Robert Encila-Celdran - Page 4

It’s a common presumption to ascribe natural talent to a genetic blueprint. But some will defy the notion and perceive talent as a by-product of one’s environment. While the debate lingers, we have a chance to appraise a talented artist who knows a thing or two about genes: Dennis Tamblyn. 

Joey Mendoza considers himself a private man. He balks at the attention and prefers to let his work take the stage - literally. He's in the public eye, nonetheless, because brilliant work inevitably betrays its source.

Acclaimed playwright Sarah Ruhl began her career as an avid consumer of other people's works. A church in Chicago was the unlikely venue of her first encounter with 'Angels in America,' where she gushed about Tony Kushner's work for its 'seriousness, endurance, political engagement, and language.'

Stay woke, as it were, while a new battle is waged and revisionist delusions are trending. On that note, leave it to war-crime apologists to rely on well-worn talking points to keep the beasts of old from rearing their noggin.

If diligence is the mother of good luck, it makes sense that good karma succeeds right action. Accordingly, Jhett Tolentino personifies the insight of Benjamin Franklin's instructive aphorism. The Grammy and three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer (“A Gentleman's Guide to Love And Murder,” “A Raisin In the Sun”) is unflagging in his pursuit of excellence. His inspirational career (“behind the scenes,” as he likes to point out) anchors on the abiding tenet of managing opportunity with painstaking research.

The sing-along version of the film 'Bohemian Rhapsody' arrives as a boon to Queen fans nationwide. Whether you're a die-hard follower or a hapless non-singer, the projected lyrics on the big screen make it a difficult invitation to resist.

Sneer if you must, but it seems 'Carrie, The Musical' keeps finding an agreeable audience. The cult classic has endured all manner of critical rebuke and inspired a few vicious parodies along the way. But certain companies remain undaunted, hell-bent on resurrecting a departed and beleaguered heroine (who'd just as soon stay invisible if she had any choice in the matter).

Lonesome is the perch where this avid music fan must critique a genre consumed by a devout subculture. Musical taste is a subjective value, which ought to render all taste buds sacrosanct and perhaps left alone. The task is more involved when said genre becomes a basis for an international musical.

George Bernard Shaw is believed to have given his stamp of approval on one of the theater's most famous acts of defiance. He called it 'the door slam heard around the world.'

It's a fitting irony that Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group commences its season with 'Side Show,' a relatively untapped musical in contemporary theater canon. It's a gutsy show, flaunting with unabashed elan the grim underbelly of circus entertainment.

Whether you're up for it or not, jukebox musicals are back in full swing. The genre assumes a new swagger--aimed not merely to regale, but ostensibly to prove artistic legitimacy.

A prolific dramatist, Tennessee Williams proved most succinct in declaring an ironic dictum: A play does not exist until it's on the stage.

He bears the countenance of an artist on a mission and speaks with the fluency of a refined gentleman. You might infer his self-assurance as a product of rigorous training, but George Schulze has been exuding cool confidence long before his introduction to the theater.

It's in the spirit of the arts as a conduit for education that I found myself drawn to the theater for young audiences, with a particular interest in the work of Atty. Vincent Tañada and the Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF). Tañada's work--as it relates to the current demands for the arts in schools--will be my main focus of this discussion.

Chalk it up to antiquated gender politics that a woman must shatter a glass ceiling to validate her achievement. Despite a long history of injustice, the establishment is relatively unscathed and rarely accountable.

If it's true about Christmas being the most wonderful time of the year, Manila's theater fans may add to their list of good tidings a promising new tradition courtesy of Globe LIVE and 9 Works Theatrical.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a busier man in the industry than Vince Tanada. Now in his 16th year as the president and founding artistic director of the Philippine Stagers Foundation (PSF), he also serves as the company's creative heartbeat--writing and directing productions with a history of reaching far-flung viewers. Just when you think he's due for a well-deserved sabbatical, Tanada is back with a major theater project as though he was checking a mere deadline from his law office (yes, he's still an attorney). From the looks of it, there's no sign of the playwright letting up; in fact, 'Obra ni Juan' shows all the signs of another critical renown.