strongest musical in the overall count, taking awards across choreography, projection and video, direction, children’s production, and male performance. Gregoria Lakambini was recognized for the original-musical core: book, original score, the musical category itself, and Heart Puyong’s featured performance.
The 28 competitive award winners
Writing, music, design, and direction
- Outstanding Original Script: Liza Magtoto, J-mee Katanyag, and Nina Gühlstorff, Nobody Is Home.
- Outstanding Translation or Adaptation: Guelan Varela-Luarca, Kisapmata.
- Outstanding Book of a Musical: Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical.
- Outstanding Original Score: Nica del Rosario, Matthew Chang, Nicanor Tiongson, and Eljay Castro Deldoc, Gregoria Lakambini.
- Outstanding Musical Direction: Farley Asuncion and Myke Salomon, We Aren’t Kids Anymore.
- Outstanding Choreography: Stephen Viñas, Shrek the Musical.
- Outstanding Costume Design: Carlos Siongco, Side Show.
- Outstanding Lighting Design: D Cortezano, Kisapmata.
- Outstanding Sound Design: Arvy Dimaculangan, Kisapmata.
- Outstanding Set Design: Joey Mendoza, Kisapmata.
- Outstanding Projection and Video Design: GA Fallarme, Justin Santiago, and JM Jimenez, Shrek the Musical.
- Outstanding Stage Direction for a Play: Guelan Varela-Luarca, Kisapmata.
- Outstanding Stage Direction for a Musical: Dexter Santos, Shrek the Musical.
Productions, ensembles, and stage-making
- Outstanding Production for Children: Shrek the Musical.
- Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Play: Kisapmata, with Jonathan Tadioan, Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan, Toni Go-Yadao, and Marco Viaña among the ensemble.
- Outstanding Play, Original or Translation/Adaptation: Kisapmata, directed by Guelan Varela-Luarca.
- Outstanding Production of Existing Material for a Play: Via Dolorosa.
- Outstanding Musical, Original or Translation/Adaptation: Gregoria Lakambini: A Pinay Pop Musical.
- Outstanding Production of Existing Material for a Musical: Come From Away, produced by GMG Productions and Stages, with direction by Michael Williams and musical direction by Rony Fortich.
- Outstanding Ensemble Performance for a Musical: Come From Away. The Manila company included Cathy Azanza-Dy, Caisa Borromeo, Garrett Bolden, Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, Becca Coates, Steven Cadd, Mayen Cadd, Rycharde Everley, Topper Fabregas, Sheila Francisco, Carla Guevara Laforteza, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Gian Magdangal, George Schulze, and Chino Veguillas.
Performance awards
- Male Featured Performance in a Play: Marco Viaña, Kisapmata.
- Female Featured Performance in a Play: Toni Go-Yadao, Kisapmata.
- Male Lead Performance in a Play: Jonathan Tadioan, Kisapmata.
- Female Lead Performance in a Play: Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan, Kisapmata.
- Female Featured Performance in a Musical: Heart Puyong, Gregoria Lakambini.
- Male Featured Performance in a Musical: Topper Fabregas, Shrek the Musical.
- Male Lead Performance in a Musical: Jamie Wilson, Shrek the Musical.
- Female Lead Performance in a Musical: Marynor Madamesila, Side Show.
What the results say about the 2025 theater year
Kisapmata dominated because the awards recognized the production as a whole, not only its most visible performances. Its 11 wins move from the page to the stage, then through the design and performance systems that make the stage work.
Shrek the Musical made a different kind of statement. Its six wins spread across the technical and performance ends of musical theater, including choreography, projection and video, direction, children’s production, and lead and featured acting. Gregoria Lakambini, meanwhile, took the categories that define an original musical’s identity: book, score, the musical award, and featured performance.
For a closer look at the night’s biggest play winner, read Unsaulicited’s earlier coverage of Kisapmata.
The ceremony slides did not simply produce a leaderboard. They showed where the year’s strongest work gathered force, sometimes in one artist, sometimes in a full company, and sometimes in the entire machinery of a production.