Theatre – Tara Tries To Write

Tara’s Thoughts On: IdeaFirst’s Anino sa Likod ng Buwan

November 16, 2025 No Comments

I watched #AninoSaLikodNgBuwan, a play based on a Jun Robles-Lana film of the same title, directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio. I came in not knowing anything about the story, just that the show was provocative and mindblowing. And Edward Benosa is part of the cast, so…what was I supposed to do, say no? 🤣

Set in the 1990s, Anino sa Likod ng Buwan features the complicated entanglements between a married couple, Emma and Nardo, (played by Elora Españo and Ross Pesigan) living in a remote province, and Joel (played by Edward Benosa), a soldier with whom they form a friendship. Through their conversations, we learn their backstories, their hopes and fears, and what fuels the decisions they’ve made thus far.

Theatre

Walang Aray is BACK! Here are 5 reasons why you should see it~

August 24, 2025 No Comments

Mangingibigs, UNITE! In exactly five days, the PETA Theater Center will be opening its doors once again and welcoming us back with Walang Aray!

A contemporary adaptation of Severino Reyes’ classic zarzuela Walang Sugat, the production returns with sharper satire, deeper emotional stakes, and bold new interpretations. Blending humor, romance, and political commentary, Walang Aray continues to resonate with audiences as it explores the intersection of love and resistance.

Directed by Ian Segarra, Walang Aray is PETA’s flagship production for its 58th season, themed Love and Power. The show promises a more comedic, more subversive, and bolder and biting Walang Aray while retaining its heartwarming core.

If you’re still on the fence about seeing Walang Aray, here are my top five reasons why you should come to the theatre and watch it AT LEAST ONCE!

Personal, The Writing Community, Theatre

Happy World Theatre Week!

March 25, 2025 No Comments

This is a little late — I just learned over the weekend that World Theatre Week begins on the 21st of March — but hey, I didn’t forget! Happy World Theatre Week to all who celebrate, and as always, my hats off to everyone who works tirelessly to create wonderful theatre productions, onstage or off. You are all heroes to me.

As you know, I’m a big musical theatre fan and I endeavor every year to catch as many shows as I can (as my savings can afford LOL) to support local theatre. I’ve seen Next to Normal last month, and so far on my list of shows to watch this year are:

We Aren’t Kids Anymore (Barefoot Theater Collaborative)
Delia D (NWR Musicals)
Grace (Encore Theater)
and another show I’m super looking forward to but hasn’t been announced yet, so shhhh.

Musical/Play, Review, Theatre

Tara’s Thoughts On: The Sandbox Co.’s Next to Normal

February 19, 2025 No Comments

Me when The Sandbox Co. first announced that they were staging Next to Normal.

Since discovering the musical in 2012 (Thanks, Aaron Tveit!) and falling in love with the material, I’ve dreamt of seeing the musical live — so of course I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. (I’m even watching a second time, duh.)

Next to Normal is a rock musical that explores the effects of repressed grief and a crumbling mental state on an individual as well as the people around them. Created by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, the story revolves around Diana Goodman, a wife and mother struggling with bipolar disorder and depression. With the help of her hopeful husband Dan, she cycles through several rounds of treatment that mess with her system in various ways. Fed up with it all, Diana decides to ditch her meds, and the consequences of that decision sends her and whole family into a spiral.

Apart from the outstanding lyricism and score, I really appreciated the way Next to Normal conveyed the interconnected stories of Diana, Dan, their daughter Natalie (and her suitor Henry), and their son, Gabe. The messages the show sent across were so necessary, the most notable for me being that grief need not be repressed. It had to be properly acknowledged. Felt. Embraced.

Theatre

Tiny Beautiful Thoughts: An interview with Mr. Rody Vera

November 30, 2024 No Comments

I LOVE the theatre. I might not have the means to see every single show running in my city at a given time, but when I do get my chance, I always have a great time.

This weekend, I’m looking forward to discovering a play for the first time! It’s a straight play called Tiny Beautiful Things, which is a stage adaptation of the book with the same title, penned by American author Cheryl Strayed. In Tiny Beautiful Things, an anonymous advice columnist named Sugar encounters a colorful variety of personalities as they talk about their struggles and seek her advice through the letters they send her.

The local staging of Tiny Beautiful Things is brought to us by The Sandbox Co., and stars Iza Calzado as the advice columnist, Sugar. She is joined by Rody Vera, Gabby Padilla, and Ketchup Eusebio as the letter writers. Rounding out the cast are Brian Sy and Regina de Vera who also play letter writers at certain performances.

Earlier today, I had the honor of having a virtual interview with Mr. Rody Vera, who plays Letter Writer 1. I may have spent several seconds fangirling because he wrote PETA’s Walang Aray, which I absolutely LOVED, but we of course talked more about his role in Tiny Beautiful Things, his thoughts about how the Filipino audience will be able to relate to the material, and This experience working on the production.

Check it out below.